Weird intermittent bad steering wobble...

Babyhauler · January 11, 2013

Anybody know what this is?

Visited a customer about 30 miles away, 20 interstate & 10 state hwy. Drove fine. Left after 2 hours and after 3-4 miles at about 40 mph on the hwy, the steering wheel had a bad shake like you get in a 4 x 4 with mud stuck on the rim. On the interstate, it was worse about 60-65 mph & got smoother around 80. 45-55 was bad. BIG shaking! It did track straight. It seemed like even the dash was shaking side to side. The headrest shook a little, but was fairley still. This happened mildly once a few weeks ago also. If it was a farmtruck I grew up in, I would have gone & cleaned the inside of the rims. Ya'll don't think a cat was hanging in the rim for my trip back? Probably not. I went to the office & ran a few errands around there. I then visited another customer a couple hours later, 25 miles interstate & 8 miles of county roads. It drove smooth and straight. Instant repair!

That is a new one on me. My tire shop had not seen that before. One guessed wheel bearing, my gm tech guessed ball joints. Alignment guy remembered all was fine & tight when he did alignment a few months back. Apparently the previous owner had replaced all the wear items. My shop did the alignment & a rotate & balance a few months back. I did develop a brake shudder after their work. I do not know if they overtorqued the lugs, warping the rotor or what causes the shudder, but the brakes were fine before.

I had to remove a rear wheel & it was all I could do to break the lugs loose with my 4 way. Wrench was twisting! They have been like this for 3 months, why would they go crazy for 30 miles & then fix themselves same day? It was not a bouncing action like a tire out of balance. It was shaking like I had hit some RR tracks hard & it kept shaking. Weird. Okay guys, fix it.

Thank you,

Babyhauler

SILVERADOSC540 · January 11, 2013

If you're hauling babies I'd double check everything. Ball joints, tie rods, wheel weights/balance, etc...

Babyhauler · January 13, 2013

Still hauling babies. 1st one is big as me now. Man I'm getting old.

I searched and found alot of death wobble info on 4 x 4 trucks, but not much on stock 2wd. I believe that is what is happening.

203,800 miles might have caused some steering component wear. I got the truck 6 mo ago with 191,000 miles on it. It drives fine. What & how do I need to check it all. What needs to be changed first if all appears to be okay, which means all of it is shot. Jack it up & see what wiggles? I'm guessing it should just be steering items & not ball joints or control arm bushings. Let me know if you had this on a 2wd & what it took to fix it.

Thank you

SILVERADOSC540 · January 13, 2013

I'm sorry I really don't have good answers for you. I have limited suspension knowledge/experience and a good shop that I trust. I would ask around, find a good alignment shop and let them know your symptoms. If they are reputable you can get a free estimate. Let us know how it turns out. Until then, be careful.

waumo1 · January 13, 2013

Yes jack it up so both front wheels are off the ground. Take a hold of the front and back of one wheel and work it back and forth and you will probably see the problem. You can examine the bushing, etc visually. I suspect you will find the problem pretty easily.

gmtech4 · January 14, 2013

I'm sorry I really don't have good answers for you. I have limited suspension knowledge/experience and a good shop that I trust. I would ask around, find a good alignment shop and let them know your symptoms. If they are reputable you can get a free estimate. Let us know how it turns out. Until then, be careful.

+100,

take it to a shop ,have them perform a front end inspection,,,,,make SURE they can duplicate the concern,,better yet ,go with the tech ...

Babyhauler · January 14, 2013

Thanks guys,

My alignment guy knows his stuff from kit cars, sports cars, rock crawlers and most things in between. He was the first person I told this to, he did not know. I bet if I told him Dodge death wobble, I am sure he has heard of that. He will know how to fix it.

I drove over 200 miles today. Empty going, & 500lbs in bed coming back, no problems. I will get started on this soon.

Babyhauler