Truck wiggles

[RedKing]

When I'm on the freeway between 65-70 she starts to drift side to side but between 55-60 she doesn't I was thinking about updating her front end with all new parts from rock auto can anyone tell how I can fix this problem before I go and over spend.

Thank you

 

[B-train]

You should do a thorough inspection by lifting the front up so you can inspect tie rods,ball joints, wheel bearings, rack and pinion / gear box. Make.model year will help

 

[strutaeng]

Ya. Do the shake test of the tires while front end is off the ground. 12 & 6 o'clock, then 9 & 3 o'clock, then spin the wheels.

Mileage is good to know. Is everything original?

I did a complete front-end overhaul on my 99 Silverado last summer. It had 270k and I recall only some bushings had been replaced a while back. My ball joints were worn out. Last few times I drove it the truck it vibrated/shaked pretty bad around 60 MPH. I knew it was time for some TLC.

After an alignment, truck drives like a new 1999 truck.

 

[OR VietVet]

When doing the inspection: Use a jack and lift real close to lower ball joint and get the front tire(s) off the ground about 1" to 2" and use a pry bar at 6 o'clock and lift up and down with the pry bar and check the ball joint play. Any up and down play is bad. Then grab the tire at 3 & 9 and 6 & 12 and shake as hard as you can to check bearing play and look at the control arm bushings. When the tires are back on the ground and running, have a friend move the steering wheel from 3 to 9 o'clock repeatedly and look at all the tie rod and pitman arm and idler arm socket points and again, up and down play is bad. They should be rolling on the ball sockets. Look for any moisture coming out of the boots. Look for any damaged grease boots. Check the steering gear mount at the frame. Check for slop at the steering shaft. I use small pry bars to check up and down play because a human's strength is not the same as the pressures experienced by the steering and suspension when weight is on ground and being driven. Inspect the rear trailing arm mounts. Check all sway bar links and attaching points. Check all shock mounts and bushings.

 

[SnowDrifter]

Vet nailed the checks

If all of those come back good, couple more bits to check:

- Rear bushings. Those are pretty straight forward to look at. For the 4 control arms: Shove a pry bar between the mount and the control arm and give it some grunt. See if it moves. It shouldn't.

- For the track bar, do the same, but the also push the car side to side and note play there. Side to side being more of a yaw motion than a roll motion. You want to move the car side to side, not tilt it from side to side. Just push down low.

- Sanity check brakes aren't dragging

- Check rear axle free play. Lift the wheels of the ground, ebrake off. There should be a minutia (like 0.2mm) freeplay on the wheels up and down, and little (<2-3mm) freeplay in and out (c clip tolerances).

- Verify ride height / shocks are good. Bounce the car, should stop in short order. Ride height... I don't remember off the top of my head. Just tape measure check though. Not *super* exact.

- Can rotate tires as last check



If all of that checks out, then it would be worth your time to have alignment checked. Camber/caster angles come to mind on something like this.


Also reminder to check that the center link in the front is installed correctly

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Welcome to the Forum from NH.

Lots of knowledgeable folks here who freely share their knowledge, experiences, and perspectives. Knowledge is power.

I hope that you will become a participating member in the Forum's discussions.

Pics of the truck, please.

You are already receiving sage advice from the knowledgeable folks on this Forum.

As you can see, the main message here is to inspect yourself (or take it to someone who is well versed in suspensions) before firing off the parts cannon at Rock Auto. This way, you will resolve your issue at the least cost to you.

 

[OR VietVet]

Like @SnowDrifter said, You can have too much caster and get a shimmy from it. If you do not get an alignment and just a check, post the print out readings here, please.