Front-End problem

[Rick Norwood]

I have a 2000 Jimmy SLE (Same as the S-10 Blazer). I recently bought a new set of 4 Goodyear Wrangler tires, which may or may not be a part of the problem. What happens is when I reach speeds of 65 MPH (Approx. 105 KPH) I have a front end shimmy, that you can feel through the entire truck. My first thought was one of the tires was out of balance, so I took the truck in and had all 4 tires re-balanced and everything looked good.

The installer (at Sam's Club) said this problem is common and even notorious on off road tires as off road tires are not intended for high speeds. I don't believe this for a minute. But my question is, what specific front-end component would most likely cause the front-end shimmy?

[BlazerBoyLT98]

I would still go with the tires first, maybe they are lemons and out of round and can't be balanced. Could be loose ball joints, pitman arm, maybe the bushings and stuff girlbear did??? COuld be numerous things. Your tires should not shake at any speed below there maxium if they have been properly balanced.

[s10blazerman4x4]

So you have a shimmy in your Jimmy?

[Rick Norwood]

Originally Posted by s10blazerman4x4

So you have a shimmy in your Jimmy?

Smart @$$

[DINO55]

So you have a shimmy in your Jimmy?

Smart @$$

"You guy's are cracking me up", Hey Rick, have you check the frontend component's on your truck yet? Just about anything bad in the frontend can cause the shimmy at high speeds... inner and outer tie rod ends usually go to shit and people over look them.

[Rick Norwood]

Originally Posted by DINO55

So you have a shimmy in your Jimmy?

Smart @$$

"You guy's are cracking me up", Hey Rick, have you check the frontend component's on your truck yet? Just about anything bad in the frontend can cause the shimmy at high speeds... inner and outer tie rod ends usually go to shit and people over look them.

I really haven't checked anything on the front end as I am not a front-end mechanic. I was hoping to learn a few tips, tests, or checks, that a shade tree mechanic could do in the comfort of his own driveway without spending a whole lot of money.

[DINO55]

Rick I did a tie rod ends search....


Jack up one side of the vehicle so that one wheel is off the ground. Have a friend rock the wheel as if the wheel was making a turn. You then lay under to observe the steering linkages. Look for any play in the tie rod ends, center link, idler arm, pitman arm and you may have to remove the splash pan to do this. When you have done this, get a pry bar and put it under the wheel and rock it up and down and look for play in the ball joints. Jack up the other side and repeat. If you find anything, you can either do it yourself (the repair) or take it to someone who can but at least you will have an idea and this is a good start.

If all is good in your front-end, then swap out the front tires for the rear ones, if you have a bad tire, this will move the shimmy away from the frontend.

[hall1836]

I would bet on the tires. I had a 1994 that rode like a "truck" and put Michelin LT's on what a difference. On my 2003 2dr, I had 16000 miles on the tires and just changed them out to the Michelins. I had the same problem as you above 65 mph depending on the road surface. Checked everything could find nothing wrong, at 65 and below the truck was fine above that the whole truck vibrated. Changed the tires and can do 80 with no vibration. I guess it all depends on what you do/need tires for off road or highway. By the way the tires I took off were wranglers. Hope this helps.

[Rick Norwood]

Originally Posted by hall1836

I would bet on the tires. I had a 1994 that rode like a "truck" and put Michelin LT's on what a difference. On my 2003 2dr, I had 16000 miles on the tires and just changed them out to the Michelins. I had the same problem as you above 65 mph depending on the road surface. Checked everything could find nothing wrong, at 65 and below the truck was fine above that the whole truck vibrated. Changed the tires and can do 80 with no vibration. I guess it all depends on what you do/need tires for off road or highway. By the way the tires I took off were wranglers. Hope this helps.

Thanks to everyone for the responses.

I am going to check out the front end to make sure that I don't have any problems.

I do not do any off roading. This a 2wd Jimmy, and about as close as I get to any off roading is a few dirt roads here and there.

I'm sure someone will ask why I bought off-road tires, and the answer is easy, it was the only tire Sam's club had in the size I needed, and besides, they showed them as a truck tire. If all is well with the front end, I'm going back to Sam's club any see if they got any other tires available.

[BlazerLT]

Originally Posted by Rick Norwood

Thanks to everyone for the responses.

I am going to check out the front end to make sure that I don't have any problems.

