Shocks?!?

[JustinC00]

Howdy y’all. Got a bit of an inconsistent issue. I’ve got a rough ride(yes I know these trucks ride like tanks sometimes). I posted about the issue awhile ago. It’s almost like a death wobble, for a very breif period of time (maybe 5 seconds) and then it goes away, also it goes away if I speed up a bit. My front end is all new and aligned. Tires are due to be rotated in a couple hundred miles. I’ve had all four balanced and everything is in line. I’m thinking shocks because (and I can post pics soon) the passenger side seems to have a lot more play (the piston seems like it’s longer) than the one on the drivers side. The bouncing seems to start on the passenger side (I have a Dana 50 ttb I think) and then translates to the rest of the front end. local guy said maybe the bushings in the leaf springs? Need some input. I’m using another truck for work rn, but I’d like to figure it out regardless. Thank you in advance.

 

[JustinC00]

Also a note the problem only happens at about 55. It has no mechanical origins. It has something to due with the suspension or something related.

 

[Austin86250]

where high quality parts used or cheap china parts?

 

[JustinC00]

Honestly the shocks are a seemingly knock off of rough country. They’re tuff country. I looked up the brand and they are kinda cheap compared to the likes of bilstein. And I’ve never heard of them

 

[DaveBen]

55 mph is about the speed where tire bounce occurs due to several factors like tire balance or alignment. Todays shops don't do a good job of balancing tires.

 

[JustinC00]

The truck came with said parts when I bought it. There is no oil near top of either side, but that difference in exposed piston is concerning

 

[JustinC00]

55 mph is about the speed where tire bounce occurs due to several factors like tire balance or alignment. Todays shops don't do a good job of balancing tires.

I go to les Schwab. They’ve treated me well and I trust them to do good work. They rebalanced them. When they did the front end there were 1/2” spacers. That weren’t accounted for when the tires were originally put on. I took it back to them to get it checked out and they said that it was the rear driveline(which was super shaky apparently from worn u joints) , so I replaced the u joints and the vibration is no longer felt under my seat as is common with a vibration in the driveline, but the inconsistent shaking they attributed the feeling to is still around

 

[gnathv]

Have you checked your I beam pivot bushings? They often get overlooked.

 

[Shadetreemechanic]

Have you checked your I beam pivot bushings? They often get overlooked.

What he said.

 

[rvitko]

I just went through the same. I bought a truck that had essentially been abandoned in 2017 in 2020. Ignition switch fried and in the interim brakes rotted out, etc. took about a year to get it to start and stop and get it legal. On my first real ride it felt like was on a washboard road at anything above 45 and I had already done new shocks (Bilstein) and new brakes all around and new bearings and all fluids were done, drive shaft was all new u joints and carrier bearing. It turned out to be ball joints. I also have a Dana 50ttb. Fwiw, they are all Chinese made now and you have your choice of $6o-$15 and while I’m sure the quality is better at the high end, even the moog were Chinese. I ended up with TTX for my uppers and had to settle on o Reilly house brand for the lowers as TTX doesn’t offer a 8435 equivalent and Napa was out of Proformer which would be next tier down and o Reilly was out of Moog. Sorry to say but you just get to pick your flavor of crap today.

 

[rvitko]

Fwiw, the shop manual does list shocks as a possibility but with shocks my experience is the bounce stops eventually on a smooth road. The listed causes are:

Front axle pivot
Tire pressure
Irregular tire wear
Loose lug nuts
Front wheel bearing adjustment
Out of round wheels
Out of round tires
Lateral wheel run out
Incorrect balancing
Alignment out of spec
Deteriorated radius arm bushing
Loose or worn shocks
Loose or worn steering linkage
Broken or sagging springs
Worn ball joints
Incorrect steering adjustment

 

[Cubey]

The yellow Monroe shocks are decent if you want something name brand but doesn't cost as much as Bilstein. They're cheap online. I have yellow Monroe on my truck, front and rear. My RV has yellow Monroe RV shocks on the rear because it's all I could afford at the time and it needed them badly. I put Bilstein on the front, and like them very well. I should probably go back and put Bilsteins on the rear to make it stiffer. Maybe next winter.

 

[JustinC00]

Well y’all. When I get some funds I’m gonna go through and replace those axle pivot bushings and such. Thank you. I’ll get back to you once I get that done and see where I’m at.

 

[gnathv]

Don’t just change them, check them. Get a crow bar, jack up one front tire from the frame at a time and pry at the bushing end to see if there’s play.

 

[u2slow]

My buddy decided it wasn't worth dropping a cent on the TTB... just put up with the quirks and tire wear. Instead, he saved up a few bucks and waited for a good price on a D60 to come along.