My truck is NOT wandering anymore! Thanks guys. Truck is back from shop

[DK5]

But, the steering box its self was turning the wheels back and forth slightly with the steering wheel held steady.

We had jacked up the front end to look for play, and we cranked up the engine for some reason.
The wheels started jerking slightly from one way and then another.


You could also try turning the steering wheel with them off the ground and the engine running to see if they move smoothly.

I will try these things. Thanks Fordum.

 

[DK5]

Well, here is where I'm at:

-steering box is bolted tight to frame from what I can tell (all bolts are tight)
-wiggled tires up and down and side to side while jacked up and no play noted.
-also grabbed and yanked on tie-rod ends, drag link, and pitman arm with wheels off ground nothing abnormal noted.
-lug nuts are tight
-u-joints on either side of front axle are good.
-turned wheels with engine running and they do not move on their own and moves nice and smooth.

What else?
- I noticed that my warn hub covers are loose and the passenger side is leaking a bit of grease.. so maybe bearings??
-like I said earlier, steering box and pitman arm is gross- full of grease and oil
-and that u-joint closest to transfer case needs to be replaced soon.

I really don't want to take everything apart but I'm tempted to start and I might as well throw in my XJ shaft that has been sitting in the garage for 6months +

I don't have a pitman arm puller either.. what other tools will I need? I'll have to find a manual

 

[Fordum]

There is always going to be a tiny amount of slop in any steering system in the real world.
If the toe in or toe out, not sure what the setting is on your truck, is not right, it will hunt all over the place.

In addition to compensating for geometry of the wheel mounting, toe in or out, puts a slight load on the system to take out the slack.

One of the worst steering trucks I ever tried to drive was one that the owner set the tires exactly straight ahead.
Exact same distance apart on the front of the tires as the rear of the tires.

Its easy to check with a tape measure. Someone here will chime in with the correct setting I'm sure.

 

[DK5]

I give up

I'm going to go the easy route . I figure because it is steering we're talking about, best to have the pros properly diagnose it, and if the price is right, fix it. If its a balljoint or whatever then I'll let them do it. If its the steering box, well, I might give it a go or at least supply my own parts for them to install. Will check for cracks in the frame too if that's the case. I'm not a mechanic. And sure I could probably figure things out, it'd probably take me way too long . Not to mention the lack of safety in the event that I do things wrong. Brakes, sure. Suspension, maybe. But steering-I think best to stay on the safe side

Thanks for your help though guys. I will post up what the problem was when I find out for those who are curious.

 

[Russell]

have you recently swapped tires?

I just rotated the tires on my Duramax and suddenly it was wandering too.. Forgot to set the pressure in them properly, so I was overinflated up front. Much better now that I've got them set properly.

 

[shovelbill80]

have you tried to adjust the gear mesh on the box yet? toward the front of the steering box, on top, is a jam nut and an allen screw.

start the truck, center your steering wheel, shut off truck. hold the allen and loosen the jam nut.....turn the allen a quarter turn at a time till some slop is removed.....lock the nut back. .....see if you can at least reduce the slop, don't over do it. if the pitman arm doesn't move at the time the wheel is turned you just may need a new box.

 

[DK5]

have you recently swapped tires?

I just rotated the tires on my Duramax and suddenly it was wandering too.. Forgot to set the pressure in them properly, so I was overinflated up front. Much better now that I've got them set properly.

Its much worse than that, but no have run those same tires all winter. It been progressively getting worse and now its like the truck moves randomly in either direction (a lot) without moving the wheel at all. There is something seriously wrong here.

have you tried to adjust the gear mesh on the box yet? toward the front of the steering box, on top, is a jam nut and an allen screw.

start the truck, center your steering wheel, shut off truck. hold the allen and loosen the jam nut.....turn the allen a quarter turn at a time till some slop is removed.....lock the nut back. .....see if you can at least reduce the slop, don't over do it. if the pitman arm doesn't move at the time the wheel is turned you just may need a new box.

Thanks for the tip. But I think there is more to it than that. Like we're talking a SERIOUS amount of play here to the point of being unsafe even at slow speeds. I'm going to see about getting it in to the shop this week and let them properly diagnose it. I just don't have the know-how or equipment to do this right. And I don't really have a whole lot of time either. What little time I do have should go toward the easier stuff, like putting the interior back together and making the power windows roll down

 

[DK5]

Had the truck in at the local dealership

Everything was tight as I had originally found. They checked the whole front end and only found that toe-in was off by a bit on one of the front wheels. They also said that "one of the rims are broken and will work loose over time" apprently the holes are widened on my driver's front rim- but these are different rims than what I was running before.

I'll pick it up today and see how she drives. $90 bucks for an alignment.

 

[jeff in co]

Everything was tight as I had originally found. They checked the whole front end and only found that toe-in was off by a bit on one of the front wheels. They also said that "one of the rims are broken and will work loose over time" apprently the holes are widened on my driver's front rim- but these are different rims than what I was running before.

I'll pick it up today and see how she drives. $90 bucks for an alignment.

I'd probably take care of the rim sooner than later. I had our boat trailer in for some new tires and a few months prior, I had one of the wheels fly off going down the highway (another story ). Anyways, the tire shop looked at the rim and saw that the lug nut holes had widen just a bit. I figured, if I crank them down....no biggie.

Well, the tire shop guy did not want me to leave without replacing that rim. I was hesitant....especially after buying new tires already but he was so adamant, he said to just get me safe, he would buy one rim if I bought the other. So, apparently he thought it was that unsafe.

Again, this is on a trailer but I think the same principles would still apply.

Tire guy said because of this, the tire would most likely fall off again.

FYI - Discount Tire was the company and have always been treated well there.

