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Steering Component Problems

tanman_2006

tanman_2006

Just a farm kid...
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Seiling, Oklahoma
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I am not sure what the part it called but it is the arm attached to the bottom of the steering box.

The issue is when I jack up one front wheel of my truck (93 GMC 3500 dually 4x4) I can easily turn that tire by hand 2 inches left and right and the other tire of course does not move. Everything looks worn but doesn't have much slop but where the linkage bolts to the steering box arm there is all kinds of flexing going on.

Another issue that might be related is driving 25-35mph my truck has one hell of a shake. The steering wheel does not shake but it feels like i have a wheel on crooked, I have checked and took them off and replaced them a couple times.
 
A separated tire or very out of balance tire can shake at low speeds. The steering part your looking at is the pitman arm.
 
Sorry, brand new tires ~10 K on them you can still see writing on the sidewalls from a stamp.

I have had unbalanced tires before but none that will rock the truck hard enough to knock the hat off my dash. It seriously feels like I am going over pot holes
 
the wheels should be connected by the tie rod arm assy better look for more loose parts ie tierods. also if the pitman arm is that loose chances are your idler arm is loose too.
 
I am wondering if the slack in the pitman arm could cause my problem. It has a serious problem that almost makes it scary to drive at those speeds.

My thoughts are the slop in steering gives it enough wiggle to cause the front wheels to hop and throw the truck around. Either that or I have a bent wheel but when i have a friend spin the wheel i dont see any problem.
 
ak diesel driver said:
the wheels should be connected by the tie rod arm assy better look for more loose parts ie tierods. also if the pitman arm is that loose chances are your idler arm is loose too.
Click to expand...

Tie rods definately aren't new but they only have tosional play not in and out play. Sorry I am not a front end guy, what does the idler arm connect to so I can figure out what yo are talking about.

Are there bushings to replace in these components or ??? I know you just replace tierod ends but what about everything else?

Thanks
Tanner
 
have you checked your ball joints. the proper way is to put your floorjack as close to the wheel as you can ( so your lifting it under the lower a arm) and then jack it up just enough to get your hand under it and then put one hand on the top and one on the bottom and try and wiggle it.
 
Either your tie rods, idler arm or steering arm or all the above are worn.

Have someone move the wheel while you look for the problem. 2" is a lot of play.

By the wheel I mean the tire off the ground while the other is on the ground.
 
Yes i have checked the ball joints and they seem tight. I learned how to check bal joints really quick in life when everytime i took my truck to the tire shop complaining about rattles or vibrations they told me I needed new ones, even after I had new ones with only 5K miles on them. For this reason I plan to start doing most of my own front end work then go for an allignment.

The pitman arm is obviously lose, is there a bushing to replace or do i need to replace the whole thing? I will start there and work my way out until it stops. I will be replacing everything as I get money I just want the hopping down the road to stop for now.
 
I usually get MOOG suspension parts, local shop (not the same idiots that try to sell me parts that are already new) likes to sell me that brand lol. I have also heard good things about them. Thanks for the help I will post back once I get that swapped out.
 
Moog has good quality suspension parts. If they have 2 grades I'd suggest the better one. I am a bit concerned that you are still driving the truck after hearing what you described as happening. Please get that fixed right away. You DON'T want to lose steering going down the road.
 
Well I hadnt planned to be driving the truck but I was forced to when I blew the head gasket on my DD (95 z71). I am going to go buy the best of what the parts store has. MOOG is about $50 for the pitman arm at rockauto so as long as the local price is reasonably close I will be replaceing it saturday.
 
tanman_2006 said:
The issue is when I jack up one front wheel of my truck (93 GMC 3500 dually 4x4) I can easily turn that tire by hand 2 inches left and right and the other tire of course does not move. Everything looks worn but doesn't have much slop but where the linkage bolts to the steering box arm there is all kinds of flexing going on.
Click to expand...


That sounds like a stack up of slop of inner and outer tie rods. The tires should be locked together. You might only feel a little slop in each of the 4 points individually but add them up and you get the 2 inches of slop. The idler mimics the same exact motion as the pitman arm so the centerlink will track true (squarish parallel like movement) if its worn then the center link will travel crooked and exagerate play. The pitman arm looseness will be felt turning the steering wheel with the tires on the ground. Its slop will also build with the other joints.

The shake you feel might be bad exagerated toe in and toe out wobble??? But I would expect to feel a little in the steering wheel. The saying is if you feel it in the seat of pants investigate the rear if in the steering investigate the front.

The steering slop compounds and becomes a snow ball going down hill one component wears out and will increase wear on other linkages. The front end on these trucks isn't all that stout. If you have any aggressive tires don't expect more than 100K miles from front end. Worse if you don't rotate often maybe better if you keep tire wear even.

I would say redo all linkages (as one bad part will spoil the whole rebuild - do pitman, inner and outer tie rods, idler and idler arm and triple check the ball joints). Then use the best quality extreme pressure grease you can find. I like a little moly in my EP grease.
 
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Just because a part, tires, are new does NOT excuse them from being suspect. A weight could have easily broken/fallen off or a wristwatch left in the tire during construction could be causing a separation. You have used warranty on parts before... In other words you have a new problem that could be related to tire replacement depending on when the problem started. It may be something else so suspect everything. In doing so you have found a serious front end issue, but, it may not cure the symptom you are after.

Last shake I had was a nearly seized up u joint.

Expect to pay around $800.00 to completely rebuild the front end including bushings. Labor extra. Common wear items are listed above Pitman arm and idler arm tend to wear faster than everything else. With 2" of movement you could be destroying tires quick.
 
Its not really a shake its more like a bounce. I am about to say I have a bent wheel up front. This all started after rotating my tires, I have taken the tires off and put them back on a few time with no change, I am going to try again in the morning and if that doesnt work I will get a pitman arm and there is a local guy with 6.5 heads and dually wheels for sale I might have a chat with.

The tires are not out of round, all of the weights are on (not bare spots in the dirt), I have inspected the tires and have not seen a knot or buldge anywhere. The tires were 2 weeks old when I got the truck and have not had any problems until I rotated them. There is not any unusual wear besides the fact they they are wearing quickly (still evenly) but I can contribute that as being they are mud tires on a heavy truck.
 
I've got all moog tie rod ends, pitman arm, steering dampner and idler arm on the way from rock auto. $300

Know anything else I might need, I am gonna try to reuse the adjustment sleeves. I was told they can normally be reused and most shops will charge you for them either way.
 
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