Update #3: 7/01/02 Problem Solved
I finally got the truck into an alignment shop to reset my caster settings to the above. Alignment shop says there's too much slop in the tie rod ends (all four of them) to do any good. I told them to go ahead and replace all four of them with Napa's Lifetime Replacement parts (except the track bar, which I incorrectly stated earlier had a Luke's Link - mine's actually a Lindstad unit). They said they don't use Napa parts. This was a God send. I took the truck home and immediately contacted Johnnie Laucus of Lukes Link and he put four Lukes Link kits in the mail for me right then.
After popping off the ties rods using both a Pitman Arm puller and a Tie Rod puller (cheasy pickle forks never worked for me), I ground the pressed-in encasing seal holding the ball stud on each. After carefully inspecting the parts none showed any adverse wear - not even the factory plastic ball seats. I assume then that the "wear" comes from both the backup spring that holds the plastic ball seat against the stud and the encasing cover flexing outward. These tie rod parts are also fairly new dealer parts (17k miles on them), and had been replaced under warranty to help correct a pull to the left when braking (regardless of road crown; and it only helped stop the brake pull a little). After cleaning and reassembly of all the tie rods with the new Lukes Link and reinstalling onto the truck, it was time for the hell road. Bouncy, bouncy. I'm at 60 when I hit a good whump in the asphalt and the front end actaully leaves the pavement. . and yet not one hint of the caster-shimmy-from-hell "DEATH WOBBLE"! Yea!!
I surmise then that solid front axles have a certain tolerance for slop in the front end parts. After a certain "slop threshold" has been crossed, caster shimmy will start to raise it's ugly head. I noticed in my case that it did seem to get progressively worse over time (though for a long time I thought it was the back end acting up). Whether that wear is from a worn track bar, tie rods, balljoints, tires, shocks or all combined, the added slop can add up to a bouncy front end. My brake pull has been fixed too. Now it only pulls a little left or right depending on road crown (as you would expect with 35x12. 5 tires), not hard-left-all-the-time when applying the brakes.
I highly recommend Luke's Links. I no longer have to worry about replacing the whole front end assembly, just reset the Luke's Links and replace the worn socket parts if need be. Amen to American ingenuity and entrepreneurship...
I still plan on getting my front end set to the above settings, but now I can wait until I buy the Rickson tire set up ($3200).
Thanks to all for your help and suggestions, without your input I'd still be working on my rear end! Mike in Anchorage...
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