steering knuckle bushing

[ptmoore]

can anyone tell me if the knuckle would be loose at the top if the tapered bushing is worn? is there a way to check for wear if there is no noticable loosness? I'm sometimes getting a front shimmy during hard braking[new brakes and bearings all around] thanks for any advice guys

 

[JGrefenstette]

did you replace pads or rotors, or both? is the shimmy transfered through the steering wheel (can you feel it in your hands), or is it in the front end only? if it is in the steering wheel, is it a side to side shimmy or a up and down shimmy/buck?

 

[Kiohio]

Did it do it before the new brakes?

Mine used to do the same. It was quite violent.

A hard hit from side to side, felt like it would rip the wheel out of my hands.

I did a full kingpin replacement on both sides, along with new brakes and axle u-j's

The truck is MUCH more stable now.

Not shimmy's or shakes.



KO

 

[ptmoore]

the steering wheel shakes some, but the whole truck seems to jump and bounce. new rotors,pads,drums,wheelcyl. kits,shoes. calipers seemed ok . it shook before the brake job also. prob original front shocks[230000mi] mounted near very end of extension due to 2"lift in front. have new rancho 9000's on order for 2-4"lift

 

[TGiambro]

the steering wheel shakes some, but the whole truck seems to jump and bounce. new rotors,pads,drums,wheelcyl. kits,shoes. calipers seemed ok . it shook before the brake job also. prob original front shocks[230000mi] mounted near very end of extension due to 2"lift in front. have new rancho 9000's on order for 2-4"lift

Sounds more like a wheel balance / bent wheel issue. Run your wheels on a road-force balancing machine if there is a company around that has one. I ran my tires on the machine at work and found that my front left wheel is badly bent. It showed 166lbs of road-force. My whole truck shakes at speeds above 60mph or so and some of that shaking is transmitted to the steering wheel as side-to-side movement. Also, the before-mentioned machine can tell if you have a bad tire as well.

Also, concerning the steering knuckle question: If it's the balljoint you are trying to check- Raise the truck by the axle, put a prybar below the tire and push up and down. If you feel any play, look at the balljoints for movement. If any play, replace the balljoints. If you are talking about the tie rod end at the knuckle, push the joint up and down with a prybar and look/feel for play.

Hope this helps,
-Tony

 

[ptmoore]

wheels arn't bent but the tires are shot,going for new tires and shocks this week. fronts on the 93, dana 60 are bearing on bottom of knuckle and kingpins on top, just wondering if i can check for upper wear without removing the upper caps

 

[MrWinkey]

I'm going to be in the same boat soon also... . I get the wants to rip the wheel out of your hands and swerves like heck going down the road. It's more than slightly scary.



Looking at Quad 4x4's Kingpin kit right now to get this issue fixed as I need the truck for summer projects!

 

[ptmoore]

I never feel like the steering wheel is going to be jerked out of my hands,but still the truck shakes up and down[one side then the other during hard braking] then if i let up on the brakes and brake again it stops smoothly until i come to a stop?

 

[JGrefenstette]

that almost sounds like there might be air in your lines, or low on fluid? youve probly already checked, but i figured it throw it out there anyways.

 

[Moab4x4]

Kingpins

The kingpins are tapered with a poly (nylon I believe) outer piece. There is a spring under the cap that keeps the two together and compensates for some wear. As the kingpin wears, the bushing sits lower. That keeps the play to a minimum even with a bit of wear. It really doesn't sound like upper kingpins either. If you are worried it is really not a big deal to check them out. Just undo the four bolts a bit at a time to release the spring pressure. Mine had a goofy upper kingpin camber kit in it when I got it (pics in my rigs) that made the knuckle wear a little. It didn't cause your problem with that play. I bought a 7/8? hex wrench and used a big cheater to replace the kingpins. It wasn't that big a project. I got the Kingpin kit reasonable at local parts house.



I agree with the tires being my first suspect, Tie rods or wheel bearings being too loose second.

my . 02 and worth about that.

Ken

 

[Kiohio]

If you only replace the top kingpin, the part moab is talking about, it really is that easy.
I had a harder time finding a 7/8" Allan wrench than actually doing the job.
My truck had had a plow on it part of it's life and they were very worn.
Before replacement they were 3/8" below the top of the knuckle, afterwards they were almost flush.
BTW in case you guys ever need a strong cheater pipe, a 24" (bigger or smaller) CAT 1 Tractor top link works well.

Unscrew the big "eyelet" in the toplink then the 7/8" Allan wrench fits inside it perfectly.
Those links don't bend easily.

KO

 

[ptmoore]

thanks for the replies guys. i replaced the tires fri. with bfg 285/70-17 on hummer h2 wheels. the shake and vibration is almost entirely gone. brakes will pump up a little with one pump on the pedal so i may try to rebleed the system again to make sure all the brakes are appling at the same time. new shocks were shipped sat. so will let you know how things work out.