Thought it was a wheel bearing, help?

[justinray]

Yesterday on my way home from working out of town, my truck suddenly began hopping the front left tire. I first thought that I threw the tread on that tire, since it's happened before and felt all too familiar. After getting out and inspecting the tire, I decided that it was probably the wheel bearing and finished my trip at a slow 35. After buying wheel bearings last night, I woke up early this morning and started to do the job, when I got the tire off the ground, I checked suspension play.. There is 0 up and down tilt or wobble, but about an inch of left to right play, could a tie-rod be the culprit of my wobble/hop?

 

[Dieselcrawler]

Where do you see the play? What joints/where is it loose? Tierod end if it is VERY loose can allow tire movement that feels like a hop

 

[justinray]

I now have the tie rod unbolted and I can move it by hand, when it was in place I could rock the tire left and right, showing about an inch of play in that joint.

 

[Dieselcrawler]

I would say you found it then. Just in time by how it sounds

 

[justinray]

Thats what I thought, appreciate the help, now to wait for the parts store to open. /:

 

[justinray]

It was actually my lug nuts, apparently someone tried stealing my rim or something of the sort, all 8 were loose but none of the other tires were at all.

 

[RLDSL]

if that doesnt take care of it, you may be loosing a front tire. Mine do that when they get worn downI cant rotate because I run mud treads on the rear sp the twin i beams eat the edges up and get them beyond balance after a while to where they will hit a groove in a curve and go into a hop wobble that will scare teh pante off me that I have to back out of it to about 15 mph for it to go away then back to speed, after a few of those its off to the tire store for a new set of steer tires