Expert in the house? Suspension...Tires....am i crazy?

[sleepchamber]

I am losing my mind here. 1985 Scottsdale 305/th350c I installed new tires four months ago and after about a month i started getting a wobble in the front end between 35mph through 55mph.....becomes a vibration at higher speeds. Cant really say that it was occuring before the new tires, I barely drove the truck since the tires were so dry-rotted. Really noticible when cornering at these speeds. I installed new ball joints upper and lower....new bearings and races.....mechanic who installed balljoints says that all suspension parts are still good and tight. Took the truck to the goodyear dealer who said that all four were out of balance...they balanced them....was good for about a month....still felt a bit of wobble at times. After that month the wobble started getting worse again....took it to another goodyear dealer who roadbalanced the tires and said two were out of balance and one of the rims was barely warped. Rotated the wheels all around....adjusted air pressure up and down...have now installed new brake rotors thinking that they had to be the culprit......guess what.....still have a wobble. Goodyear says it cannot be the tires....WHAT THE heck?

[wyattglock]

I want to start by saying I really hope you get this figured out! In my experience, I haven't found a Goodyear tire that will stay balanced. That said, maybe you should try and take them to a non-Goodyear tire shop. See if they can balance and rotate them for you, usually it can be done pretty cheap. Don't tell them about any of the vibration issues and see if they come back with a different answer than the dealer. It might not be the tires, but if the suspension parts are new, the tires are where I would start looking.

[J Knight]

The first thing I would do is jack the truck up and roll the wheels by hand. Look for and wobble, bend in the rims, bead not seated to the rim correctly, and knots in the tires. Sometimes the belts inside the tire and you can usually see it in the tread as you roll the tire. Another thing you can do is borrow a set of wheels and tires from a friend or family member just for a test drive to see for sure if its the tires/rims or the truck causing the problem.

[spencer_41188]

just curious how much gap is in the stearing wheel. how far can you turn the steering wheel befor the wheels turn the problem may be in the sterring box and cheak the frame rail the steering box may have cracked the frame also it maybe time for shocks
the stearing box can be adjusted and the frame can be welded and reinforced

they only came up with the name goodyear because you only get 1 good year with them

[sleepchamber]

Steering is tight...no play at all. Frame is good where the box is mounted. Guess imma have to take it to a shop and have them look until they find what the problem is.....it isnt very enjoyable to drive more than five miles. this was the first set of Goodyears i have ever bought.....never again will i stray from the BF's!

[Firebirdjones]

I've never personally had any troubles with goodyear tires, I've had a set on the back of my 79 1 ton for 15 years. Well past their age expectancy (I should change them just for that reason ) My 69 Mach I still has Goodyear Polyglass tires on it I bought in the 80's. Although flat spotted from sitting all these years, they recently balanced fine when I brought the car out of retirement this summer. (due to age they should be changed too).

It could be that you received a bad tire with a bad belt? Hard to say without being there. That's not uncommon since I've recently had a string of BF Goodrich tires with bad belts, (actually baseball sized knots forming on the sidewalls on 2 different sets). I got tired of dealing with tire shops and balancers so I bought my own electronic spin balance machine and neumatic tire changer about 10 years ago.

I've never had a tire I couldn't balance, old or new. Sometimes I think the shops either don't want to spend the time to do it right or they just want to sell you something more. My father has run into this issue before, and kept taking it back because it was supposed to be free rotation and balance for the life of the tire. Afterwards he would always bring the truck back to me complaining of vibrations (shop couldn't get it right after 3 tries) I balanced them and it was fine.

[motornut]

a weird wobble for me turned out a rearu joint was toast...

[tucsonjwt]

Just a thought - eyeball the tires and see if the sidewalls have a bulge in them in certain spots. That's what I had on Goodyear Wranglers on new Silverados I have owned. Move the tires with the worst sidewalls to the rear.
There are shops which have "on the car" wheel balancing. Example here:

http://www.butlertire.com/services.asp

[thesickc10]

i had crappy no name tires on the front of my truck that i didnt even bother to balance and had the same wobble 35-55. After 55 all i could feel was a faint shake. Put on new american racing rims and dunlop tires drives like a caddy now. The best thing to do when trying to solve something is pretend youre stupid. When you have knowledge it will start to play tricks on you. Start with the very basics and work your way up. good luck!

[legendman]

Originally Posted by sleepchamber

this was the first set of Goodyears i have ever bought.....never again will i stray from the BF's!

I find this funny because never again will I run BF's lol
Had a broken belt on a BF.

[Firebirdjones]

Originally Posted by legendman

I find this funny because never again will I run BF's lol
Had a broken belt on a BF.

