45mph Death wobble with kids in the truck

[Just4Fun]

I just finished up the balljoints on my 86 GMC k1500 short bed. Has the 10 bolt front - I noticed my steering box was loose when doing the ball joints so I tightened it back up good. Feels better but something still isn't right.

Before, I could feel the tires wobbling which was scary, but now its like the tires want to turn instead of staying straight. What I mean is.. Driving slow I'm ok but once I get past 30 or 40 mph I can feel the steering wheel wanting to go left and right very quickly. So give er some gas and the steering wheel starts shaking along with the truck... Sometimes I can kinda speed through it and it levels out at about 55 but I still feel an erie kinda shake to the truck.

Whats goin on here???

The tie rods & drag link have a snug kinda swival to them and do not rattle in there socket like those old ball joints did so I didn't think they had completely failed yet..

Has 31 / 10.50 / 15 A/T on 15 x 10 eagle alloy (MT look-a-likes) - has not been aligned since upgrade from 15 x 8.5 wheels but still has same size tires.

 

[Just4Fun]

Hmm well the tires and steering wheel stopped shaking since the balljoints. This is good. Felt like it was trying to have the same problem but I guess I just haven't driven it enough in a while.

What it's really doing is wandering and darting off.

It appears the truck wants to dart left or right on rough highways where it's uneven from road patches and what not.

I'm going to measure the toe in/out come daylight. hopefully it's that simple

What are the effects of a bent sway bar?

 

[imiceman44]

Hmm well the tires and steering wheel stopped shaking since the balljoints. This is good. Felt like it was trying to have the same problem but I guess I just haven't driven it enough in a while.

What it's really doing is wandering and darting off.

It appears the truck wants to dart left or right on rough highways where it's uneven from road patches and what not.

I'm going to measure the toe in/out come daylight. hopefully it's that simple

What are the effects of a bent sway bar?

First, when you tightened the steering, did you do that on the box?
If you did you tightened it too much and that makes the centering of the box go away.
Too much preload on the sector shaft.
The wider wheels also create more drag since they are more offset and that makes irregularities on the road affect you more, so it's only normal, though making sure the alignement is good is definitely something you should do.

 

[cegusman]

Also check and make sure the tire pressure matches on both sides

 

[Just4Fun]

First, when you tightened the steering, did you do that on the box?
If you did you tightened it too much and that makes the centering of the box go away.
Too much preload on the sector shaft.
The wider wheels also create more drag since they are more offset and that makes irregularities on the road affect you more, so it's only normal, though making sure the alignement is good is definitely something you should do.

The steering box had loosened up from the frame so I tightened those 4 bolts back down. No cracks in the frame there. I haven't gone into the box at all, it is still pretty responsive...