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Before I take her to the shop I thought I mite ask If you guy's can run down some of the things it mite be. When I hit 35mph my front end bob's left and rite real bad like I only have the tire held on by one loose lug nut. All nuts are tight and the rims are badly rusted but they appear to be straight and in usable condition. could this be the tire? maybe out of balence? It feels like the tire thought. I have inspected everything and it all appears in good shape so?? I had someone follow me home from my other garage and they sayed they could see the rear pass side tire wobbling.?. The truck was recovered from a field where it probably sat on flats for over 7 years, but the tires are in new condition and hold air perfect. I donno, Im new to suspension and the luv altogether. If you mite know what this is please help that way I wont sound like a jackass at the shop . thanks guy's!

from past experiance id say the wheels want balancing or maybe check some of the brushes on the front end

Balance them, that's all you need. That or your rotors are warped to hell, couldn't see a reason why....

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-Old ride-82 Luv diesel 5spd with some upgrades
-Past rides-82 Sierra, 78 Coupe De'Ville, 91 2dr Blazer, 86 RX7, 86 Porsche 944T (rear-ended and totaled)
-Curr. rides- 1970 Ford LTD 4dr, 390 4Bbl, 2nd owner! With a few Extras 00' Civic beater...

try jacking the front end up just enough to get it off the ground. push on the top of the outer part of the wheel, not to hard, if it pushes the bottom out, your upper ball joints are shot vise versa for the bottom. to clear it up jack it up and push on the tire like your pushing it into the enginge compartment. if they have alot of play this could be your culprit. or if it sat too long you might have had a weight come off the tire to throw it out of balance.

Mud stains on a tire can give the illusion that the rim is bent so lets rule out the wheels. Does this problem suddenly happen at 35 m.p.h.? Or does it slowly wind up to a shimmy? If it happens suddenly, i would think that it in the tie rod assys or the idler arm. With the passenger side front wheel jacked up, try and move the tire left and right and see if there's any play. It would be best to have one person doing the movement and another inspecting. Idler arm bushings will make the truck shimmy like hell and you have to look very close to see any play between the shaft and housing.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

mine 2

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dangerous-toys4life
73 3-door avalanche bdydropped on 18s
86 1-ton 4x crewcab short bd 15"lift
75 k-5 2x
94 king cab

Another quick test if you have a helper is to climb under the truck and have them wiggle the steering wheel back and forth about 1/4 to 1/2 turn. Look for play in all the joints and especially at the idler arm. Idler arm shaft bushing play usually doesn't cause shimmy in my experience though, but it might make it feel much worse.

Are you running the tires that were sitting flat for so many years or have you put new tires on it? Tires that have been sitting flat can become deformed, have a flat spot, or worse have broken/seperated cords in the sidewall. Look over all the tires for bulges on both inner and outer sidewalls for signs of seperation. If you see anything obvious, don't trust those tires.

I'd start with a balancing and see what it finds. Something up with the tires or wheels sounds like the source of your problem to me.

i would start with the tires but also dont rule out wheelbearings tie rods and ball joints. All of that stuff is a breeze to replace if need be though. If you need help with your truck im not against driving up to Everet.

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1980 LUV 4x4, going under re-construction...

Well Im getting New rims and tires soon 15" x 10.5 with 31" tires, so I will have them balenced and slap them on. I am leaning twards the rotors and the drumbs. When I drive the truck I can hear the rear brakes grinding and am sure that the front is no better. And yes the truck slowly works itself up into the wobble starting from about 15mph. As soon as I come up with the cash I am gonna do a brake job all the way around and I am sure that this will solve ALL my troubble. I finnaly cranked up my tortion bars and gained a little over 2" of lift in the front, and now I need a 1" block in the rear as the front end is defenitly higher then the rear. It looks good though??? I cant wait to get the bigger rims and tires on, they are just like what i have on it now but in new condition with no rust! Thanks MEPR for the willingness to come down and help out but i have got it all under controll. but if 4 ever sometime you want to come and kick back, have a beer and shoot the shit, that is fine with me. Just bring your bass becaulse Id like to hear some tunes. the louder the better!!! Question, are the 10.5 inch wide rims too wide? 31" tall should fit perfect rite? Thanks everyone!

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80 luv 4x4, 2-1/2" torsion lift, 31x10.5/r15, 3" body lift, soon rear shackle lift.

85 monte carlo, goodwrench 350, cam, headders, intake, U know... the works.

Come to think of it, I've always had problems with the front brakes on trucks that have been sitting for a number of years. Tearing apart and cleaning up the calipers on the front must be so automatic for me that I didn't even think of it.

Run it for a couple of miles and then go around and feel the hubs in the front and the drum or wheel (whatever you can reach) in the back. If you find one or more that is quite hot, you've found your problem. Another sure sign would be normal stopping when things are cold like right as you leave the driveway, but then after a couple of miles having it pull hard left or right when you hit the brakes. My first 79 did that, left caliper would stick but not enough to really feel it pulling going down the road. Then I'd hit the brakes and only the right would grab since hot brakes don't work so well. It just about put me in the ditch a couple times.

If that is what is going on I would not drive it any distance like that. The rotors or drums can warp, and the heat will melt the grease right out of the wheel bearings.

UPDATE~ rotors warped, calipers sticking. The grinding turns out to be the pass side rear wheel bearing. I will have it fixed and on the road soon!

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80 luv 4x4, 2-1/2" torsion lift, 31x10.5/r15, 3" body lift, soon rear shackle lift.

85 monte carlo, goodwrench 350, cam, headders, intake, U know... the works.