Yep, I've had several BFG's that form baseball sized knots in the sidewalls and on the tread. 2 different sets most recently. In BFG's defense both examples were about 10 years old, well past the life expectancy. Too bad they were on cars seldom driven and the tread still looked brand new

I still run BFG's on 3 different cars simply because they offer the sizes I need that other tire manufactures don't carry or act like it's too difficult to obtain.

[sleepchamber]

man.....have had an alignment shop and driveshaft shop look at this.....they cant find the problem. Replaced front rotors and rear drums. Talk to the folks at the transmission shop who say it cant be the trans....that i would feel the vibration at the same rpm no matter what gears. I have determined that the problem is not the wheels or tires since i have rotated and swapped with spares and all. Can feel it in the seat...not the steering wheel at all. All thats left is the rear end....axle bearings?

[C-10 simplex]

1) First, NEVER take a car to goodyear EVER. Will elaborate later why. The tires may be ok, but the dealers are certainly not. Very unethical.

2) The tires may be out of round. Has this been checked?

i would say the issue here is not necessarily the parts, but finding an ethical shop.


http://www.cartalk.com/mechanics-search

i would suggest trying to locate a shop near you that has this machine:
http://www.gsp9700.com/

[C-10 simplex]

Originally Posted by thesickc10

i had crappy no name tires on the front of my truck that i didnt even bother to balance and had the same wobble 35-55. After 55 all i could feel was a faint shake. Put on new american racing rims and dunlop tires drives like a caddy now. The best thing to do when trying to solve something is pretend youre stupid. When you have knowledge it will start to play tricks on you. Start with the very basics and work your way up. good luck!

Do you really live in New Hope? Lucky you; one of my favorite places.

[boatpuller]

If it was me, I would try and borrow some tires and wheels just to see if that could be eliminated. It sounds like there out of balance. Take it to a non Goodyear place that doesn't have any loyalty to them. Iv'e had out of balance tires with similar symptoms before and the tire place tried to tell me i had a bent rim. Turned out their tire was out of round.

[chebyshortbox65]

Check leaf spring bushings,ujoints,and pinion angle,is it lowerd I have a high speed vibration I have tracked it down to the rear Carrier I belive when I pulled the rear diff cover I found the crossshaft pin was lose in the carrier so it moves around needs new pin and carrier which I have found to be a common problem with the truck 12 bolt
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[Axle]

When you had it in to badyear, where you in the shop? I always like to watch the wheel spin on the balancer so I can 1. See if my wheel has a wobble. 2. See if the tire runs true and without wobble. I've caught more than 1 tire that had a noticable "jerk" to the side before it got put back on my vehicle.

Alex.

[INSIDIOUS '86]

Have your driveshaft and your rear axle bearings checked. Your driveshaft may be reaching critical speed which isn't hard to do with our toothpick driveshafts
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[str8axle55]

A friend of mine had a similar with Goodyears, after also switching from BFG`s. It ended up being the tires, after the 5th trip to the Goodyear dealer, a rep came out, looked at them, and gave him a credit on 4 new Michelin`s. You say you swapped them around, did you try swapping all 4 out with another truck. I would also check the U-joints. I think you need to find a good shop. I clickd the link for that GSP9700 Hunter machine, and in the testimonials are pics of my old shop, and my bay, LOL.

[sleepchamber]

It appears to be the rear end....everything in the differential....is worn and loose fitting.....this is going to hurt.

[Billett]

I was going to suggest you check the bolts for your seat if that's the only place you feel it haha

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by str8axle55

A friend of mine had a similar with Goodyears, after also switching from BFG`s. It ended up being the tires, after the 5th trip to the Goodyear dealer, a rep came out, looked at them, and gave him a credit on 4 new Michelin`s. You say you swapped them around, did you try swapping all 4 out with another truck. I would also check the U-joints. I think you need to find a good shop. I clickd the link for that GSP9700 Hunter machine, and in the testimonials are pics of my old shop, and my bay, LOL.

When I was a ride and handling engineer on these trucks I always had an extra set of Michelin tire/wheel assemblies built up and standing by - for just such an emergency.

The Michelins were better out of the box than any other brand even after the others had been balanced, vectored and shaved.

K

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Firebirdjones

I got tired of dealing with tire shops and balancers so I bought my own electronic spin balance machine and neumatic tire changer about 10 years ago.

I should do this, too. I'd like to hear more about your setup (perhaps you could start a new thread, with some pics, if you are willing).

K

[rs74]

Originally Posted by sleepchamber

It appears to be the rear end....everything in the differential....is worn and loose fitting.....this is going to hurt.

I just came across your thread and I was going to suggest the rear end. The 12 bolt in my 85 short bed is in need of rebuilding. It has a wobble too. I took it out of another short bed that had a four speed in it and I wasnt too kind to the drive train. Slamming gears is hard on them.