I do not do any off roading. This a 2wd Jimmy, and about as close as I get to any off roading is a few dirt roads here and there.

I'm sure someone will ask why I bought off-road tires, and the answer is easy, it was the only tire Sam's club had in the size I needed, and besides, they showed them as a truck tire. If all is well with the front end, I'm going back to Sam's club any see if they got any other tires available.

If you have a shimmy that wasn't there before, you have a tire problem.

Don't believe the crap the guys are telling you. I have aggressive tires and don't feel a thing all the way up to 150km/h.

Take it to someone else and have them inspect the tires. This way you have professional backup.

[Rick Norwood]

Originally Posted by BlazerLT

If you have a shimmy that wasn't there before, you have a tire problem.

Don't believe the crap the guys are telling you. I have aggressive tires and don't feel a thing all the way up to 150km/h.

Take it to someone else and have them inspect the tires. This way you have professional backup.

The tires I took off had approx. 68,000 miles on them and showed no excessive wear problems that would normally point to a front end problem. I think they were the original tires that came on the truck and were pretty well just worn down. I had the old tires replaced in preparation for a short trip that I made last month and if the problem was there with the old tires, I didn't notice it. I have been pretty good about keeping the front end greased and do not notice any pull to one side or the other. But if I get above 65 MPH (105 KPH) the whole truck shakes.

If someone is riding in the pasenger seat or in the back seat and they lean up against the window while we're above 65 MPH, they tell me the window is beating them to death.

Am I looking for an out of round condition or exactly what should I suspect if the balance is good?

[BlazerLT]

You should see the amount of people having problems with goodyear tires, just plain HORRIBLE tires now.

Go back and get some other tires and don't take no for an answer.

You have the Goodyear wobble and nothing other than replacement will solve it. Go to Walmart and get their tires. Cheaper and MUCH better.

Also, don't believe the crap about higher speeds and they should wobble crap.

[Rick Norwood]

Originally Posted by BlazerLT

You should see the amount of people having problems with goodyear tires, just plain HORRIBLE tires now.

Go back and get some other tires and don't take no for an answer.

You have the Goodyear wobble and nothing other than replacement will solve it. Go to Walmart and get their tires. Cheaper and MUCH better.

Also, don't believe the crap about higher speeds and they should wobble crap.

I'm going back to Sam's Club which is a division of Wal-Mart this afternoon. The kid that installed my tires and later re-balanced them told me that these tires were notorious for having problems. I didn't want to believe him, but as they say, "From the mouths of babes"

I will see what other brands are available, and hopefully, they will have a bigger selection this time. Which brings up a good point, if I'm suppose to have a P235/70R15 what happens if I drop to say a P235/65R15?

[BlazerLT]

Stick to the tires you are supposed to install on your truck, don't start messing with the sizes.

Look at their AlTrack tires, man, are they ever sweet.

[Rick Norwood]

In an effort to avoid a bunch of crap, I decided to take my truck in for a free Front-end inspection just so I would have a valid arguement when I returned the tires.

I took it to a local Big "O" tire store and learned something new. Aside from passing the front end inspection, they infromed me that they had a new process called a ROAD FORCE test. The test is performed on a machine that looks basically like a computer balancing machine except that it has a large roller that moves up and measures the tire for out of roundness and roll ability. I am also told that it electronically calculates the high spot on the wheel and also the high spot on the tire and will give the operator a reading. In my case, I was told that the upper limit was 25 and I had 1 tire that was 29 which was too high (The others were 5, 12, and 14) and was probably the reason that I was experiencing the vibration.

But here is the funky part. The computer tells the operator exactly where to mark the high spot on the tire and also where to mark the high spot on the wheel similar to indicating where to put the weights during a normal balance operation. Once the tire and wheel are marked, the tire is broken down and the tire is rotated on the wheel until the two marks are lined up. The tire is then inflated and retested. In my case, the original reading of 29 was reduced to 21 and was deemed to be under the limit and acceptable to whatever standard.

Here is my question, anyone ever heard of this test before?

I can still return these tires if this is really just a lot of malarky, but, I do want to say one thing, the vibration went away.


It may also be worth mentioning that the original "bad" tire was on the right front and I had it moved to the right rear after the tire was re-mounted and rebalanced. (they remove all of your old weights prior to starting the Road Force test).