Hello.
My 97 has what I think is a tie rod issue. At low speeds, it feels like the truck is "rocking" while it rolls, almost like it's rolling over uneven ground on one side. The truck does not track straight, pulls right, and if the wheel is let go of, it will go from 10 to 1 o'clock and back repeatedly. Don't notice as much at higher speeds (30 and up). I noticed at the last oil change that all the grease boots around the tie rod/pitman arm/drag link ball joints were dry-rotted. The tires were just balanced/rotated about 2 months ago, and new shocks all around 1 month ago. When I called Napa and Advance about the tie rods and drag link, they all call them by different names. My haynes book doesn't show a good diagram of these parts with names. Does anyone have a good diagram for these parts, or know where I can find one? The only noise it makes is a "chirp,chirp,chirp" sound when braking. New brake pads and shoes >8 months ago. Resurfaced drums/rotors and replaced front wheel bearings/races >6 months ago. If anyone has any ideas or advice, please reply. Thanks!

 

could be a combination of things:
Inner/outter tie rod ends
Upper/ Lower ball joints..usually need to be replaced around 60,000 miles
Inner/Outter bearings might need packing or replacing and packing or could be just loose.

-checking tie rod ends: jack up one side, grab tire, move it from left to right..any play is signs of a bad tie rod on that side..check other side same way.
-checking ball joints: jack up one side, grab tire, move it up and down..any play indicates a bad ball joint.

Ball joints, tie rod ends..usually only last about 60,000 miles.

 

Checked the tie rods and ball joints as you suggested. Everything is tight, no play left to right or up and down on either side. Took the truck for a ride after that and noticed that it doesn't do it all the time, it's intermittent, which makes me think it's not a mechanical failure, but maybe power steering. Checked the fluid.....its a reddish-brown color and has some metal particulate floating in it. The truck's got 112,000 miles on it, and I've never had the PS flushed. planning on having it flushed, change out the tie rod ends/drag link/ steering connecting rod, and realign to see if it fixes it. Not real excited about having to possibly change PS pump or steering gear, but at least I don't have a rack.

Thanks for your input. If you have any other ideas, please let me know.