front end shimmy

[Charles Martin]

replaced 1 lower ball joint ,Inner and outer tie rod end on right side. Idler arm and pitman arm. Every thing else seems tight. Still get shimmy after certain bumps on our roads. ANY ONE HAVE ANY IDEA WHATS GOING ON???

[ssgharkness020147]

Bad springs and shocks can cause a shimmy. Do you have any heavy aftermarket accessories on the front? Like a big brushguard or maybe added a factory winch? Those things will contribute to spring wear.

The shocks themselves are only good for about 50K miles, depending on the age of your truck those could also be the culprit.

Control arm bushings are another possibility, if you replace the springs also replace the shocks, and do the control arm bushings while the A-arms are out.

[IeZeR]

What tires are you running? MTR's don't ballance for crap especially if they are worn. Did you jack up the front end to get the wheels off the ground when you checked idler / pitman? Probably should go ahead and replace all the front ball joints anyway not just one and both sets of tie rods. replacing one tie rod could just magnify the problem on the opposite. Just though good luck...

[lvs]

Only after hitting bumps?? Any other times?

[HUMTECH]

Alignment angles?

[Charles Martin]

truck is 96 42000 mi. gsa tires,no extra weight on front end. idler and pitman are new. Only shimmys when hitting certain bumps. No wiggles in any other ball joints, or rod ends I can feel by touching with someone else moving the steering wheel back and fourth. chuck

[BigKofJustice]

What tires and wheels?

Are running steel wheels? 16.5"?

Could be that the wheels may be dented/out of round/not true. Could be a loose runflat. Could need an alignment.

[Charles Martin]

I am going to get alignment checked, and put rear tires on front and check it again. chuck.