steering or balljoint problem?

[1badb2]

well...ive got a problem that appears to be steering maybe but im not sure...i know my balljoints are shot (going to change them tuesday) but i also need to know if my steering may be bad also. what it does is the driver tire will wobble left and right if i hit certain kinds of bumps at 15+mph. if its an upward bump such as speed bump it does nothing..but if its like a pothole it'll cause the driver tire alone to shake left and right...possible balljoint problem or TRE? the ends are fairly new.

[Grapehead]

if you know your balljoints are shot, why bother asking? change them as planned, then see if the problem persists.

it does sound like a balljoint issue though.

jack up the offending wheel.
grab at 12 and 6, try to wiggle. wiggle = balljoints or hub bearings
grab at 9 and 3, try to wiggle. wiggle = steering or hub bearings

[Apogee]

Sounds like a ball joint to me. It's very difficult to diagnose anything else in the steering until you get the ball joints fixed so I wouldn't even bother trying. When you tear it down, take the opportunity to check your wheel bearings and service them while you're at it. Do yourself a favor and remove as many variables as you can. Once the knuckles are tight again, it should be easy to diagnose your TRE's.

[stupidfast]

yeah, ball joints. but while you have it apart and jacked up, check the wheel bearings too.

[1badb2]

just thought id post that i fixed it..i didnt really fuck around, i just replaced everything that i needed too. got brand new balljoints, wheelbearings were fine and i got YJ tie rods to replace that crappy inverted Y. so far no problems at all and the truck feels 100% better..no drifting or hard front end feelings or whatever....the old balljoints were really bad.

[Grapehead]

good deal. i remember when i had to do the left upper on my cj, all the grease was long gone, the ball had worn down so there was a good 1/2" of play. it fell right out of the socket when i got it apart.

[1badb2]

well...damn it...it still does it..cept it wont do it on bumps now..it just kinda developes it on the straights. cept both tires do it now. the Unitbearings seemed fine when i changed out the stuff....i suppose my TRE's are shot...how much to replace all of them on my YJ setup?