Steering Shakes

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Toshi38

Toshi38

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Jul 23, 2008
Threads
117
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2,554
Location
Malmö, Sweden
Well I got tires/rims mounted and balanced today with the hope that I'd be mobile and not stuck in saanichton but I have a wicked steering wheel shake at 50km+ or so...

Any suggestions what this could be?

Could it be from alignment being out?

I have fresh rust on one TRE (on the drag link) so it looks like they hit that pretty hard (probably the same rock that hit the bumper)

See Picture...
TRE.jpg
 
Are they running in the same direction as they were? Radials should always be run in the same direction. I would shuffle them around.
 
drag link shouldn't affect toe, so it shouldn't shake the truck (steering wheel might be crooked tho). Only extreme toe problems will make it wobbly anyways.... should be alright to run any modern tire backwards. 50 km/h is pretty low for a balance problem, so separated belts, bent rim, is likely going on. By just spinning the tires, you should be able to see whats going on.
 
The steering stabilizer was the issue on my 60 when it happened to me. That being said, i've had the "dodge death wobble" on my old 12valve and it was balding tires. The second time i replaced tie-rods and ball joints all in one shot. A good hit to the front end will make it happen.
Good luck!
 
at a glance it appears to be toed out... which I'm hoping is the problem... also possible that its bent rim... i doubt broken belts as these tires were on this truck before and didn't have any issue.

when the tire shop mounted/balanced the tires they didn't say anything about bent rims/broken belts... is that something they should have brought up?
 
Toshi38 said:
at a glance it appears to be toed out... which I'm hoping is the problem... also possible that its bent rim... i doubt broken belts as these tires were on this truck before and didn't have any issue.

when the tire shop mounted/balanced the tires they didn't say anything about bent rims/broken belts... is that something they should have brought up?
Click to expand...

Maybe.

I'd guess bent rim.
 
I had a pretty vigorous shake in my 42 a while back...seems to have gotten better, or maybe I'm just becoming better able to ignore it...


I'd thought the same thing, bent rim, separated tire, but like you, it was something I figgered the tire shop would've mentioned...

but it's a lot better now, so I've moved to the idea that it was really cold the day it shook the worst, and maybe I had a flat spot..although I didn't think radials were supposed to do that.

if you have a 5th mounted tire you can figger out which one it is fairly quickly
 
Radials will do it.

seapotato said:
I had a pretty vigorous shake in my 42 a while back...seems to have gotten better, or maybe I'm just becoming better able to ignore it...


I'd thought the same thing, bent rim, separated tire, but like you, it was something I figgered the tire shop would've mentioned...

but it's a lot better now, so I've moved to the idea that it was really cold the day it shook the worst, and maybe I had a flat spot..although I didn't think radials were supposed to do that.

if you have a 5th mounted tire you can figger out which one it is fairly quickly
Click to expand...

After sitting for two years, the front end of my truck did a pretty good dance when I got out on the highway. Once the tires warmed up it improved. Now, a few years later, the tires seem round again. That's with radials:D
 
Rigpig said:
The steering stabilizer was the issue on my 60 when it happened to me. That being said, i've had the "dodge death wobble" on my old 12valve and it was balding tires. The second time i replaced tie-rods and ball joints all in one shot. A good hit to the front end will make it happen.
Good luck!
Click to expand...

I haven't run a steering stablizer in almost 10 years, no death wobble, well maybe a little when the tires get below 10psi...

Toshi38 said:
at a glance it appears to be toed out... which I'm hoping is the problem... also possible that its bent rim... i doubt broken belts as these tires were on this truck before and didn't have any issue.

when the tire shop mounted/balanced the tires they didn't say anything about bent rims/broken belts... is that something they should have brought up?
Click to expand...

Its not hard to get an estimate on the toe in, the hanes manual expains it pretty simply. Or a tape measure can half ass it. If the tie rod got hit or bent it would toe it in more, I doubt this has changed. The tire shop would have pointed out a bent rim. I have a bent one that has a pound of lead on it. It will be ovbious.

I'll ask again, do you know if the tires are rotating the same direction as they were run the last time they were on the truck? Were they marked with the last positions they were run? I "rotated" the tires shortly after I got my cruiser and did the criss cross tire rotation... Drove like crap after that so I switched them so the tires were running in the same direction as they had been. Switch some tires around. Or come drive my truck one cold morning and then yours will feel like a Cadilac...
 
Toshi38 said:
Goodbye steering shakes!

Thanks for all your help Jason...

An alignment and an idiot check fixed the problem. The rims that I had picked up weren't designed for drum brakes... and I had 2 small Philips screw heads sticking out the back... remove these and no more shakes!
Click to expand...

Well easy fix then. Glad to hear it worked out.
 
Toshi38 said:
Goodbye steering shakes!

Thanks for all your help Jason...

An alignment and an idiot check fixed the problem. The rims that I had picked up weren't designed for drum brakes... and I had 2 small Philips screw heads sticking out the back... remove these and no more shakes!
Click to expand...

Don't worry, I'm sure those screws weren't too important.:hillbilly:
 
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