Archived pulsating steering HELP

[PZicha]

on my 96 3500 the passenger side wheel is binding when I turn a hard right (the steering wheel pulsates left to right), my abs light is on and also me park brake light . when I jacked my truck up and turned the wheel by hand it grabs slightly when straight then grabs progressivly harder as the steering is turned left or right . the truck is going in tomorrow to the doctor , can someone shed some light on this

 

[B.G. Smith]

Steering

Is it four wheel drive? bg

 

[LSMITH]

You have a caliper that is binding. It could be that it is not sliding in the knuckle or the piston is binding in the caliper. Crack the bleeder open and see if the binding goes away, if not take the wheel off and see if it is the piston or caliper hanging. If the bleeder cracked open makes it go away it is likely a stuck proportioning valve or possibly a collapsed hose. Check it out and give us some feedback.

 

[PZicha]

Yes it is 4 wheel drive / I will check the bleeder soon. . Its snowing like a ***** here

 

[B.G. Smith]

Snowing

Since the wheel binds more when turned from side to side jacked up I think you will find your problem in the drive axle to that side, probably the "U" joint. Since the ABS light is on you might have something wedged in behind the hub on that side. bg

 

[PZicha]

the brakes don,t seem to be a part of this problem , maybe u joint . when the steering is straight there is no bind only when wheels are turned in either direction . the warning lights I think are something else , my trailer brake light ( trailer brake module in truck) is on but the brakes are not activating on trailer. My opinion is that two seporate problem happened at the same time

 

[LSMITH]

There are only 3 things that can cause the wheel to turn harder when you rotate it by hand. One is the brakes, the front axle/differential, and the other is the wheel bearings. Since there is no load on the wheel bearings when you have it jacked up it is very unlikely. That leaves the brakes and the axle to look at. The camber of the wheel changes as you turn the wheel, but with it jacked up it is minimal making the brakes less likely. If the U-joint is bad you will be able to feel it and possibly hear it when you turn the wheel. If the U-joint feels OK you likely have a brake problem. Can you hear the brake pads dragging when you turn the wheel? Does the sound change when you turn the steering and rotate the wheel? If you have the tire off you can pry the caliper back a tad too to release the piston. If it still does it when the caliper is not touching the rotor you know the problem is in the axle. Hope this helps.



BTW, The brakes are the easiest possible cause to eliminate, I really do not think it is wheel bearings, and the diff is more difficult to eliminate. I always try to sequence the troubleshooting from easy and likely to hard and unlikely, that is why I keep coming to the brakes first.

 

[PZicha]

WHEN THE WHEEL IS STRAIGHT THERE IS NO BIND , If it was pads it shouldn,t matter since they travel with the wheel . the U-joint seems ok but you never know, this one is really baffling me. I will know in 24 hours . when I know I will definaitly post this one..... I appreciate the input guys

 

[PZicha]

Word back from mechanic is that it was the u-joint on the knuckle I will post a pic later / the abs light was a blown fuse... I,d sure like to know were cause I checked them all !!!!!... I think !!!!!