Right Front Wheel Bouncing ?

[Kennel_Dog]

I have a 4" lift on my 87 Bronco with 33x12.5x15 tires. The other night I was driving home, doing about 45mph on a left hand corner when I got a big vibration through the wheel. The right side front tire felt like it was almost bouncing before I got it stopped. Now it happened again driving to work today, except this time I was on a straight doing about 50mph. It was a smooth road, no potholes or anything like that. It stopped as soon as I slowed down to about 25mph, so I gunned the motor to see would it happen again and it didnt, even after accelerating to over 75mph.

I`ve just recently installed the lift kit and followed the instructions to the letter. The tyres are also recent, balanced, plus the correct pressure.

To be honest it scared the crap out of me the first time because it was so violent and has me very wary about driving it now.

Any ideas ? thanks, Pat.

 

[Broncoholics]

Sounds like wheel bearings to me. You should open up the hubs and check to see how the bearings look. Who knows, the bearing retainer nuts might have come loose. Its happened to me but I was off road thankfully. I don't drive mine on road but you should make sure the outter nut is tight after you repack the bearings. Also check to see if the bearing race is wobbeling in the hub. It could have spun and worn out the hub area. Check ball joints too.

 

[Kennel_Dog]

Thanks Broncoholics, I`ll replace everything you mentioned cause I`m sure the need to be done. My bronco sat in a garage, then driveway for almost 10yrs so most of the stuff like that ( bearing, seals, u-joints ) where replaced already. The plus side was I got an 87 with just over 60K /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[sweepersrgr8]

I'm with Broncoholic, I've had a bad wheel bearing do the exact same thing, the added tire size, and weight could have shortend a worn ones life. If it's not the bearings... you may have a bad shock on that side. If you are running bias ply tires...sometimes they will wobble when cold.

 

[Kennel_Dog]

It definitely not the shocks, the 4 up front are all brand new with the lift kit and the tyres are BF Goodridge AT`s.

 

[Justshootme84]

My first thought is also a bad wheel bearing, it's at least worth the trouble to check it out. You may want to jack up the wheel on that side and see if it moves at all side-to-side ( wheel bearing) or up and down (ball joint). Watch the steering parts like the tie rod ends for any slack, too. I have also had a weight come off of a balanced wheel before, so that's a remote possibility. If you have been in mud recently, even that will throw off the balance if any is packed on the inside of the rim.

 

[Broncoholics]

I was just thinking back on my F350 I had a problem everyonce in a while where the truck would shake like crazy then go away. I found out from the tire shop that the tires were egg shapped slightly. This causes a shake only when they get off from one another. After going around a corner it would be fine. A few days later same bounce.

On my parents Exploder they found that every time they went from Seattle to Portland they would loose wheel weights for some reason. The tire shop said aluminum wheels always through weights. Steel is less but still has problems. They ended up using epoxy to keep them on. Just a thought...

 

[Kennel_Dog]

thanks for the replies guys. The problem is still there and I`ve checked the wheel bearings, they where perfect. I also have no play in the ball joints.

I went over everything installed with the lift kit to make sure it was all tight and nothing bent.

I checked the wheel weights too and their all still in place. b-(

Any more ideas ?

 

[Justshootme84]

If the ragjoint in the steering shaft is worn, it can give you the cement tire effect. On mine, it looked fine, steered O.K., but at a certain spot it would have slack. YOu can check this, and try tightening the steering gearbox adj. crew 1/4 turn to clockwise. Also, a steering dampener or stabilizer is supposed to help control, you might look at getting one if you don't already have it.

 

[Broncoholics]

Look at the radius arm bushings. If they are worn out and have metal to metal contact you will get a vibration up the frame to the seat of your pants. Its probably the c-bushings starting to wear a spot thru and you only hear it when the right pressure is applied to it. You might get some slop from this but I doubt it.

 

[Tyrell_Shoaf]

i have a 88 ford bronco and that has happened to me a couple times but it was coming from the left wheel, and when i am going slow and somone is in front of me they always tell me that my front left wheel is wobeling back and forth.

 

[Wliebhard]

I'm no expert on suspention, but on my '85 it felt as if the u-joint's were gone. I had a horrible vibration, that started soft, would go away and then come back stronger the next time. Then one day it stopped on my way home. Shortly thereafter, the left rear wheel came off at 50 MPH. That was just a Teency weency scary. Since you took off the wheel to check the bearing, I assume the lugs are tight now. Is it still doing it? Also, this same excact thing happend to my buddy's Bronc. Just a thought, being It seems wied an' all.

 

[Kennel_Dog]

I`ve just recently installed the lift kit and followed the instructions to the letter

Thanks for all the help guys, the problem has been solved. I quoted myself because I didnt follow the lift instructions to the letter. The right side alxe pivot dropdown bracket requires two holes to be drilled in order for it to be stable....I forgot to drill those holes. :blush:

Thanks again for trying to help the mechanically inept.

 

[Justshootme84]

Glad you found the problem!!! The passenger-side alxe dropdown pivot brakcet thingy should also be welded to the frame for added strength. Mine is. Something to do with leverage.

 

[Kennel_Dog]

I was thinking about welding it and wasnt sure if it was possible because off the awkward place its in.

Did you drill and weld your JSM, or just weld ? also if I want to upgrade to a 6" lift does it have to be ground off and repositioned ?

thanks >-

 

[Justshootme84]

I was thinking about welding it and wasnt sure if it was possible because off the awkward place its in.Did you drill and weld your JSM, or just weld ? also if I want to upgrade to a 6" lift does it have to be ground off and repositioned ?

thanks >-

The bracket on mine is both bolted and welded.

There should be two holes for mounting the axle pivot bolt. The top one is used on the 4" lift, and the lower one for a 6" lift.

 

[Kennel_Dog]

Welding and bolts it is then, thanks for the tip JSM.

There should be two holes for mounting the axle pivot bolt. The top one is used on the 4" lift, and the lower one for a 6" lift.

Yep your right, theres another hole underneath for the 6", thanks again.