Steering problem. Bad.

[acesneights1]

The m1008 developed a problem which has me a bit stumped. I have owned many many OBS chevy trucks and had from stock to 15 inches of lift running 44's and never seen one do what my 1008 is doing. One minute it steers fine. She'll cruise down the highway doin' 75 and I could let go of the wheel. Then All of a sudden I'll be making a slow turn somewhere and the whole front end feels like something is wobbling like a wheel is gonna fall off. Then driving down the road no matter what speed the truck starts pulling violently to either side. The steering also feels very heavy. it's been starting to get some death wobble as well. Here is what I have done so far:
I replaced the steering stabilizer.
Greased the whole front end including king pins
took apart calipers made sure they moved freely and lubricated slides
steered truck lock to lock with truck on stands. No binding at all.
Checked center bolts.
Checked u bolts.
Checked sway bars.
Springs are 4 inch Rancho I think and bushings are poly and in good order.
Checked the spring eye bolts both spring and frame.
Checked steering column.
Spun wheels,on a jack feel fine.
when it pulls it also feels like it's binding.
The only thing I can think of is something is coming apart in the steering although I don't think I have ever seen a bad steering box in one of these aside from minor seal leaks.
Any ideas ?
Again it's random. Sometimes it's fine which is making it harder to diagnose.

 

[ryan77]

Sounds like the front u joints!

 

[GM-M1008]

the whole front end feels like something is wobbling like a wheel is gonna fall off.

King pin bushings!

 

[acesneights1]

would they also cause binding ? The wobble is when making a turn and it's bad but what I don't get is all of a sudden it's gone and the truck steers mint again.

 

[acesneights1]

Sounds like the front u joints!

Checked those too. They are fine.

 

[acesneights1]

I never did king pins on one of these but I seem to remember they are a nightmare.

 

[ryan77]

If its when u turn i would say a worn u joint thats binding up!

 

[seano11]

if your running 44s it might be your steering gear box is to weak

 

[Cucvnut]

uber easy 30 min per side. to change the bushing and spring.

 

[rlwm211]

I would bet on the axle shaft u joints are frozen, or at least one is. Even with the hubs turned out the axle shaft will spin some as you drive down the road. If the u joint is froznen in one axis it will bind when that axis is lined the wrong way.

It is very hard to tell if this is happening by inspecting the axle shafts in the vehicle. If you jack it up and can turn the shaft and try to turn the wheel. You will find a place where it binds up and the wheel is extremely hard to turn.

One 1008 I saw did not do this all winter while plowing. As soon as the hubs were turned out the axle ujoints siezed in a few days and made the truck very erratic to drive.

 

[acesneights1]

They seem to turn ok when i rotated them by hand. No signs of rust. Drove the truck 30 miles to work and ot was fine. I am
Running 35 inch bfgs.

 

[rlwm211]

Try turning the axle shafts with the steering turn to both stops.

That is when a bad axle ujoint will make itself known if that is your problem.

 

[acesneights1]

Seems to be ok. Tried that this am. Its not really a bind soley. It also pulls very badly either way if you turn the wheel even slightly but the big problem is then it stops and is fine . If it would just keep doing it i could find the problem.

 

[ranchhopper]

Probably king pin bushings and springs I have replaced every one in the 1008s I have owned and it makes a world of difference. All the springs I have taken out when doing king pins were fatigued enough to be 3/4 inch shorter than the new ones. Very easy fix dont be scared to dive right in I was with the first one but then found out it was so easy I did all my 1008s.

 

[acesneights1]

Do we have a sticky on doing them ?
Also where to get the parts ? GM or auto parts store ??
Is there a preload or shims to them ?

 

[Westech]

If you can replace a fuse you can do king pin bushings and springs. EZ... and unless your in 4x4 a u joint will NOT cause a issue like that because it is not spinning.

Really if you have owned so many Trucks you should know how to do this. I just sayin.....

IM OUT! PEACE

 

[ranchhopper]

I got my springs and bushings off ebay very reasonable and easy to install new parts so its practical to get rid of the worn parts and replace them.

 

[acesneights1]

If you can replace a fuse you can do king pin bushings and springs. EZ... and unless your in 4x4 a u joint will NOT cause a issue like that because it is not spinning.

Really if you have owned so many Trucks you should know how to do this. I just sayin.....

IM OUT! PEACE

All the truck I had were Dana 44's. I could rip a 44 apart in my sleep. I never worked on a 60 but from what I have been reading it's no 30 minute job and the parts are crazy. The kits are 82$ per side. If I need new bottom caps that is another 44$ per side and I do not have a 7/8 hex so I can imagine what Snap on wants for that. The article I just read on rebuilding the king pins was not pretty and involved a rosebud which I do have so...I'm just sayin....The author said it took 3 hrs for dissasembly and judging by his pics, I believe it.
I do not know if I have a race driver either that small. I have large truck ones.

 

[acesneights1]

Also does anybody know if the spindle thread is the same size as a D44 ? I have a spindle puller for a D44 .

 

[Blue2actual]

heres a pretty good write up on the rebuild (yea I know it says pirate 4x4, but it's a decent write up) Pirate4x4.Com - Extreme Four Wheel Drive