Front Wheel Vibration

[jnicks01]

Went on a trip about 2 weeks ago of about 400 miles, so I had my front 2 tires balanced before hand. Balance was good, but once I got home, it seems as if my right front is out of balance again. No pot hole hits, tire pressure good, recent alignment. I have had this problem a few times lately. Could it possibly be some kind of worn joint on that part of the suspension? Truck has about 165K on it. The truck was in an accident about 6 years ago, but haven't noticed this problem till lately, so I really don't see that as a factor. One thing I have noticed is there is a large amount of weights on the two fronts. I have pretty good tires, (at least I think so, they are Goodyear, and weren't cheap) and stock 16" denali rims I put on instead of the original 5star rims.

 

[GMCYukalade]

The rims could be a little bit bent.. maybe from the accident? or pot holes and thats why the exsessive weights - but they should have told you that at the tire shop - there are some joints that can go bad, one way you can test this is to take the wheels off of the front, and try to move the entire hub assy. up and down if it moves easily then it needs new ball-joints.. - other than that - pitman arm these go bad, idler arm can go bad easy.. - and tie-rods

 

[BoostJunkE]

The rims could be a little bit bent.. maybe from the accident? or pot holes and thats why the exsessive weights - but they should have told you that at the tire shop - there are some joints that can go bad, one way you can test this is to take the wheels off of the front, and try to move the entire hub assy. up and down if it moves easily then it needs new ball-joints.. - other than that - pitman arm these go bad, idler arm can go bad easy.. - and tie-rods

Ditto,

Do you have a ton of play in the steering wheel? I mean can you turn it "X" amount of degrees either way without actually turning the vehicle? This is generaly a sign of a bad pitman arm or idler arm which is easy to replace. Personaly I would consider rebuilding the whole front end if you have to replace either arm but that is just me. You could also look into seeing if the wheel is bent. I'm not sure but I think Discount Tire has a machine they use for high speed vehicles that is able to check for bent rims. It's not something they typicaly use for trucks and it's not cheap. Anyhow it maybe worth looking into as well.

 

[jnicks01]

I believe that I do have a small amount of play in the wheel, but I was thinking that it may be the steering position sensor. I'll have my mechanic check it out.

 

[gngraham]

Might also be caused by a warped brake rotor. If one front tire is vibrating and the other isn't, swap them and see if the vibration follows. If it does, then it is most likely a bent rim, out of balance tire, or even a ply on the tire separating internally. If the vibration stays on the same side, then it could be in the steering assembly or the rotor. If the brakes flutter when you press them, it is most likely the rotor.

 

[Dr. Overkill]

Weights come off. I've had it happen with both tape (adhesive) and clamp-on type. I've even heard it happen before--when a weight flies off at speed and hits the inner fender liner, you hear it ;-)

It's worth checking the balance again before going to any drastic means--just take it back to the same shop for a re-check.
_dennis