front end loose!!

[jamey666]

I have a 1994 jimmy s-15. The right wheel has about an inch of play...the left none. The play is only side to side and not up and down which I would think would eliminate any upper/lower ball joint concerns. I replaced the right inner and outer tie rods along with the idler arm twice and there is no difference. The idler arm moves up and down with the side to side motion which is why I replaced it twice...It really looked like a bad idler arm to me and I thought I had a bad new part. There is nothing else to replace on the right side. The bearing does not appear to have any play as the hub moves along with the wheel. Can the pitman arm on the left side cause this condition?? Any suggestions would be helpful! Thanx for looking!

[GMCTech]

The pitman arm can certainly cause your complaint, but you definitely should be able to see it just as you can see the idler arm movement.

A good idler arm will NOT move up and down! It will rock back and forth if there is another loose item, but if it is moving up and down when you push the center link up and down then it is no good.

Also be sure that you are testing the ball joints properly - jack up on the lower control arm to check top to bottom "wobble"

Hope this helps.