sloppy steering

[chartersj]

We have a 2011 Yukon slt with roughly 110k kms on the clock which came with 17" rims. It drove nice and straight and didn't pull into the low spots of the road until I put some 22" escalade rims on. Also over bumps the steering wheel started shaking back and fourth. We had lower ball joints changed at the dealership and everything else they say is tight. It helped a little bit but the problems are still there to the point where my wife and I cannot stand to drive it with the 22's on and have put the 17's back on. I was wondering if my steering rack could have some slop in it from over the years. I know you loose a little ride comfort with 22's but I had them on my 2011 1500 4x4 before we got the Yukon and the truck drove much better then the Yukon with them.

 

[chartersj]

Anyone?

 

[fresh350]

Have you tried to get them re-balanced? If it's slight shaking or vibration and gets worse the faster you go then that could be it. Either that or the tires are beat/ junk if everything else is tight

Edit: just re read it and it sounds like "death wobble" known in the Jeep world... maybe look at the steering stabilizer if equipped. If not look into getting one. Can only help at this point

 

[chartersj]

Have you tried to get them re-balanced? If it's slight shaking or vibration and gets worse the faster you go then that could be it. Either that or the tires are beat/ junk if everything else is tight

Edit: just re read it and it sounds like "death wobble" known in the Jeep world... maybe look at the steering stabilizer if equipped. If not look into getting one. Can only help at this point

Thanks, I will look into a stabilizer. The tires are getting down but will be good for another summer use. We also had them re-balanced when we had the lower ball joints replaced, one had lost a weight, and the wobble stopped at 110km/h but we still getting it over bumps. I don't think it's the tires/rims because I had them on my truck and never had any wobble over bumps, but we never got any wobble with the Yukon untill we put the 22's on. It seems like the extra weight of the escalade rims exaggerate a problem somewheres in the front end. But two different shops said everything is tight. Wondering if it's steering rack or column related

 

[Ex Euro Driver]

Tahoes/Yukons have been known to wear out steering racks. That would be my next move in checking.

 

[chartersj]

Tahoes/Yukons have been known to wear out steering racks. That would be my next move in checking.

OK, how would one go about checking to see if that's where the play is coming from?

 

[Ex Euro Driver]

Only way I know is to put it on an alignment rack. They shouldn't be able to properly align it the front due to the slop.

 

[chartersj]

Only way I know is to put it on an alignment rack. They shouldn't be able to properly align it the front due to the slop.

OK makes sense. Will do that next. Thanks for the help

 

[MichaelSE]

The problem with sloppy steering is that it could be coming from any of a large set of factors. If I were in your situation I would check the tie rod ends, especially outer. GM uses stupid skinny tie rod ends with tiny joints, so they tend to get worn out on a 5000-6000 lb SUV.

Jack up the front of the truck with both front wheels off the ground and have someone turn the wheel very slowly while you watch the rack. Basically you are watching to see if the steering shaft or the tie rods move before the wheels move.

 

[chartersj]

Got an alignment done today and they made a few adjustments. Seems to have made little to no improvement on the steering. The steering itself seems tight but the truck still pulls one way or the other and is very hard to keep driving straight down the road. Doesnt always pull one way sometimes it will be pulling to the left then hit a bump and will start pulling to the right. All the tires have the same psi as well. The steering wheel still shakes a little bit over bumps as well. It's to the point where the wife wants to get rid of it because it's not comfortable to drive any distance the way it is. I don't see how it could be the rims because I had them on my 2011 silverado and my half ton drives normally with them. Any thoughts or suggestions?