I am getting a bad vibration from the front end around 60mph. I work for a tire company and I don't believe that they are the problem since it doesn't do it every time at the same speed just most of the time. My girlfriend was driving behind me on the freeway and she said my left c.v. axle was bouncing up and down but the hubs aren't locked in? I checked the front end and there is some minor play in the pitman arm and the tie rod ends, and the steering dampener is original. I checked to see if the c.v. axle would move up and down but it seems fine if you grap it and try and shake it. I also checked my drive lines and the u-joints seem fine. The truck has a four inch lift and it was done before I bought it.

Thanks,
Brian

I'm assuming that when you say that your girlfriend saw the "cv axel" moving up and down that it was the tire/wheel movement more so that she noted. My question is was the movement acceptable for the terrain? Was the movement really abnormal and was it happening on both sides? I'm thinking shocks here. How old are they? Do you know if the lift was professionally installed?

She was driving behind me on the freeway and I asked her to see if she saw anything moving weird. When we pulled over she pointed out the c.v. axle to me and said it was bouncing up and down a lot. I'm pretty sure that the lift was installed by a 4x4 shop.

Could be the shocks or the tires are out of balance.

I would swap the tires front-to-back on the same side and see if it makes a difference.

Ok so I replaced my inner and outer tie rod ends, and pitman arm today. I have already replaced my idler and the ball joints and bearings are tight. It still shakes but not as bad as it did. On the way home a friends drove behind me and said it's both of my c.v. axles are bouncing up and down. I think next I will pull apart the hubs and see how everything looks in there maybe something is not holding the axles in tight enough? I did try and shake them up and down when I was doing the front end work and they do move but not a whole bunch.

As far as the tires go I have balanced them a few times and tried rotating them already and it doesn't change it at all. Also if it's a vibration from wheel balance it will do it everytime you hit the speed that they are off balance at. My problem doesn't do it all the time just most of the time.

Sounds like you've done a lot of work that'll give you some longevity with your front end for a while. How about the shocks? I know it may seem too simple, but a set of bad shocks is gonna make your ride ugly, "most of the time", as you mentioned. I'm hard pressed to think that it's just your cv's moving up and down all by themselves <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> and not the whole a-arm assembly and wheel too. If the shocks are shot then your gonna get a whole lot of extra movement to the wheel with the lack of dampening. That'll definately cause you to feel a shudder or vibration while driving. Probably noticing a bit of drifting or play in the steering? Just some thoughts. BTW what size tire ya runnin'?

I am running 33x12.50/15 Big O XT's. I suppose it could be the shocks they just don't seem bad. They aren't leaking and the truck actually handles pretty well. Is there a way I can test to see if it is the shocks without just buying new one's they are pro comp shocks and the truck has a 4" lift.

Thanks,
Brian

My rears went out after a few years back and showed signs of it. Rear of the truck just wasn't riding well and there was some signs of fluid leakage. I figure if it had happened in the front the ride might not have been as bad what with the IFS VS the solid axel rear. I pulled mine off and just attempted to run them through their cycle and found that way too easy to do. Hadn't been hittin' the gym they had just bought the farm. You could try and do that and see if they smoothly expand and compress. Should be pretty hard to do by hand and should work smoothly.

Where are you feeling the vibrations from, through the steering wheel or the whole front end? If it is coming through the steering wheel it out of balance tires, out of round tire, or a separated tire. If the vibrations aren't coming through the steering wheel it is normally a shock issue, or bad/loose body mounts. Bad/failing steering linkage components cause loose/unresponsive/wander in the steering and poor tire wear, not vibrations. Worn A-arm bushings shouldn't really cause vibrations either, I guess they might if they were completely gone, but you more often hear the front clunk when taking off/stopping quickly.

Since you have manual hubs, the CV's shouldn't be doing anything, w/o the hubs engaged they are static, and should only move w/the up and down motion of the suspension. Even if they were broken, they shouldn't flop around on the highway, unless the hubs aren't releasing, or you have the t-case engaged.

Also, driveline vibrations caused from poor angles, bad u-joints, bent, or out of balance are felt through your seat, not the rest of the rig, and usually go away when you let off the gas.