Wheel Wobble

[Ardee83]

Last summer one of my buddies noticed that the passenger rear tire was wobbling. I had him drive the truck I followed behind. Man does it wobble it's worse at slow speeds and when I hit 65+ mph I get some vibration.

I had an idea yesterday to swap the rear tires to see if it was possibly a bent rim, but the same issue remained on the passenger rear tire. I have read a few other threads regarding people with similar issues but there are very few.

My very first thought is bent axle. But instead of just diving into oh better go buy a new rear axle; I would like to eliminate some of the other issues it may be. That is where I need everyone's help I don't know what could be causing this issue. Please chime in and let me know your thoughts. 1983 2wd SWB c10 Thanks Ryan

[nekkidhillbilly]

bad wheel bearing?

[Ski-me]

If the axle shaft is a suspect, pull the diff cover and c-clip out. Swap the axle shafts and then see if it now occurs on other side. If so, maybe you just replace one axle shaft from junkyard. If your seals are leaking, nows the time to change them too. Pretty easy.

If you swapped and still on same side, swap the drums and see if one of those is out of wack.

Axle bearings also another check.

[BONUSCAB]

Do your wheels have trim rings? Are you sure they are seated fully? If you had a wheel or axle bent enough that you were able to see the wobble, it would be felt at walking speed, and plain old violent at 65 MPH.

[Anchorism]

Originally Posted by BONUSCAB

Do your wheels have trim rings? Are you sure they are seated fully? If you had a wheel or axle bent enough that you were able to see the wobble, it would be felt at walking speed, and plain old violent at 65 MPH.

I had a bent axle shaft on my 01' a few years back and it wasnt as noticable at higher speeds. I wouldnt doubt if it was that though. Fairly easy fix.

[nekkidhillbilly]

a wheel bearing with slack could do this.

[crashz]

Its possible that the axle shaft is bent and possible that the flange on the shaft is bent (from sliding into a curb or something), but I'm with the last two posters and think this could be a wheel bearing.

The bearing are seating into the axle tube and the axle shafts have a machined "race". I had a 12 bolt that had some slack and replaced the bearing, but it was the shaft that was actually worn. That truck had a vibration at speed, but nobody ever complained about a wobble.

So you may have to replace the shaft either way.

[nekkidhillbilly]

jack it up spin and wobble the wheel.

[Ardee83]

Thanks guys for all the input. I will start working on this next Saturday and let everyone know what I find out may need some more input as I am going through it

[Ardee83]

I have taken both axles out. The passenger side wheel bearing is leaking, which is the side with the wobble. So I have decided to replace both the passenger and driver side wheel bearings and seals. However I am stuck, I don't know how to remove the seal and bearing never done it before never seen it done. I am guessing I need some sort of puller?

Will I need some sort of special tool when I install the new ones? Will I need to pack them or should I just give them a good dunk in the old oil? Thanks Ryan

[Katrina/10]

The seal is easy, just pry it out with a crowbar. The bearing is very difficult to remove without a special slide hammer tool. I have cut them into pieces with a Dremel, but it's a pain.

[Ski-me]

Originally Posted by Katrina/10

The seal is easy, just pry it out with a crowbar. The bearing is very difficult to remove without a special slide hammer tool. I have cut them into pieces with a Dremel, but it's a pain.

Go to your local Autozone or O'Reilys and get a wheel bearing removing tool and also a wheel bearing installing tool. These are free once you return them back to the store. They even have a seal removal tool as well.

I bet there is something on YouTube as well that shows the whole process.

Here is a similar looking bearing removal tool (different sizes)
And a slide hammer to pull the bearing out
Seal Removal tool
Bearing/seal installer

[nekkidhillbilly]

you can buy that at harbor frieght cheap too

[Ardee83]

I replaced both bearings and seals and put it back together and still have the wobble. Next weekend I am going to switch the axle shafts and see what comes of that. I will update when complete.

[Milo's 72]

Jack up the truck put jack stands under the rear end.take off the wheels and brake drums.with the truck in neutral start it up and put it in gear have some one watch the axle for wobble.if it's bent you will see it.you may have to use a board as a guide.ask some of your friends if they know how to do this.i was five the first time I helped my dad do this that was forty two years ago.hell my wife knows how to do it and she knows nothing about cars she says. Lol once you have watched to see if it's bent shut the engine off and let the motion come to a stop before you put it in park.do not touch the brake pedal with drums off that will lead to a lot of cursing.hope this helps sometimes a little more details is all one needs.

[Milo's 72]

Hey have you checked to see if you have a slipped belt.even new tires have bad belts.every time I buy a set of cooper cobras I get bad belts so I don't buy them anymore.a slipped belt will give a visible wobble.

[nekkidhillbilly]

had problems with falkens doing that

[Ardee83]

Sorry has taken me so long to respond. I originally thought it was a bad tire, so I had them replace it, but the problem still persisted. After going through all the steps and process of elimination, it leaves me with it being a bent axle. When I have some free time I will pull and axle from a junk yard and replace my existing axle. If it is not this I will be at a loss. I will post an update once I complete this step.

[Ardee83]

On the comment of a new axle, does it have to be from another 2WD or will one from a 4WD work? Can I use any year 73-87? Anything else I would need to look for when pulling the axle from the junk yard truck?

[mrolds88]

2wd has 5 lug 4wd has 6. Might be a small width variation too. Try to swap your wheels side to side also.

[Ardee83]

Thanks I will look for a 2wd axle. Swapping the wheels side to side was the 3rd thing I did. First was replacing the tire hoping it was bad, the second was to verify the rim was not bent. Thanks for everyone's help. I will post the final result of the axle swap once its complete. I want to close the thread all the way to hopefully help someone in the future if they have a similar problem

[mickeykreg]

Hey Ardee, you ever figger this out?

[Ardee83]

Mickeykreg, sorry for such a delayed response, especially to all who have been following this thread. All summer long I have had the truck at a buddy's house who was doing a bit of body work on it for me, so I never got to complete the wheel wobble. Earlier this week I ended up ordering a new axle from LMC. It will be here on Friday the 2nd. I wont get around to installing it until the next weekend. But I will post the result after the axle has been switched out.

[Ardee83]

I compelted the axle change out today and I am proud to report that the wheel wobble is gone. Hope this thread helps anyone else that has the same problem. Thanks for everyone's input along the way

[slotard]

Glad to hear it's fixed. I hope I never have to deal with this, I shouldn't with my 14ff...