Steering wheel shakes going over 35 mph. Why?

[Isaiah92260]

Hey friends, hopefully I could get some answers and advice. So my truck was out of commission for a month. I did a dual MC conversion, upper steering wheel bearing, and brake drum adjustments, and also had to replace some lug nut studs and lug nuts because a few got stripped in the process. But since I've been back in the road for the past week, my steering wheel started to shake pretty bad going about 35mph.

Now at first I thought it was because I may have adjusted my brake drums to tight,
So I backed them off, but still shakes.

Checked all the adjustments i did on my 3 on the tree,
Still shakes

I also had re adjusted my parking brake brackets that are located under the 3 speed tail shaft, now I don't have to pull my parking leaver as far anymore, but I don't think that this would be the problem.

One last possible thing I believe is the problem.

When I had taken my wheels off to adjust the brakes, some lug nuts and studs got stripped since it seemed like that were never taken off before, I had to replace a few that I bought from autozone.

Currently I have 3 out of 6 brand new studs and lug nuts on the front passenger

And 2 out of 6 on the rear passenger,

My driver side front and back didn't have and stripped lug nuts or studs.

I also would like to add, when I brake, I noticed that my truck wants to go towards the right and I have to steer it to the left to keep it straight.

So I would like to conclude that maybe if possible have a wheel balancing problem on my passenger side(front and back) wheels? I've heard that wheel balancing can make the steering wheel shake.
Anyways, hopefully anyone who has more experience than I do, could shine some light on my problem. Thanks everyone, and thank you for reading and commenting.

Happy Trunkin'
Isaiah.

[62stepside longbox]

For the shaking problem, does it happen at a certain rpm or speed because my dads dart had a problem exactly like that and the steering wheel would shake like crazy. What happened was the ujoint clip came off and the ujoint was starting to come out. So check your ujoints, but that might not be the problem as it sounds like it has something to do with the brakes

[geezer#99]

Did you replace the studs with the same right ones. Do the new ones match the old ones exactly.

[Isaiah92260]

Originally Posted by 62stepside longbox

For the shaking problem, does it happen at a certain rpm or speed because my dads dart had a problem exactly like that and the steering wheel would shake like crazy. What happened was the ujoint clip came off and the ujoint was starting to come out. So check your ujoints, but that might not be the problem as it sounds like it has something to do with the brakes

All my steering components are very old and original, that could be possible. But considering that it was never doing the shaking before I parked it and did some work, it might be something in the wheels area. Thanks for replying

[Backpayne]

When my truck pulled to the right when I braked I had a bad front right wheel cylinder.

I would have your wheels rebalanced just to rule that out.

[Isaiah92260]

Originally Posted by geezer#99

Did you replace the studs with the same right ones. Do the new ones match the old ones exactly.

The parts store only had one brand and style of studs. The new studs are about 1/2 inch longer than the only ones.

[Isaiah92260]

Originally Posted by Backpayne

When my truck pulled to the right when I braked I had a bad front right wheel cylinder.

I would have your wheels rebalanced just to rule that out.

I forgot to mention that I found a broken bottom spring in the front drivers drum. All the parts stores were giving me a issue on sourcing me just that one specific spring. So I am waiting on a drum brake rebuild kit right now. All my wheel cylinders seem good tho. It never had done that before I parked it. Thanks for replying

[geezer#99]

Originally Posted by Isaiah92260

The parts store only had one brand and style of studs. The new studs are about 1/2 inch longer than the only ones.

And the knurled shoulder could be longer too!

And are you using open (stock) or closed lugnuts?

[Isaiah92260]

Originally Posted by geezer#99

And the knurled shoulder could be longer too!

So is it more than likely that the new studs are throwing off my wheel balance? Should I just replace all 24 of the studs and then go to a tire shop and ask them to re balance my wheels?

[geezer#99]

No, not if you get 24 that are too long.
Experiment to narrow it down.
Jack up the front one that has new studs, place a chunk of wood or something solid against the outside edge of the tire and rotate the tire. If the tire doesn't touch the wood in the full rotation, then you know where the problem is. Watch for a wobble.

Or another possibility!
Did you get the hubs torqued back into place correctly when you had them off for stud replacement?

[Isaiah92260]

Originally Posted by geezer#99

No, not if you get 24 that are too long.
Experiment to narrow it down.
Jack up the front one that has new studs, place a chunk of wood or something solid against the outside edge of the tire and rotate the tire. If the tire doesn't touch the wood in the full rotation, then you know where the problem is. Watch for a wobble.

