Postby 08SEPATHV8 » Thu Apr 13, 2017 6:00 pm
Hey all - new to the forum.
Recently purchased a 2008 SE V8 with 74,000 miles. Love the truck, body is beautiful and seems to be VERY well taken care of, but now have an issue where I have a steering wheel wobble when I move the steering wheel back and forth on the highway. It does NOT wobble when the truck is driving straight or when I am going around a curve and turning the steering wheel slowly. When the steering wheel is moved back and forth or when making a quick lane change, it has a wobble/jerk to it. When the steering is held constant, the wobble goes away.
Another issue - possibly related - when I hit a bump at any speed, the steering wheel just about jerks right out of my hand.
Steering wheel is tight, no play. Steering feels confident.
I had the truck aligned at a reputable local tire shop, after I replaced the tie-rod ends. I recently had the wheels all re-balanced at a 'Firestone' shop (don't generally like going to 'chain' stores, but it was convenient). All set with wheel balance, the problem is slightly less noticeable. When they checked the truck at Firestone, they told me my wheel bearing was really bad on the front left, and starting to go bad on the pass side. Nothing was mentioned when I got the alignment, but there is a squeaking, squealing, humming coming from the front left wheel, so that does make sense to me. They also took me out to the shop and he grabbed the wheel/tire and rocked it back and forth on the bearing. However, the noises coming from it are minimal, so it is hard to believe that wheel bearings could cause the problems above, but never owned a truck before so they are different for me when it comes to diagnosing issues.
Obviously, I will be doing the wheel bearings ASAP, but wondering if anyone has had similar problems with theirs and what the solution was for me to focus on if the wheel bearing doesn't fix these problems. I also have 2 new rear shocks and 2 new front struts that will be installed soon. I plan on towing with the truck and travelling with it, so I wanted to replace shocks/struts all the way around before I tow/haul anything.