Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION - FRONT | |||||
| 98158 | 08/03/1998 | 609538 | Front end shimmy may occur at various driving speeds and is usually induced when hitting bumps, such as large potholes or rough railroad crossings. shimmy is not always verified during road test. *ak | 04/03/2000 | |
| BC2360970501 | 05/01/1997 | 52809 | For concerns of noisy/squeaky steering and diagnosis is for the pitman arm, recommended service is to replace the pitman arm. *tw | 09/12/1997 | |
| BC0321961101 | 11/01/1996 | 50729 | Pop/clunk from steering linkage over bumps. *tw | 06/17/1997 | |
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - HUB | |||||
| 97627 | 03/17/1997 | 52010 | Noise- ratcheting- front axle- 4x4- self-engagement of automatic hub locks- f-250 and f-350 over 8500# gvw. *jd | 07/17/1997 | |
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - SPRINGS - AIR SUSPENSION SYSTEM | |||||
| 97713 | 03/31/1997 | 51920 | Noise- buzzing- underhood when air suspension is in operation. *jd | 07/17/1997 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION | |||
| 05/15/1998 | |||
| Vehicle has been experiencing ongoing vibration problem. whenever a right turn was made, a grinding sound would come from the wheel. vehicle been in / out of dealer shop on four occasions, and problem still occurring. asking nhtsa help in this matter. *ak | |||
| 2 | 09/06/1996 | ||
| Vibration and pulling, causing premature wear of the tires. | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT | |||
| 03/01/1998 | |||
| No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak | |||
| 08/11/2000 | 1 | 11/01/1997 | |
| My tires were severely worn on the inside edges. i bought new tires and went to have the truck aligned. virginia spring and alignment, arlington, va, 22213, informed me that my right front spring was dangerously weak and had caused the upper ball joint to become loose. they said every ford 250 diesel they see has this problem and that ford did not put strong enough springs on these trucks. ford in fact had issued tsb-96-23-16 which called for adding a leaf to each front spring and realignment. they refuse to fix the defect in my truck because it has over 36,000 miles on it. if this spring fails, a 3/4 ton truck goes out of control. *ak | |||
| 03/31/2000 | |||
| When driving steering was not responsive. had a lot of play in the steering wheel. also, front end felt like was not rolling freely, and no adequate steering control. contacted dealer and manufactur. they didn't have the equipment to align the front end. *ak | |||
| 04/09/1997 | 3 | ||
| The vehicle veers towards the right when it's in operation. the manufacturer has been contacted. also, replaced front left hub cap, and twist in frame. *ak | |||
| 05/01/1998 | 12/01/1997 | ||
| Front suspension is underdesigned. unable to support weight of powerstroke engine. causing excessive tire wear and ball joint wear, and pulling to right | |||
| 09/19/1997 | |||
| When turning or driving up a hill or uneven ground can hear a popping/knocking noise coming from the front of the vehicle. consumer put vehicle into the shop for repair work. when the consumer got the vehicle back the problem was not fixed, the problem was still there. when consumer drove vehicle could still hear the noise, and dealer can't determine the problem. *ak | |||
| 11/27/1998 | 3 | 05/01/1998 | |
| In may 1997 i purchashed this vehichle new. my problems began with a torn seat cover and deffective sun visors. those problems were fixed. due to the distance from my residnce to st. helens auto center, i began taking my vehichle to land mark ford, located at 12000 s.s. 66th ave. tigard,or. 97281. on july 27, 1998 i took the vehichle to landmark because of a poping noise in the front suspension. the noise was verified. no repairs done at that time. on august 05, 1998 i took the vehichl to landmark for poping noise, noise was verified. landmark found the crossmember loose, tightened front suspension bolt, leaf spring u-bolt, a-arm to frame bolts, replaced #2 huck rivet, loosened and ajusted tranny crossmember. thier invoice states retest ok. on august 12, 1998 vehichle was taken into landmark for poping noise in front end, and because the vehichle pulls to the left. alighnment was off and set to speks. on september 12, 1998 vehichle was taken to landmark for poping noise in front suspension. they replaced. | |||
| 03/01/1997 | |||
| Since approximately 20000 miles vehicle will without warning develope an extreme shaking in the front end. vehicle will continue to violently wobble until brakes are applied and vehicle is slowed to a speed of 20-30 miles per hour. this occurs without warning at all speeds from 30 to 70 miles per hour. inspections at alingment shops, failed to reveal any failed components. a recent inspection at a ford garage also revealed no damaged components but i was informed that a technical service bulletin issued on the 1-ton 4 wheel drive was applicable to this vehicle and that pursuant to this bullitin a factory recommended fix was installed at my cost. be aware that on 2 seperate occasions i asked dealership service personnel if there was an inherrent problem with the suspension of this vehicle, both times i was told they had no such knowledge. this resulted in unneccessay expenses at alignment shops , the replacement of tires and shocks, and the continued operation of a dagerously unfit vehicle. only upon my issistance to the dealer that this vehicle could not be safely opperated was the existance of said technical service bullitin acknowledged and the factory fix installed, again at my cost. | |||
