Steering Wobble

[catch2otwo]

I have a wobble and its getting worse. Back story, I jacked up the drivers side corner of the truck and upon letting it down I turned the jack handle too fast and it came down faster then I'd liked. That was a few months ago.

At first I noticed a little bit of a wobble in the wheel. At slow speeds at each "wobble" the truck would pull to the right. You could see it in the wheel, each time it wobbled, the steering wheel would turn a little bit to the right.

The wobble is starting to get worse and its noticeable at higher speeds now also. Ive crawled under there and everything looks ok. Wobble seems to only be present going in a straight line, when I turn either left or right it goes away.

Did I mess something up when I let it down too quick? Bent something in the steering maybe? Just wondering where I should start my troubleshoot. Truck is 1968 gmc lwb 2wd. Drum brakes all around. stock everything

[Hawghauler]

I would jack the truck up again and test the wobble in the wheels while mounted and airborn. If they have any wobble at all, something is not right and must be fixed. Grabbing the tire on top and bottom and pushing and pulling should have no movement. If you do have movement, see if you can see any of the control arm bushings or ball joints move. If anything moves it's probably bad. Then side to side checking to see if the steering linkages move. If no movement is visible on the suspension or steering, it's probably wheel bearings. You can also use a small pry bar and check steering joints, ball joints, etc, and if anything moves more that just a tiny bit, it probably needs to be replaced.
If you do it yourself, you can replace most of the suspension parts for relatively cheap. Just use Moog parts and rent for free the necessary tools from an O'reilly auto parts or many other auto parts retailers.
It might be best to swing in to a Les Schwab or other local tire company and they will most likely check everything for free and let you know what needs replacing. If it's all original or at least really old, you could be in for a little expenditure. I think the jack drop probably exacerbated and existing condition, and you would have been experiencing it soon anyway.
I wouldn't recommend driving it much further until you inspect it as described or having a professional inspect it.
I've just replaced all my bushings and joints, and it wasn't really that hard or expensive. Check the threads and they will tell you the best procedures for doing it yourself.

If you're not confident in your own abilities, definitely see a professional, as this could be something that can bite you pretty hard if it all goes south at the right time.

[ole dollor]

Originally Posted by Hawghauler

I would jack the truck up again and test the wobble in the wheels while mounted and airborn. If they have any wobble at all, something is not right and must be fixed. Grabbing the tire on top and bottom and pushing and pulling should have no movement. If you do have movement, see if you can see any of the control arm bushings or ball joints move. If anything moves it's probably bad. Then side to side checking to see if the steering linkages move. If no movement is visible on the suspension or steering, it's probably wheel bearings. You can also use a small pry bar and check steering joints, ball joints, etc, and if anything moves more that just a tiny bit, it probably needs to be replaced.
If you do it yourself, you can replace most of the suspension parts for relatively cheap. Just use Moog parts and rent for free the necessary tools from an O'reilly auto parts or many other auto parts retailers.
It might be best to swing in to a Les Schwab or other local tire company and they will most likely check everything for free and let you know what needs replacing. If it's all original or at least really old, you could be in for a little expenditure. I think the jack drop probably exacerbated and existing condition, and you would have been experiencing it soon anyway.
I wouldn't recommend driving it much further until you inspect it as described or having a professional inspect it.
I've just replaced all my bushings and joints, and it wasn't really that hard or expensive. Check the threads and they will tell you the best procedures for doing it yourself.

If you're not confident in your own abilities, definitely see a professional, as this could be something that can bite you pretty hard if it all goes south at the right time.

what he said x 2

[Ol Blue K20]

Also check tires might have a tread separating

[hugger6933]

You have what sounds to me like a tire issue and it is probably totally unrelated to the jack issue these trucks are a little bit tougher than that. Think about the abuse that tons of them see on the trails on the weekends. I still say tire belt issues. 99 times of 100 they start out on a low speed wobble like when pulling up to a stop light, or away from one low speed. Jim

[JCD]

Originally Posted by hugger6933

You have what sounds to me like a tire issue and it is probably totally unrelated to the jack issue these trucks are a little bit tougher than that. Think about the abuse that tons of them see on the trails on the weekends. I still say tire belt issues. 99 times of 100 they start out on a low speed wobble like when pulling up to a stop light, or away from one low speed. Jim

I agree.
I just went through this same thing.
And for the few times I looked at the tire to check,
it never seemed to show up in a visual search.
The wobble got worse until the tire was really bulging and by then quite visually noticeable.

