Mad Chemist

Okay, I just recently got an alignment done just about a month ago. The recent alignment was due after installation of my lift, although the tech said everything looked pretty good, the toe was a bit off with the lift. The only reason I mention this is because of the following problem, which I don't think is associated with the alignment (but can't be completely certain).

Anyways, I'm getting a "wobble" in the steering wheel. I don't really feel a vibration in the vehicle, but if I let loose on the steering wheel, it wobbles left and right. I've jacked up each front tire independently, and it seems like there is a little bit of play if I work the driver's side tire tire left to right.

So, for you experts on steering racks and such, what is your guess at the problem? Part of me thought a tire might be imbalanced, and I might swap back to the old stock rims and tires and see if it goes away (this wobble seemed to happen around the time put the new bigger tires and rims on). However, based on what seems like a bit of play on the left side, I think something else is going on. For comparison, the right side doesn't seem to have the play I notice on the left. Is this a steering rack problem?


Thanks for any help!

mtnfreak

Easiest check is to swap the front & rear wheels and make sure the lugs are tight. That will at least let you rule out tire balancing. After that, make sure all the nuts and bolts on your new lift are tight. Also, drop into 4wd and see if anything changes.

Roadrunner

I had a wobble in my steering wheel at high speeds following my SAW lift and new 33" tires. The shop rebalanced my tires and dropped the SAWs about 1/2", no problems now. The tires checked out fine, but the SAWs may have been cranked up a bit too high causing a wooble.