started the truck this morning and when i went to leave and turn out the driveway the steering wheel was very jumpy. it drives fine but when cornering u can feel it, slow turns are worse like pulling into a parking lot while turning .... very very choppy. i shut the truck off and got out to look things over and all seems well, tirepressures are up, power steering fluid is good. got in started and pulled out of the lot and the prob went away ??? it did this about 2 weeks ago also. whats going on with this crazy thing?? scott

 

Is your truck a 4x4?

 

yes 4x4 is disengaged

 

U Joints on the front axle are more than likely seizing up.


If they have never been out and considering where you live with all the salt and stuff the hubs may be fun to get off.

With the right tools and some patience its not to bad of a job.

Best way to confirm is to turn the wheels ful crank and jack up the front wheels. When you spin the front tire and find it binds terribly then you know there toast.


Jason

 

Could be the transfer case is not disengaged, check the front shaft and see if you can turn it by hand, or you may have a ps pump problem, pressure or flow restriction? I would think if it were the u-joints, it would do it all of the time not just every two weeks?

 

I would check to see if you have a tire going out of round. I had a similar experience and it was a tire.

 

I second the U-joint diagnosis.

 

not saying anyone is wrong but if it was the u- joints why would it only do it occasionally ? wouldnt it tend to do it all the time if they were bad ?? today it didnt do it at all. seems that the 2 times it has done it so far was after the truck sat all weekend or several days. scott

 

ok i lifted the front of the truck with a jack turned the wheels then tried to spin the tires. the left side binds loke was mentioned in a post so i called a buddy of mine who has a garage and set up an appt for him to replace both sides next wed. ( this was on fri )... so here it is sat and guess what ... its not doing it today.... this really makes me nuts. do you guys still think its the u joints on the front axle ?? i just dont get why it does it 1 day but not the next. it did it all day fri. but not a single time 2day ... ughhhh thanks again scott

 

Our old 5/4 Chev trucks were full time 4x4 and the steering wheel would wobble in your hands on tight turns when on a hard surface. Depending on suspension and wheel geometry, you may not be hitting the angle where it binds on all occasions. Those little needle bearings are probably all dried up in there.

 

If you feel binding with the tire in the air and the wheel turned, but not when the wheel is straight, gotta be u-joints. You've taken the suspension and steering out of the equation by jacking the truck up.

 

I agree. Not much else can cause that when the truck is jacked up.
Look for rust around the u-joint cap seals coming from the inside of the caps.