Hey John,
Love your panel - We don't even have the excuse of our roads are all torn up due to frost & salt, etc. We got nothing down here but heat & smooth roads. I've done your HWY 401E from Detroit to Kingston On. - didn't seem too bad.

Ben in Austin

 

Forgive me if these seem like dumb questions, I just want to ask. Did you grease the tie rods? Some can't be, but most of the non stock usually have grease fittings.
If it has been aligned by two shops(why?) not likely toe in problems.
one side with a spring spacer, to keep from rubbing, is that the same side as the failed tie rod? Was the rubbing a constant rub or a partial(rub...stop...rub..stop)?
You do not have wheel spacers on the front right?
Wheel bearing good and tight with the nut and cotter pins?
The "bent wheel" they brought to your attention. On the front? New wheels?

Sorry for so many at once...I'm sitting here trying to figure out. without being there.

 

I don't know if anyone has mention pinion angle, mine was off one time and caused my truck to wobble at about 45-50 mph.

 

Most of the possibilities are covered above, I tend to think your drive shaft needs balancing or phasing. One other possiblilty is you have flat spots on your tires.

 

I said driveshaft angle... PINION! I brainfarted the word! but thats two pinion angles mentioned! thanks for clearing up my mind a little! LOL

 

I had a bad vibration in my truck when I first got it on the road. Turned out to be the pinion angle and square tires from sitting in the shop for years without moving......

 

Hey Jeff,
Tie Rods:
Tie rods are greased up & checked. One was defective with a lot of play so it was replaced. I think this one is fixed.

Alignment:
I've had it aligned at 2 shops in the hope that maybe one shop didn't get it right. It's a challenge to align since it's a welded in aftermarket front end with no set specs or car year to go by. I'm still not sure it's right.

Wheel Spacers:
None in the front just in the back. I haven't taken a hard look at those yet - I've been concentrating on the front.

Front Tire Rub:
These tires are really pushing it for fit. There wasn't much room between tire & fender - going over bumps or potholes that fornt left tire would hit the fender. Temporary fix was to adjust the shocks all the way up & put in a spring spacer. It's better but just bandaided - I'll fix this with stronger springs or smaller wheels in the long run. (This wheel is the one that's supposedly bent).

Wheel Bearings Tight:
I've had wheel bearings go out in other cars - I'm not hearing that but I'll check for tightness.

Bent Wheel (maybe):
It's a brand new wheel - I've got less than 500 miles on the truck at this point. I ordered another one as I need a spare around any way.

Adjusting the Toe In Alignment - I haven't done this before - any
instructions or guidance?

Summary: It feels like wheels or tires to me but I can't be sure.
I'll try to get the alignment adjustment done (again) to see if it's
got the toe in problem - that would be an easy fix.

Ben in Austin








Forgive me if these seem like dumb questions, I just want to ask. Did you grease the tie rods? Some can't be, but most of the non stock usually have grease fittings.
If it has been aligned by two shops(why?) not likely toe in problems.
one side with a spring spacer, to keep from rubbing, is that the same side as the failed tie rod? Was the rubbing a constant rub or a partial(rub...stop...rub..stop)?
You do not have wheel spacers on the front right?
Wheel bearing good and tight with the nut and cotter pins?
The "bent wheel" they brought to your attention. On the front? New wheels?

Sorry for so many at once...I'm sitting here trying to figure out. without being there.

 

Ben; Just a thought but you could rotate wheels and see if you problem moves or stays the same. That way you can start eliminating possible culprits, without spending money.

 

Ben, I may get thrashed here, but I wouldn't mess with the toe-in, myself.
If you had it aligned twice and the alignment isn't right, they should be the one doing that. If you mess with it, you may make it worse, or do it, and do it again, and again...I would at least call the alignment shop. Did they give you any specs? I mean what their end result was? Caster,Camber, and toe-in.
The toe-in/death-wobble is dealing with the original front suspension. Not what you have, and especially not after being aligned twice. Now there is a possibility that something didn't get tightened, but unlikely.
Are your wheel/tires the same all the way around? if so, move the suspect bent wheel to the back and see if this changes. I don't think I would run 70 though! LOL

 

Beat me!

 

Well, I think you should just get rid of that truck. I'll be by tomorrow to take it off your hands. No thanks necessary...

 

Hey Jolly Roger,
The truck looks great - just getting it that last 10 yards to the end zone is proving elusive. My son would shoot me if I got rid of it - He thinks it drives just fine -he's 20 & going on 10 when it comes to good sense.

Teddy & Jeff - I like the way you think - I'll rotate the tires & see if the problem moves around a bit. It's always the stuff staring you in the face that's hardest to see.

This one is kind of tricky since it could be literally anything since the whole suspension has been cobbled together from different places...
I'd really like to get it right. It doesn't help that both alignment places & Discount Tire tell me a different story. I'd love to barrel down the highway like Arrowhead Fred - but not yet - my fillings will fall out.



Ben in Austin

 

Ben, if you think it may be front wheel related, have you tried some simple steel wheels that you know are true and balanced.
I bet my bottom dollar it turns out to be something simple thats been overlooked in the myriad of things that are involved in building a truck.
My advice is do the basics first, and one change at a time so you have a baseline to work from. John

 

This is why I am going with new tire rod ends and a different drive shaft. Best of luck finding the problem.

 

Did this start when you put the rebuilt engine in? Any chance it could be something like a bad harmonic balancer, or wrong flywheel/flex?