Front end gets shaky...

[Jabes1]

I've been DD'ing my truck recently, getting the bugs out and I've ran across an issue with the front end. It seems to be intermittent. Some times Ill get on the brakes and the front end will shake.

I checked the wheel bearings and replaced them for good measure and that didn't help. I have a rebuild poly bushing kit for the front suspension, however I haven't installed it yet. I was thinking warped rotor, however like I said it happens intermittently and not all the time. All the warped rotors I've experienced were never intermittent. I checked my brake fluid and it was shockingly low. I refilled it and bled the brakes. I don't have any obvious leaks from the brakes, but maybe one of the calipers is dragging and slowly weaping?

My power steering box is leaking at the seal so it makes it hard to diagnose since there is fluid coating the drivers side caliper and control arm. That's next on the list of things to fix. I hate leaks, but brakes are a priority.

[donut]

First thought when I read this is tie-rod ends.

Tie rods and ball joints good?

[Jabes1]

Ball joints are fresh, haven't replaced tie rods. Ill check them right now....

[geezer#99]

Check the idler arm too!

[Jabes1]

Just jacked the truck up, tie rods do not feel loose or look damaged. Ball joints are tight. Idler arm feels tight as well with no obvious damage. I cannot move the wheels excessively on either side without it transferring across to the other side. I don't believe its my steering linkage. The wheel bearings seemed to have a little play on both sides. I'm re torqueing them to 12ft. lbs and backing the bolt off one castle nut slot. Any other ideas???? I'm manually shaking and twisting the above parts by hand is there a better way to check the above items?

[Unca]

Ok the shakes, When is it happening? acceleration? deceleration? cold tires?( bias ply shakes...) at a certain speed? ( wheel balance) castor angle? ( that damn shopping cart wheel wobble we all hate...) ... more details please

[Jabes1]

It does it intermittently. Sometimes accelerating and sometimes braking. Seems low speed. I might try getting the wheels re balanced. If I get on the brakes, let off and get on them again pretty firm it doesn't shake as bad when it does it.

[y5mgisi]

Try swapping tires front to rear.

[Unca]

Id flop tires end for end and see what happens as you roll them from front to back check for broken belts. ( a big ballooned out area)

[Jabes1]

Ha ha ha.... I can flop front to rear. That's the crappy part about having a staggered wheel fitment. The tires are directional as well. No bubbles or ballooned areas or weird wear in the tires. I just finished up adjusting the wheel bearings, and looking things over. Tomorrow if possible Ill get the wheels balanced. Its been awhile since they were balanced and they use the stick on weights on the back side of the wheel, so its very possible one became unstuck. :/ Any other thoughts on the subject guys?

[donut]

While your flipping wheels, take a close look at the calipers. You said the brake fluid dropped. Why? If all the air was bled out and there are no leaks, it should remain constant. If it starts shaking, pull over and see if one wheel is quite a bit warmer than the others.
You said tie rods look good and ball joints new, wheel bearings new. Did caster ever get set?

I just browsed your build thread, obviously this isn't a stock, untouched pick-up.

[Jabes1]

I'm not sure why the fluid was low and yes its a concern of mine. My brake lines are probably the originals, I do not see any fluid leaks on my cylinders on the rearend or calipers, but its going somewhere obviously. I'm replacing my rubber lines with Stainless lines from Inline Brakelines. There was a slight mess up on their end and they are correcting it. I'm also going to replace the cylinders for good measure, since there is a good chance they are original since I've never changed them and I've had the truck since I was 16. I cannot swap wheels. The tires I have are directional, meaning they only are meant to rotate in one direction. The wheels I have are 20x10's on the rear and 20x8's on the front. There may be a leak on the drivers side caliper, but I cannot tell because it has a film of powersteering fluid on it from the seal on the top of the powersteering box going bad recently. It could be a small pinhole on one of the lines... like I said Im not sure. Im getting the wheels balanced tomorrow.

[Jabes1]

Caster is roughed in, not exact... I want to put new bushings in before I take it to be done precisely on a rack. This problem has recently developed, so in a sense its leading me to believe its a balancing problem, not so much caster. Caster if I remember correctly is a non wear adjustment, but regardless, the tires are wearing pretty evenly. One thing I'm not fond of is a problem on a forum, and someone gets it figured out and they never say what fixed it. Ill be sure to post what the problem was... any other ideas guys?

[Jabes1]

Well low and behold, it was a balancing issue. I took both front wheels off and had them balanced. A big clue was when I saw him adding weight compared to what was previously on there. Thank God.