Or another possibility!
Did you get the hubs torqued back into place correctly when you had them off for stud replacement?

That's a really good idea, I'll check after work tomorrow.

I believe that I did torque them down right. I did them all in sequence as tight as I possibly could get them.

I am gonna try the test you mentioned tomorrow, if all else fails I'll just replace all the studs and lug nuts.

[geezer#99]

Hubs, not lugs. Hubs is the part the studs are in.
Wheel bearings need to be torqued properly.
And wheel studs need to be torque properly too or you can warp the hub.

[Isaiah92260]

Originally Posted by geezer#99

Hubs, not lugs. Hubs is the part the studs are in.
Wheel bearings need to be torqued properly.
And wheel studs need to be torque properly too or you can warp the hub.

Damn I hope I didn't over tighten...

[Isaiah92260]

I check the tour we specs, I didn't know there were any, I was taught tighten the lug nuts on any car really tight by hand... Oops... So if they are warped, where can I find a new wheel hub?

[geezer#99]

Likely the parts section on the forum.
But you're getting ahead of yourself.
Check for wobble first.

[balesjb]

Idler arm, tie rod ends or ball joints.

[chevy_mike]

Originally Posted by Isaiah92260

I check the tour we specs, I didn't know there were any, I was taught tighten the lug nuts on any car really tight by hand... Oops... So if they are warped, where can I find a new wheel hub?

Just for reference, EVERY nut and bolt has a torque spec. Some are not critical (like screws holding your door panels on) but stuff like lug nuts, ball joints, wheel bearings, etc., etc. are critical.

Did you pull your hubs off when you installed new studs? Did you get the bearings tightened correctly? If too loose, this can cause them to wobble, causing the shaking. If too tight, you burn up the bearings.

Brakes are not going to make any shaking until you apply the brakes.

[patrickk1]

If you are drum front truck, many drums have a three(I think??) little nubs on them. The wheel usually has indents so it can sit flush against the drum. If you dont have the wheel positioned so the drum nub is in the indent, it could cause the wheel to not be mounted flush against the drum and could be off slightly.

Other than that, as balesjb said: Idler arm, tie rod ends or ball joints. Just because it wasn't shaking before, doesn't mean it wasn't on it way out the door. IMO, If steering/suspension parts were close to being needed to be replaced, Jacking the front end up and down could have put the stress on them to make them worse.

[Isaiah92260]

Originally Posted by chevy_mike

Just for reference, EVERY nut and bolt has a torque spec. Some are not critical (like screws holding your door panels on) but stuff like lug nuts, ball joints, wheel bearings, etc., etc. are critical.

Did you pull your hubs off when you installed new studs? Did you get the bearings tightened correctly? If too loose, this can cause them to wobble, causing the shaking. If too tight, you burn up the bearings.

Brakes are not going to make any shaking until you apply the brakes.

I didn't pull the hubs off, I popped the stripped studs out with a air hammer and I got them to set by tighten the lug nut which pulled them into place.... I didn't know you could tighten the bearings, how does that work? I didn't touch any of the wheel bearings on my truck. Is it possible that I haven't burned up my bearings yet? I only drive it once in Saturday for a couple hours and just s 10 minute to work and back for the past 2 days....

Damn I'm afraid I my have done serious damage...

[padresag]

if it didn't do it before you changed the stud and does it after you changed the studs; where do you think the problem comes from. have you checked the wheel nuts to see whether or not that they are all tight. when you pulled the studs thru did you have the tapered side(wheel nut) towards the hub or away. did you use a spacer between the nut and hub incase the nut bottomed out on the stud. you did state that the new studs were longer. were they longer also in the spline or did you notice at all. in other words are you sure that the stud seated against the inside of the hub. if the spline is sticking thru the hub the nut could bottom out against that, but the wheel could still be loose
hammering out wheel stud while the hub is installed is not best for the wheel bearings either
ron

[63burban]

Bias ply tires?

[padresag]

Originally Posted by 63burban

Bias ply tires?

that is only if they are mixed with radials
ron

[63burban]

Bias ply tires can get flat spots that will raise hell with steering and shaking

[padresag]

and they usually disappear when they warm up.
when radials were first coming into vogue in the 60's people were mixing them up and you could get that feeling
ron

[Isaiah92260]

I have new radial tires