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2019 Power Wagon suspension has become “floaty”

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el_barto

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So, my 2019 PW seems to have become very “floaty” laterally / rocks side-side like a boat over bumps on the highway.

35” tires, fox 2.0 IFP shocks, fox ats steering stabilizer, stock springs, no lift.

Chassis has about 50k miles, Fox shocks only have about 25k miles.

Scale weight 8200lbs with full tank of fuel, all armor, and recovery gear, so still under GVWR.

Anyone else experience this? I don’t remember it being like this before, but I can’t quite put my finger on when it started being like this/if it was gradual or instant.

As far as I can tell, my sway bars/end links are still connected. So really not sure what could be going on.
 
Check torque on everything in the suspension, and if you find anything loose, take the bolt all the way out and make sure the holes haven’t been wallowed out.

If all the fasteners look good then it’s likely the shocks need a rebuild.
 
Nothing new added recently other than the ATS stabilizer, but that was actually added after I first noticed it seemed more “wallowy”; but I first noticed it after I hadn’t driven it in a few weeks so my sensitivity to change was low.

Shocks have only like 25k on them, mostly highway, some offroad but not that many miles cumulative…not doing desert running. Hard to believe they are cooked already…not seeing any leaks on them. If they are dead in such a short time period in just going back to OEM Bilsteins.

Anyone have a list of torque specs for all the suspension link bolts?
 
el_barto said:
Nothing new added recently other than the ATS stabilizer, but that was actually added after I first noticed it seemed more “wallowy”; but I first noticed it after I hadn’t driven it in a few weeks so my sensitivity to change was low.

Shocks have only like 25k on them, mostly highway, some offroad but not that many miles cumulative…not doing desert running. Hard to believe they are cooked already…not seeing any leaks on them. If they are dead in such a short time period in just going back to OEM Bilsteins.

Anyone have a list of torque specs for all the suspension link bolts?
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Shocks prolly not cooked, then.

Yea I got them saved hold up

IMG_0693.jpeg
 
Check your tire pressures as well. That's obe if the tings is was told when I had some sway while towing.
 
tire pressures good, I run 45psi front/40psi rear which I’ve found to be comfortable. I could try and bump it up a bit I guess

Same tires I’ve had since new in 2019…Falken Wildpeak AT3W 315/70/17 e-load…could the tires be starting to break down due to their age, causing this? They are 5 years old now
 
el_barto said:
tire pressures good, I run 45psi front/40psi rear which I’ve found to be comfortable. I could try and bump it up a bit I guess

Same tires I’ve had since new in 2019…Falken Wildpeak AT3W 315/70/17 e-load…could the tires be starting to break down due to their age, causing this? They are 5 years old now
Click to expand...

That’s more than enough pressure for a PW.

My vote goes to shocks, thou it does seem premature.
 
My vote goes to track bars.
Shocks should be fine.
Pressures are more than I run, but I've got 35s.
I replaced my track bars with Carli front/Thuren rear. So far, it rides nice.
I have also instalked Fox IFP shocks and steering stabilizers along with the drag link and tie rod bar.
But I had other issues I was chaseing
 
Having someone dry steer the truck while you peek underneath will showcase the health of the front track bar bushings. The rear bar is a bit tougher to diag - though it is not subjected to nearly as much stress as the front either. The dry steer can show tie rod/drag link joints excessively worn (balls popping in and out of their sockets)

Jack up under one radius arm at a time to lift a tire off the ground - use a large prybar to pry up underneath the tire to check the ball joints

I agree with @AH64ID that loose hardware would almost always result in clunking noises and would be very rare unless once disturbed and not reinstalled properly. If quiet its likely not the case.
 
When I added my RTT and camping gear I noticed the wag in the back much more. Thuren rear track bar took care of that. Fox shocks are famous for fading and needing rebuilt or replaced often. You can get Bilstein 5100 or 5160 remote res. shocks for a upgrade over stock. I love my 5160s and they were only around $1000 for all 4 for a 2.6 inch body shock, about 1/2 to a 1/3 the price of the equivelant FOx shock.
 
Your truck's weight is similar to mine and when I was running psi in the 40s, I got some decent side to side rocking. Just a super quick check, inflate your tires to 60psi and see if it goes away. That made mine ride better. While ~40 psi is technically enough for the truck's weight and feels more comfortable, it might still cause the side to side ride issues. If that is the case, then you can address how to fix that problem at the lower psi settings you want.
 
Thanks I’ll give that a shot , easy solution if that’s it. Odd that I’ve been running this pressure for a while and it didn’t seem to be like this before
 
alittle off topic here but I have noticed in general compared to my previous truck (2018 f250 6.7) that the ram feels floaty.
I have a 2024 trademan powerwagon.
I was wondering if it is just going to take some getting used to ram vs ford or if I need to some of the front end.
 
JG007 said:
alittle off topic here but I have noticed in general compared to my previous truck (2018 f250 6.7) that the ram feels floaty.
I have a 2024 trademan powerwagon.
I was wondering if it is just going to take some getting used to ram vs ford or if I need to some of the front end.
Click to expand...
Much softer suspension in the power wagon than your super duty, I think some of that float is just soft suspension vs stiff suspension
 
el_barto said:
Much softer suspension in the power wagon than your super duty, I think some of that float is just soft suspension vs stiff suspension
Click to expand...
thats what I figured , just going to take alittle getting used to. These trucks are awesome
 
The only time I experienced that was with the god awful fox shocks. They were worn out in that mileage I believe, and Fox told me to expect 6 month rebuilds....I went back to Bilstein's which work pretty dang well. I left the front ones to rot but they are pretty cooked as well. Seems like the back ones last a very short time.
 
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