 

[496truck]

I just took it for another drive. While driving straight it seems to turn randomly on its own without moving the wheel. So, I turn it the other way and it jerks suddenly the other way so you have to be really careful not to over correct. It seems to pull either left or right completely at random- which makes me think its not alignment because it would then be a constant pull in one direction. Right?

Back onto jack stands to figure out what the hell is going on

This is the exact description of the front axle shaft u-joints binding up. Trust me, I know this very well, my truck does this but I have not done anything about it cause I have a whole rebuilt front axle about ready to swap in. I have been dousing the joints with PB Blaster (rest penetrant) and it seems to go away for a while. When the hubs are unlocked those joints sit in one place for a while till you wheel it again. The grease inside the joint is dried up and the needle bearings are rusting and turning to dust. There is no fix, just remove and replace them both and get greasable joints when you do so that you can grease the new ones at every oil change.

 

[DK5]

In the interest of saving money (afraid of what the stealership bill is going to be for alignment and check..) I'm going to swap the kumho's onto my other rims. I guess the one rim might be trash now? I'll see if the problem has gone away since the alignment and if not then maybe it is the U-joints. This is my DD so something is going to have to be done sooner or later, either fix this truck (or have it fixed) or buy another car.. either way its going to be $$

I'd rather stick to one vehicle though..

Edit: Oh ya, water pump is on its way out too...

 

[496truck]

It pulls to one side then lets go and you end up over correcting. Does it at random times, typically after making a turn or pulling out of a driveway. Definitely the axle joints.

All cheap stuff if you can do it yourself. The problem is that when you go and take the front end apart you may end up finding that the bj's need to be replaced also. Plus any seals or whatever, repack bearings, spindle bearings. All fun stuff. Easy to do if you have the time, tools and know how. Actually, if I were still working on cars for a living, I would advise the ball joints be done at the same time simply because of the age (if they've never been done) and the close proximity in labor time. You've basically got it that far torn down to get to the axle joints may as well go that extra step.

The water pump is easy too, actually much easier than the front end work. And it's cheap if you diy.

 

[jeff in co]

^^^^ I just did ALL this. Took some time but also satisfying too. I also threw on new calipers, pads and rotors.

 

[DK5]

Well I just paid the stealership $136 to look over the front-end.

They tell me that everything is solid. Toe-in was off by a little bit (not significant but they adjusted) and they say that the wandering is due to the steering damper being in poor condition. They suggested that I replace that with a good quality one (since I'm running 33" tires) and to replace the left front wheel and studs. They also noted that water pump was leaking.

My questions/comments:
-what steering damper should I look for? (I will search too, don't worry. Just askin')
-what front axle u-joints should I look for? I might try NAPA for these.
-found a set of rust free (from Arizona) 15x8 rally rims locally for 120 bucks. I emailed him! Only problem is that they are painted cherry red!

Probably going to store the truck in my brother's garage to do the repairs myself (when I can). Luckily I can borrow mum's car!

 

[496truck]

I just bought a Gabriel damper from Autozone. Seems to work OK.

Get good quality joints, not sure what NAPA stocks. Your truck doesn't see any hard wheeling or I would recomend modding the axles for full circle clips.

 

[DK5]

Well after doing a bit of searching, I'm doubting that the steering damper is going to solve the problem.

I'm going to end up taking everything apart.

Other possible causes that I have read about:
-Front spring bushings are worn
-brake caliper sticking on one side

Any other ideas to look for? This truck is not lifted and it still running the original suspension/drivetrain parts (most likely have never been replaced/repaired)

 

[jeff in co]

Well after doing a bit of searching, I'm doubting that the steering damper is going to solve the problem.

I'm going to end up taking everything apart.

Other possible causes that I have read about:
-Front spring bushings are worn
-brake caliper sticking on one side

Any other ideas to look for? This truck is not lifted and it still running the original suspension/drivetrain parts (most likely have never been replaced/repaired)

I was going to agree with you on this as well. When I asked the alignment shop why mine was still feeling loose, they said "try a new stabilizer".....must be a pretty standard thing to say.

Anyways, with 300k miles, I decided it was due so I did put on a skyjacker stabilizer. Yes, it did help "a little" but was certainly not the reason for sure. If you are due for some shocks and stabilizer, than I would say install them but don't expect it to fix your problem.

I did a thread with a lot of pics....and problems taking my whole front end apart. It might give you an idea what's involved.

http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=282020&highlight=ball+joint

I also put in some tapered sleeves in the upper balljoints so I could dial in my front end alignment better. In order to adjust, I had to disasseble everything each time. I've done it now probably 4 times and I've gotten real good at it. It's not that bad to do really.

Good luck and keep hunting......

 

[DK5]

wow thanks Jeff. GREAT thread

 

[DK5]

Took it in to the local NAPA shop

They do axle repair work like this all the time (I didn't have much time and its been getting worse).

They found that the front wheeljoints are fine. Everything was tight except for one lower balljoint (pass side) and the front driveshaft u-joints are about ready to blow up.

They took the hubs apart and repacked the bearings and everything looked good in there they said (pass side hub was leaking grease everywhere- seal was good, so they put it back together).

So they jacked it up and turned the steering wheel and the wheels didn't move much. Which is why they figure it is the steering box.

I think they are right. The box has been soaked with oil for some time and its the only thing left that hasn't been looked at or taken apart!!

So they didn't charge me for any of the above work. They made up a quote to replace that ball joint and put in a new steering box for around 800 bux. I told them that my other K5 has a good one so that would knock over 300 off.

But I think I'm probably going to do this myself. I'll just have to find other means for travel in the mean time and hopefully I can do this quick. So that is the plan for later this week as I'm off for a few days.

Maybe I can get started on some other projects too if I have time (there is a long list...)

 

[DK5]

I think I'll also take this opportunity to install my xj shaft