You probably separated the tread from the inner rubber when you dropped it hard, causing a weak spot under the tread.
Mine began wobbling after I hit a speed bump too fast.

J.

[Sicklajoie]

I'd swap the front and rear tires and test drive it to see if it's a tire issue then go from there.

[catch2otwo]

Thanks for the replies. Ill get the front in the air this afternoon and check.

So if I understood right.

Jack up front wheel. Grab it at 3 and 9 oclock. Try to wiggle it back and forth and see if there is any slop in the steering? Same thing with 12 and 6 o clock?

I do buy the tire idea also. The tires that the previous owner put on this thing look pretty worn. They are some generic all terrain. Its got bfg mt on the rear, not sure they will fit on the front as they rub on the inner wheel well when the trucks loaded down.

[tinkerdad]

Not sure if this will cause your issue, these trucks have a tendency to wallow out the front shock mount bolt hole in the frame, check it while you’re under there

[catch2otwo]

Originally Posted by tinkerdad

Not sure if this will cause your issue, these trucks have a tendency to wallow out the front shock mount bolt hole in the frame, check it while you’re under there

Copy that.


Also, if its a tire issue, will it cause the truck to pull to the right with each wobble?

[Hawghauler]

Originally Posted by catch2otwo

Thanks for the replies. Ill get the front in the air this afternoon and check.

So if I understood right.

Jack up front wheel. Grab it at 3 and 9 oclock. Try to wiggle it back and forth and see if there is any slop in the steering? Same thing with 12 and 6 o clock?

I do buy the tire idea also. The tires that the previous owner put on this thing look pretty worn. They are some generic all terrain. Its got bfg mt on the rear, not sure they will fit on the front as they rub on the inner wheel well when the trucks loaded down.

Correct. 12 and 6 will reveal suspension wear/damage. It would help if you had someone watching while you did the movement. Sometimes it's hard to see such small movements by yourself.
Good luck

[Prematuregrey]

Yup, tire issue is what it sounds like to me. I'd swap front to rear and see if it migrates before going any further check air pressures as well. Then go into the excellent suspension recommendations already posted.

[catch2otwo]

cool ill try it this afternoon

[sboris]

Belt slipped for sure I'm betting. If its bad enough it pulls right on the wobble, you shouldn't have to rotate them to verify. Looking at the tread pattern head on while rotating it elevated, the tread will have some sort of deformed look or curve to it. Common problem in an old tire.

[catch2otwo]

You guys were right. Jacked up the truck and spun the tire and sure enough there is a big old buldge. It also has split the outer rubber.

http://youtu.be/7PJJoTnjYZs

[Sicklajoie]

Originally Posted by catch2otwo

You guys were right. Jacked up the truck and spun the tire and sure enough there is a big old buldge. It also has split the outer rubber.

http://youtu.be/7PJJoTnjYZs

That would cause quite the vibration!
Glad it was something simple.

[Ol Blue K20]

Glad you found it....

[ole dollor]

congrats.....good to have the problem solved.

[catch2otwo]

me too. now to pick out some tires. time to get rid of this mud truck look.

[sboris]

Originally Posted by catch2otwo

me too. now to pick out some tires. time to get rid of this mud truck look.

Super! Now ya get to pick out some new shoes! How about some before and after pics?

[hugger6933]

This brings to mind one of my all time favorite cartoon quotes"He is right about me being right". The tire clock thing, let me expand on that just breifly if I may[if I can do anything quickly you all have seen my posts]the 12 and 6 O'clock positions are gonna give you indications of slack or wear in the ball joints or wheel bearings. The rocking the clock in the 9 and 3 O'clock positions will give you information about the steering linkage such as the tie rod ends both inner and outer and even to some degree the idler arm and pitman arm. now if your tire is lose when you grab it at say 10:30 and 4:45 and can shake it well.....