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hotspur
02-21-2006, 09:32 AM
We have had 2 incidents with studs breaking on our Ford 550 service trucks. (on the rear duals ) Is anyone else having this trouble ? I thought there was a previous thread about this problem but can't find it.

659Lineman
02-21-2006, 07:56 PM
Yes, we've had one incident that I know of.

old lineman
02-21-2006, 09:21 PM
We have had 2 incidents with studs breaking on our Ford 550 service trucks. (on the rear duals ) Is anyone else having this trouble ? I thought there was a previous thread about this problem but can't find it.

Your right, there was a post on this subject and lots of people were experiencing the same problems.
I would go directly to Ford and demand answers. This is a safety issue, especially a lighter truck like this.
Trucks this size often don't have outriggers and depend solely on the suspension for stability. Should a weakened wheel rim let go just when the boom is in an extreme position you know what could happen.
It's not a maintenance problem it's a design problem.
The Old Lineman

grillman
02-21-2006, 10:10 PM
our problem with the fords has been with transmissions going out

BigClive
02-22-2006, 07:30 AM
In the UK the problem with Fords has always been RUST!

That said, I've always had a Ford van and currently have a shiny new T260. (It's a UK style van.... Don't know if they do them in the states.)

This style of van has consistently won the "best van" award in the UK because it's designed for maximum driver comfort. Even at 6'4" and size 16 feet I fit in comfortably. I tried all the other brands of van and they were hell for someone my size.

spur
02-23-2006, 05:56 PM
Here in New Brunswick most of our ford 550"s are havnig these stud problems some are soo bad that one truck is in the ford shop at least once a week for new studs also you are not supposed to spin the tires on ice or when you are stuck as this breaks studs and ruins tranny"s. In NB, winter is a given with ice and snow so you can imagine how much trouble this particular model is giving us. A private contractor would be run into the ground with the repair bills on these models.

Work safe or not at all spur

BigClive
02-23-2006, 08:34 PM
So is this just a bad batch of studs or are they breaking on an ongoing basis?

What if alternate brand studs are used (instant removal of liability from Ford unfortunately.)

If your talking about the wheel studs then what could be unique that is causing them to snap? Are they just not rated for the heavy load of a bucket mechanism?

duckhunter
02-24-2006, 02:00 PM
We had the same problem with 2 different Ford F-550, different model years. We also had transmission and engine problems.

We have replaced one of them with a new GMC. Wow is it quiet, smooth and strong. It has a higher profile, but that Allison transmission and the brakes on it are so much better than the Ford.

spur
02-24-2006, 09:58 PM
So is this just a bad batch of studs or are they breaking on an ongoing basis?

What if alternate brand studs are used (instant removal of liability from Ford unfortunately.)

If your talking about the wheel studs then what could be unique that is causing them to snap? Are they just not rated for the heavy load of a bucket mechanism?
This particular model has broken so many studs that the tire shops in the area will not even change a flat and tell us that the truck has to go to the dealer [ford] as they are scared of being liable if anything happens.
Spur

hifihaxor
02-24-2006, 11:28 PM
holy crap. we used to use f550 with the altec .. i think its an at-37g bucket.

we have been thru about 2 or 3 lease cycles with this same type of truck, we run around 10 of them at any time. in my years at this company i have never heard of wheel stud breaking issues at all. if i get in touch with our old mechanic, ill ask him about this.

the new trucks are total crap though. the 6 liter engine is a fucking joke.. pitching turbos and injectors.. we had one truck get a new engine under warranty.. twice. the transmissions are marginal.. but when theyre running theyre fast trucks. we have had other assorted drive line problems with them. our new international bucket trucks with the larger booms have the same engine, and of the 2 we have, we have 1 lemon already.

my old truck, #203, was a 2002 ford f550 and it had a 7.3L v8.. that truck never quit... we retired it with over 70k miles in 2005. that truck was an exception though... other 7.3s we had developed problems later on.

our new trucks, we have gotten 2 so far to replace the dead fords, are gmc c5500's with the at-37g... they are goofy looking, but they are nicely designed... 6.6L (i think its even a v6), THEY TURN ON A DIME.. very easy to do u turns in a small intersection... theyre extremely quiet and we have had very little problems with the new truck 203, its got around 18k on it already and i dont think its been down for service yet.. nice interior too.

thats my story and im stickin to it.

highlineswitcher
02-25-2006, 11:22 AM
cover your asses , fords or any vehicle that break wheel studs are most likely over weight . ford in my opinion the most likely to break studs though has been like that forever . please check vehicle weight against manufacturer recommended weight if you cause an accident and its over weight . you the driver are held responsable not the utility that owns the vehicle. years ago if a truck said it could weigh 36000 it could probably weigh 46000 and be safe not anymore . again check the weight it your ass there .

lightningrod
02-25-2006, 07:24 PM
I work at the same utility as Spur and its as bad and if not worse then he has relayed, I know of several times that the rear duals came off of our trucks at speed and sometimes hit other vechicles. Ford's response has been to send a different style wheel studs that have a larger shoulder and different thread guage, it seems to have worked as we haven't had any problems lately.

doug
02-25-2006, 11:22 PM
We Have A Whole Fleet Of Them For Serv.buckets And 450 For Crew
Truck Etc.
I Had The Nut Come Loose.lucky I Heard The Noise.
My Co Worker Wasn't As Lucky.his Stud Broke Off And Rolled
His Serv.bucket Several Times.he Ok.truck Wasn't Overload
We Now Put Lugnut Pointer On Each Nut To Help Spot Loose Nuts.
We Put Them On Any Two-part Lug Nut.
We Also Had Major Trans.problem On The Older One.
Also Major Brake Problems.don't Last.
The New Seem To Always Have Some Kind Of Recall On Them??
We Are Going To Start Trying Some Of The New Chevy 5500 4x4

Good Luck With Those Fords And Check Those Lugs

Doug

lineman61520
03-04-2006, 12:22 AM
I watched both of my rear tires pass me one day. You almost have to a be trained as a stock car driver when you drive the ford 550. This truck only has 150,000 miles and she'll be lucky to make through the year.

lineman61520
03-04-2006, 12:27 AM
Are mechanic also said that we needed a special spring to be put on the rear that these trucks are not built to carry the weight. (the bed is steal and not fiber glass?

md2
03-04-2006, 07:24 PM
we have several of them and the main problem is the tranny but this is due to the fact that most of them are 3 to 5 thousand pounds overweight

ZapCzar
03-23-2006, 08:24 PM
We had the same problem with the ford 550 trucks. Over 24 trucks lost there wheels because of the lug nuts coming loose. The company finally got a representative of Ford to check it after the company threatened to sue Ford if they got one of us killed. What they found was when the bucket was at full extend over the sides the studs could not stand the stress. All studs where replaced, all are torque to 165 lbs, and arrow indicators are installed so you can tell when one is backing off. A good rule to remember is after a wheel has been removed and reinstalled, drive it bout 5 miles then let the tire shop hit the lugs again. I have lost 2 sets of tires, I count lug nuts when I fill up now. :)

MikeDBowen
09-14-2006, 10:50 PM
I've recently had problems with the F550 rear wheel studs breaking off, I had no knowledge of the problems with the F550 till this happened...and started researching the F550's. I emailed Ford Company, no response as of yet. Is Ford taking care of the problem when contacted with this issue? This has to be documented problem, so why has Ford not had a recall. This just happened to me Monday driving 65-70 mph on interstate when I lost both right rear wheels, pulling a trailer.