Hey guys,

So, new issue with my truck...and great fun to boot!

When I start out at a light or whatever, the truck gets up to about 10 mph and starts to sway side/side from the rear. Can't feel it in the steering wheel, so i'm 99% sure its the back...just feels like the back, too.

It is worse at about 25 and then smooths out at 30ish and I'm relatively smooth until 75 or so...which is the fastest I've ever had the truck.

Any ideas? The truck is a 91.5 W250 on 33x12.5 with Kelderman Air Ride. I've tried varying the amount of air in both the bags and the tires and it doesn't seem to make any difference.

I actually jacked up the rear of the truck by the center of the axle and spun the wheels and the axle doesn't seem to be bent.

Anyway, Just thought I'd ask and see if anyone had any ideas.

 

are your lugs tight? lol

 

Yeah, I believe they are...Guess I could go check real fast...but when i jacked up the rear and spun the wheels they spun true, with no wobble.

 

It reads like the classic symptoms of a broken belt in a radial tire; one way to know for sure is if it goes BOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!!!! in a few days and takes a fender, tail-light, or mirror with it.


A broken belt is not always easy to spot in it's first stages.

Then again, it might be something else completely un-related.

 

I second Bearkiller. It sounds like you have a bad tire or two. It could also be a bent rim. Try some other known good tires on the back and I bet it dissapears.

 

Have someone follow you and watch the rear tires. If the rim is bent or the tire is getting the wobbles it will show up as lateral movement. They want to watch the tread also as if the carcass is failing, you've got a literal time bomb back there. Lose a tire at speed and you better be a really good driver. The rears are bad as there is no control over them like a front one.

 

I just ordered new tires from Costco. I knew the tires were dry-rotted, but they had lots of tread. Basically, they were old but not worn.

I did jack up the rear of the truck and get the tires spinning nice and fast and there were no wobble to the rims. I was worried that I bent a rim or an axle or something, although it came on too fast and i didn't really have any incidents.

 

I see "new" old RADIAL tires get people into trouble all the time.

At least once a day, someone with a vehicle that actually did come with a real spare tire ( getting more rare all the time ), will have us order three new tires to match the five-year-old "new" spare that has been going along for the ride all this time.

Nearly every time someone does this, that "new" spare will fail within the first few months.

Then, there are those "new" radials that grandpa or uncle Larry took off his truck when it was new, back in 1984, with hardly a hundred miles on them, and been laying in the shed ever since; don't waste a mount/balance bill on them.


On the other hand, I have many times, on my own stuff also, seen old very rotten BIAS tires just go on and on, on heavy trailers, in August heat, and never give it up.

 

it could be a bent rim

 

New tires FTW!

Man...what a difference...it's like driving a whole new truck!