passenger side wheel wobble??

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mike moore

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ok guys got a good one here, 2001 s.t. 134,000 miles, i have a 3 in body lift and 3in suspension lift with 35 bfg's AT ive been havin a wobble in the passenger side front wheel but only when im going through a right hand turn at faster speeds it starts wobbling, been doin this for some time, i had a simiular problem last year with the same side. the wheel bearing was bad. changed it took care of it. shortly there after it slowly statred makin the same noise again, getting worse over time. now its to the point that its scary to drive!!! the wheel wobbles back and forth and feels like the wheel is gonna fall off! well, today i replaced the rack and pinion, thinking the inner ball joint was loose, i could jack it up and can wobble it side 2 side and see play in that area. thought sure that was it. wrong!! still does it, checked wheel bearing , ok good and tight, even with the new rack and pinion i can still wobble the passenger side wheel back and forth?!??@##@#!!! i had a friend ride along with me and he watched the front tire wobble from "SIDE 2 SIDE" when i turned a tight fast right hand cirlce. i just cant figure where this side 2 side play is coming from???? is it possable for the rack and pinion to get an air leak in a suction line and have air in the system causing this free play? im really stumped on this one, plzzzzzzzzzzzzz help
 
If the tie rods are good, which they should be as you replaced the rack and pinion, and the wheel bearing is good, then it pretty much has to be either a upper or lower ball joint, or both of them...
 
Coastie is pointing you in the right direction. From your description it sounds like the ball jts are bad. If you jack the wheel up and grab it from top and bottom, wiggle the tire, and if there is play, most likely the ball jts are bad. Common problem with the ST.
 
there tight also, it dos'nt have any slack from top 2 bottom, only from side 2 side, you can watch the tie rod actcually move while the other side does not?!? tie rod ends r tight, and replaced the upper ball joint about a year ago, and there tight anyway. its wiers cause you can jack it up and wobble it from side 2 side, and watch the rack and pinion move in and out without the other side moveing! thats what it was doing before and i thought well its the inner ball joint, so thats why i changed it. but its still doing it.???????????????:angry:
 
The actual rack and pinion moves in and out? Are you sure you don't mean the inner tie rod? Is that whats moving?
 
im sure. thats why its stumping me. its not the inner, i have the boot off so i can see it and its new, theres no slack in it at all.
 
The inner tie rod is part of the rack and pinion. You said you replaced the rack.



If so, and the upper and lower ball joints are good, then the only thing left is the outer tie rods assuming that you did not replace them..
 
ok.... UPDATE today i lowered the front end down by one inch, with the truxx keys i have on it, and guess what, no wobble!!! w.t.f ? i have noticed that with a passenger in it it does take a higher speed through a right hand turn to make it wobble, perhaps the weight of the passenger lowering it a lil??? thats what gave me the idea since i had tryed everything else. could it be that the angle of the a-arms was so steep that it had the tie rods at an angle that the large tires just kinda "took over" ???? and the tie rods are just not able 2 hold a big tire like that straight under those conditions??? it really dont make since 2 me, but it does not wobble any more. i thought about cutting the mounting bracket for the tie rod off of the spindle and rasing it up about an inch and reweld it back on, to compensate for the lift to get the tie rods back to a more friendly angle, what do ya think?????
 
ive got a 3 inch truxx torsion keys and 2inch shackles with an 1 and a half inch add a leaf. plus a 3 inch body lift. as for the tie rod end mounts on the spindle, there welded from the factory. would be no diff. just moving them up one inch.
 

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