Suspension Issue

imelmo · Jun 30, 2013

So we changed out the u-joints and put new seals on my front axle on the passenger side Friday. Everything seemed to go fine. But I went to the track and the truck was all over the place. Was doing it on the interstate too whenever I'd make somewhat quick lane changes. Felt kind of like when you have a trailer on and it starts fish tailing. Any ideas what we could've missed or messed up? I'm not gonna be able to go to the track again 'til we get it sorted out. Way too dangerous.

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OBS F350 · Jun 30, 2013

imelmo said:
So we changed out the u-joints and put new seals on my front axle on the passenger side Friday. Everything seemed to go fine. But I went to the track and the truck was all over the place. Was doing it on the interstate too whenever I'd make somewhat quick lane changes. Felt kind of like when you have a trailer on and it starts fish tailing. Any ideas what we could've missed or messed up? I'm not gonna be able to go to the track again 'til we get it sorted out. Way to dangerous.

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Sway bars still in place and bushings etc. on them in good condition?

OBS F350 · Jun 30, 2013

BTW sorry if the sway bar thing is way off target, I'm not sure how big of a role they play on these trucks. Had a beater car and due to some of the activities it participated in I lost the rear sway bar. At any speed if you jerked the wheel it would go all over the road, at like 40-50+ if you jerked the wheel decently hard it would almost set it sideways and out of control... Was thinking about that after I posted and realized it's not really an apples to apples comparison so my bad if I was way off in left field LOL.

amarillo250 · Jun 30, 2013

my trackbar is bad and the ball joints start to give up my truck does the same.

imelmo · Jun 30, 2013

Taking a quick look underneath at the sway bar, it looks like the sway bar may be loose on that side. I'm gonna put it on the lift in a little bit and check it out closer. I'll look at the ball joints and stuff again too.

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simonton6.4 · Jun 30, 2013

Might wanna look into some new shocks to might be shot

skylinedan · Jun 30, 2013

Did you get the u joint to tight? I had one half tied up, axle would creep and stop in the right spot not letting the wheel turn. If you gave it a hard yank it would snap loose and be all over the road a ways then drive some what ok till it did it again.

mint-6oh · Jun 30, 2013

skylinedan said:
Did you get the u joint to tight? I had one half tied up, axle would creep and stop in the right spot not letting the wheel turn. If you gave it a hard yank it would snap loose and be all over the road a ways then drive some what ok till it did it again.

Whs. Did this start after you replaced the u-joint? If the u-joint is binding it could cause what your describing. A binding/tight u-joint will not let the steering return as it should and will keep the wheels "turned" as the steering fights the u-joint to return

imelmo · Jun 30, 2013

Yeah, it started after we changed them Friday. That would make sense because one of my guys bent the u-joint housing on the shaft and had to heat it up to get it back in place. It looked straight to everyone, even put a pipe thru it that matched the holes. But I guess it wouldn't have to be out by much to screw it up.

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Betarocker · Jun 30, 2013

If a u-joint is seized or tight, you'll notice if you have the wheels turned all the way to one side and spin the wheel with the hubs locked (needs to be off the ground).

To check the pieces that make up the steering you test with the vehicle on the ground. Have someone be the steerer and you crawl underneath and look at all the pivot points. The steering wheel only needs to be rocked back and forth until it gets hard to move, not lock to lock. Check the piman arm, the drag link ends, the tir-rod ends, the ball joints. If there is lateral movement then they are worn out.

imelmo · Jul 1, 2013

Sooooo, anybody wanna know what it apparently was?

I'll give you a hint. The sidewalls of MTZ's are REALLY strong apparently. :lookaround: LOL

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Coxey Diesel · Jul 1, 2013

Flat tarrrrr

Betarocker · Jul 1, 2013

Jackass

imelmo · Jul 2, 2013

Coxey Diesel said:
Flat tarrrrr

Yup. I checked all the tires before heading to the track but apparently picked something up on the way there. 2psi in my front passenger tire. Wasn't squatting or anything.

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OBS F350 · Jul 2, 2013

Bet that tire was hooking great! LOL Glad it was something simple.

Coxey Diesel · Jul 2, 2013

imelmo said:
Yup. I checked all the tires before heading to the track but apparently picked something up on the way there. 2psi in my front passenger tire. Wasn't squatting or anything.

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That's crazy. I guess you could call them run flats? Lolololol