I went over to Classic Truck Parts this morning and picked up a set of tie rod ends and a king pin replacement kit. I got a PM from Jerry (Hotrod Lincoln) suggesting I adjust the steering box worm gear "lash." I decided to do that and then take another test drive before jumping into the tie rod ends and king pins.
I made the adjustment and went out for a drive. It was better, but I still had a pretty significant shimmy. While out and about I decided to swing by my local family owned tire shop and have them balance the front wheels. After about 5 minutes in the shop, the technician came and got me and said "you really need to take a look at this." That is never a good sign!! He had the front left tire on the balance machine (the wheel that was causing the most problems).
When he spun the wheel on the balancer it looked like something out of the Flintstones. It had a very noticeable flat spot/bulge on the tire. The rim may have been bent slightly as well. It's the first time I've seen a tire go out of round. Perhaps the vehicle hit a curb real hard or the wheels sat on the flat tires for a long time. It's weird because the tires themselves look pretty good. Not to old and plenty of tread left.
I ended up having the shop balance all four wheels. There was one more that had some issues. We put the two best wheels/tires on the front and the other two in the back. I ran it out on the highway for a test drive on the way home. My front shimmy problem was solved. It ran straight and true with no vibration in the wheel. The problem is that the shake migrated to the rear wheels. With the rear axle being relatively fixed the shaking wasn't as bad as the it was in the front, but it was definitely there.
The tire guy recommended that I buy two wheels to replace the two that were beat up. He also suggested buying 4 new tires. Now I'll need to find two replacement wheels.
I'm going to hold onto the tie rod ends and king pins. I'll replace them next time I have some garage time.
In the mean time, I need some ideas for replacement wheels. I see that most of the GM trucks and SUVs have gone back to a 6 lug pattern. The tire guy measured my lug pattern and said it is a 6 x 4.75" Does anyone know if there are any modern vehicles that run that size bolt pattern? I see a lot of wheels/tires for sale on Craigslist. Sometime you get info on the vehicle the wheels came off, but no one ever lists the bolt pattern size.
I'm going to keep the truck on the local roads until I get this wheel situation sorted.