| 08/05/1996 | |||
| These vehicles with the power stroke diesel engine has an independent front suspension that was underdesigned to handle the weight of the vehicle. this design does not allow the vehicle's front end alignment to stay and vehicle is always pulling. | |||
| 06/17/1997 | |||
| Front end misalignment causing vehicle to vibrate and premature wear of tires. in addition, belt tensioner roller makes noise when vehicle is started, and popping noise from cab when driving over uneven surfaces due to cab mounting bolts to frame being loose. *ak | |||
| 1 | 09/01/1996 | ||
| Vehicle wanders. | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM | |||
| 04/10/2002 | 1 | ||
| While driving down hill left front tie rod had come off. left front wheel almost came off, causing vehicle to shake. mechanic repaired tie rod and replaced ball joint.*ak *yh | |||
| 12/15/1997 | 2 | 03/01/1997 | |
| Balljoints grinding, metal on metal, failure due to unserviceable type balljoints from the factory. *ak | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM - LOWER BALL JOINT | |||
| 09/09/1998 | |||
| When driver applied the brakes the whole front end of the truck would bounce and the truck was hard to maintain. also the front tires balded on the inside. the truck was looked at by a mechanic who stated that the ball joints were never greased by the factory. the ball joints have been replaced at owner's expense. *ak | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - SHOCK ABSORBER | |||
| 02/24/1999 | 1 | 11/01/1997 | |
| The front springs on this heavy duty truck began collapsing after approximately 14-months of service. the condition wears the front tires excessively and does not make the vehicle handle properly. the condition was brought to the attention of the dealership, don vance ford, marshfield,mo. and all that has been achieved is trips to the dealership and discussions with ford customer assistance. i have looked at several f250 vehicles with the 7.3 l and 460 motor packages and they are experiencing the same problem as i have. ford has obviously recognized the problem i am experiencing as the twin i-beam is no longer available on the 1999 model f250's. *ak | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - SPRINGS - TORSION BAR | |||
| 01/27/2004 | 113000 | 1 | |
| While driving at 30 mph consumer heard a loud pop at the front of the vehicle, and the front left side dropped several inches. consumer pulled over to inspect what the problem could be, and discovered that driver side torsion bar snapped.*ak | |||
| 04/01/2003 | 1 | ||
| When the vehicle was parked, the torsion bar snapped. *jb | |||
| 04/04/2000 | 1 | 04/01/1998 | |
| Torsion bar snapped with no warning. this is obviously a manufacturer defect, yet was not covered under extended warranty. i had to pay for towing and rental car while my truck was disabled. i think ford should cover this repair as the part was defective. *ak | |||
| 04/07/2000 | 1 | 05/01/1997 | |
| Torsion bar failure, caused sudden loss of vehicle control. *ak | |||
| 06/09/1999 | |||
| While driving front torsion bar broke. the dealer has been notified. *ak | |||
| 03/26/1999 | 1 | 10/01/1997 | |
| The torsion bar sheared off, causing vehicle to lose control and sway suddenly. *ak | |||
| 01/21/1999 | 1 | 01/31/1998 | |
| Torsion bar, which controls the stability of the vehicle, sheared off, causing a loss of vehicle control. *ak *ml | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - STABILIZER BAR | |||
| 06/01/2000 | 1 | 10/01/1998 | |
| Both these retaining bolts failed. in the first instance i noticed a bolt hanging down from the front end on the passenger side. i do not know when the failure occurred. in the second instance, the shop owner noticed the driver's side bolt was missing. he commented that he looks for this item on ford f150 and f250 units. he has had vehicles come in with both bolts missing! ford changed the bolt mechanism retaining the stabalizer bars in this model year (1998). their design appears faulty as the plastic retaining devices on the bolt do not appear to work properly.*ak | |||
| SUSPENSION - REAR | |||
| 07/01/1998 | 1 | 06/01/1997 | |
| Rear end suspension slip disk failed. yh | |||
| 11/11/1997 | |||
| While driving on wet pavement at any speed and applying brakes, the brake's felt like they were not working and would lock up. also, the rear end of the vehicle would come out from behind. *ak | |||
| SUSPENSION - REAR - SPRINGS - AIR SUSPENSION SYSTEM | |||
| 04/14/2000 | 2 | 05/01/1997 | |
| First air spring on drivers side blew last summer and was replaced. the other one, passenger side, blew last friday. both failures occurred with truck camper on board, but vehicle was not over loaded. failures were explosive, resulting in vehicle lowing suddenly on the side affected. vehicle was travelling straight ahead both times, but failure on a corner could result in vehicle rolling over. component does not appear to match the load rating of the vehicle. *ak | |||
| SUSPENSION - REAR - SPRINGS - LEAF SPRING ASSEMBLY | |||
| 07/12/1998 | |||
| Consumer noticed the left rear spring broke, causing vehicle to virbrate at any speed. *ak | |||