I NEED HELP ! Front wheels jiggle randomly

[Letmeaddem]

So I recently bought my first mighty max. It's a 92 rx. Everything is ok except the front wheels. They randomly jiggle. I thought it was the tie rods so I switched them out and it seemed to get worse especially when driving over a speed bump or just a rough street. I'm guessing it's either the control arms or the ball joints? Any advice would be greatly apprecaiated

[geezer101]

Hi and welcome to mightyram. There are a couple of culprits with front end/steering issues. Control arm bushes, upper and lower ball joints and wheel bearings should all be inspected for wear. Also look at your radius rods and rod bushes as well (these won't be the main issue but they experience extra load/wear when the control arm bushes have worn out). Last on the list is the front stabiliser/sway bar bushes.

[ragragtimetime]

Welcome Letmeaddem (http://www.mightyram50.net/vbulletin/member.php/3591-Letmeaddem)! I too am battling a random clunk at slow speed & a slight vibration at 55mph on a 1983 4wd. Slowly replacing everything (that showed wear or noise). Changed: steering box, pitman arm, idler arm, upper & lower ball joints, right wheel bearings, left outer tie rod, upper control arm bushings, sway bar. Still no change. Will continue to throw money at it & change lower control arm bushings, inner tie rods, right outer tie rod, & left wheel bearing. Changing/rotating wheels has made no difference....3 alignments....no strange wear on tires. I will win!

[pennyman1]

on the 2wd trucks, the idler arm bushings will cause the jiggle you describe. To confirm, Jack up the right front and move the wheel left to right, watching the idler arm located on the frame behind the wheel. If they are bad, you will see the outer part of the arm move on the shaft - there should be no movement if they are good. The bushings can be bought separately for about $10.00 or so on eBay or RockAuto.

[Letmeaddem]

[QUOTE=geezer101;56019]Hi and welcome to mightyram. There are a couple of culprits with front end/steering issues. Control arm bushes, upper and lower ball joints and wheel bearings should all be inspected for wear. Also look at your radius rods and rod bushes as well (these won't be the main issue but they experience extra load/wear when the control arm bushes have worn out). Last on the list is the front stabiliser/sway bar bushes.


okay man thanks I appreciate the advice . I'll definitely give that a look and see if I can figure it out

[Letmeaddem]

on the 2wd trucks, the idler arm bushings will cause the jiggle you describe. To confirm, Jack up the right front and move the wheel left to right, watching the idler arm located on the frame behind the wheel. If they are bad, you will see the outer part of the arm move on the shaft - there should be no movement if they are good. The bushings can be bought separately for about $10.00 or so on eBay or RockAuto.


Alright cool thanks man I'll check those out

[Letmeaddem]

Okay so I finally fixed the jiggling issue. It was the tie rods.

[geezer101]

Okay so I finally fixed the jiggling issue. It was the tie rods.

Thought you had replaced them as per your first post? What did you find was wrong with the tie rods (anything you have learned may very well help the next guy in the same/similar boat - floating from lane to lane :rolleyes:)

[BradMph]

Welcome Letmeaddem (http://www.mightyram50.net/vbulletin/member.php/3591-Letmeaddem)! I too am battling a random clunk at slow speed & a slight vibration at 55mph on a 1983 4wd. Slowly replacing everything (that showed wear or noise). Changed: steering box, pitman arm, idler arm, upper & lower ball joints, right wheel bearings, left outer tie rod, upper control arm bushings, sway bar. Still no change. Will continue to throw money at it & change lower control arm bushings, inner tie rods, right outer tie rod, & left wheel bearing. Changing/rotating wheels has made no difference....3 alignments....no strange wear on tires. I will win!

If your still battling with your steering issue. I went the same route you had done too by replacing everything.

I had an issue with a Toyota Celica at one time with shimmying & clunking in the front wheels and chased this issue for friggin years. I took it to a wheel shop and they found that when the wheels were lugged onto hub that they were not being centered on the hubs correctly. The lugs on older Cragar rims had small amount of play between the lug and wheel. Just enough to throw the wheel off center a bit. I eventually started chalking the tire by spinning it as it while on lifts and making sure it was centered on the hubs as best as possible. Cured the problem immediately.

[pennyman1]

that means the wheels were hub centric - hub spacers would have fixed that, but most people aren't aware they exist.

[Letmeaddem]

I didn't tighten them right the first time lol

[Letmeaddem]

Thought you had replaced them as per your first post? What did you find was wrong with the tie rods (anything you have learned may very well help the next guy in the same/similar boat - floating from lane to lane :rolleyes:)

Oh yeah sorry I didn't specify. I tightened them up again cause the first time I didn't do it right. Then I got two new front wheels and waaam problem solved lol