Attn: jennifer408

Sprint 6 · Jul 15, 2014

You mentioned having a difficult front end problem on a van. Why don't you post the symptoms and we will see what suggestions the board can offer. I am sure you drive it to tractor shows.

jennifer408 · Jul 15, 2014

ok, thanks, when we first got it, it had a death wobble. we replaced the end tie rods on the passenger side and the Pittman arm, the whole front end seamed tight after that so we took it and got the front end alined at a local shop, took it out on the highway and knew it wasn't right instantly, so we took it to the chevy dealership and told them to fix it. it ran great for awhile, then we noticed the front tires were wearing uneven, so husband rotated the tires and not many miles later it's starting to act like it did when we first got it. we are scratching our heads about it.

oldtanker · Jul 15, 2014

Year and model would help.

But check upper and lower control arm bushing and ball joints, shocks, inner and outter tie rod ends and the often missed wheel bearings.

The pitman arm isn't going to really make the tire wear funny but will cause it to wonder it's way down the road.

The only other thing I can thing of would be to check and see if it's been in a wreck. If it has it can have the upper or lower arms bent or even the frame.

Rick

Steve@Advance · Jul 15, 2014

Might check all the adjustment points, something was probably left loose by one of the alignment "technicians", they're good at that!

Tramway Guy · Jul 15, 2014

I had a u-joint replaced on the front of my 4x4 truck. A week later, the tie rod end dropped right out of the steering arm on that wheel. They never tightened the nut on it. Fortunately I was in a driveway at the time.

Jo Bird · Jul 15, 2014

Had a similar problem with wife's car, drive along and it would start to shake. Mechanic could not find any thing wrong. Tore it apart out in the drive one day and noticed the inboard brake shoe severely worn out. Seems the brake caliper would stick at different times, thus causing the problem. Replaced the calipers and rotors on both sides and all is good now. The other thing that could cause such an issue is a rubber break hose deteriorating on the inside causing pressure to hold the brake on after letting up on the pedal, if one wheel feel hot, you may want to investigate that as well. Of course these are only guesses, hope you find it with out spending a fortune.

Billy Shafer · Jul 15, 2014

Friend of mines says the same thing. Have them go over the rotors and pads very well.Sticking brake system can cause this problem. Pad sticking on a warped rotor will cause front end to shake.

Sprint 6 · Jul 15, 2014

As others mentioned, I would check for stuck front calipers or restricted brake hoses first. Since you mention a pitman arm, I am going to guess we are dealing with a G van or possibly an Astro. My next suggestion is outside the box. Since the steering has been apart, I would be wondering if the drag link is on backwards. Some GM trucks, the drag link can be put on swapped left for right. It will look right and even align correctly, but will throw the geometry off and cause weird steering and handling problems.

the flying belgian · Jul 15, 2014

Sometimes a tire can have a bulge caused by ply separation. Hard to spot unless you really look for it on all four tires. Only acts up at certain speeds.

jennifer408 · Jul 15, 2014

hi, i should have replied earlier, it's an 03, 1ton, chevy express van.

Sprint 6 · Jul 15, 2014

Some Express vans had a recall for cracking around the idler arm mount. I never saw one cracked, but worth checking.

rustred · Jul 15, 2014

tires wearing uneven is the wheel alignment adjustment. depends what u mean by wobble, as tires out of balance cause this. the whole front end needs to be checked by qualified personal. post a picture of the tire wear. camber and toe in adjustments are the tire wearing factors. a bad tire can cause a wobble also.

jennifer408 · Jul 15, 2014

(quoted from post at 20:55:41 07/15/14) tires wearing uneven is the wheel alignment adjustment. depends what u mean by wobble, as tires out of balance cause this. the whole front end needs to be checked by qualified personal. post a picture of the tire wear. camber and toe in adjustments are the tire wearing factors. a bad tire can cause a wobble also.

ok, but i won't have time till friday, tomorrow i have to see an oncologist in sf and on thursday we have to go back out and get people feed, critter feed, etc...etc...

MeAnthony · Jul 16, 2014

I"ve had the Death Shake problem on three vehicles, all Jeeps. It would occur usually around 55 - 60 MPH, sometimes right out of the blue on smooth road, sometimes after hitting bump. Usually had to slow down to about 25 - 30 MPH for it to stop shaking. One was bad ball joints, one was a sloppy steering gearbox and one was loose lock bolt in the slip yoke that connects the steering column to the gearbox.
On the one with the sloppy steering gearbox, I snugged the adjustment bolt on top a little but I"d recommend this is a troubleshooting step / temporary fix; if the gearbox is sloppy, best to replace it. Also, adjusting this bolt tends to make the steering very sensitive.

Attn: jennifer408

Sprint 6

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