97 yukon all over road when it snows

[yukon45427]

my 97 yukon drives good when the roads are dry but when it snows the truck is all over the road i just put tires and new tierod ends on it and ball joints any one know where to go from here with it? thanks for your help.

[maxwedge]

Um, what does that mean, it is sliding, what?

[yukon45427]

the front end is all over the road if you his a patch of snow it wants to shoot off to the left then if theres snow on the road it wants to ferk from left to right like its wanting to follow the ruts in the road

[yukon6inchlift]

i had something like that once, turned out to be rear brakes seizing up. if not that then alignment maybe

[sleddinskeeter]

I believe its bump steer your reffering to

1 Did you have it aligned
2.What tires wheel combo do you have offset of wheel wheel spacers etc
3.Check idler arm pitman arm play

Does the steering wheel move when it darts from side to side?

[yukon6inchlift]

wouldnt bump steer show its ugly head on dry roads???

[sleddinskeeter]

No not unless its really rutted pavement

[yukon6inchlift]

Originally Posted by sleddinskeeter

No not unless its really rutted pavement

ahahahahahahahahah u must have really bad roads out there in big sky country
if it was really rutted, wouldnt any vehicle be all over the road with or without bump steer???

1. read what the man said what was the prob. if the man had an alignment after changing tierod ends then the prob is not in the front. it would have been found by the mech unless the mech was a dumb as_.
2. a 97 has drum brakes on the rear. they are prob 97 shoes and have adjusted themselves all the way out. they will still turn on dry roads because of friction. when he hits snow and looses the friction to the road the rear locks up and truck goes a sliding.
3. bump steer is typical with straight axles and big lifts.
4. if his steering wheel was way off, loose steering or it pulled bad it would show all the time and i would look to the front then.
5. have a nice day

[sleddinskeeter]

Hmmmmmm Just tryin to help the guy out. not really get in a pissin match with you.

And no typically bump steer happens when aligment is out just changing tires does not cause steering issues unless he puts on like 40 inch boggers

Putting on 20 inch wheels and tires will cause a huge case of bump steer due to increasd surface area and more pressure on the spindles . Have it aligned

And yes the roads are bad

[sleddinskeeter]

He also didnt say he was applying the brakes at the time of darting.

[maxwedge]

I think it would behoove all on this thread to research the causes of bump steer, a non -parallel center link is one issue, tie rods at too steep an angle is another. Both issues cause the toe in to change as the suspension depresses and rebounds, a lifted truck would be the most subject to this condition.

[old_master]

Originally Posted by maxwedge

I think it would behoove all on this thread to research the causes of bump steer, a non -parallel center link is one issue, tie rods at too steep an angle is another. Both issues cause the toe in to change as the suspension depresses and rebounds, a lifted truck would be the most subject to this condition.

Spot on perfect definition of the cause of bump steer! Steering linkage is not level. Might wanna check toe also after leveling the linkage.

[yukon45427]

the truck is all stock no lift kit and has new breaks all around when i changed the tye rod ends i took it to good year to have it alined the tires are like new i even took it to the shop down the street and they cant find anything wrong with the front end or the rear end its got me stumped. the steering is tight on dry roads but as soon as you hit the snow or ice its shooting to one side or the other. its not slideing its gerking to one side or the other.like theres all of a suden play in the wheel

[old_master]

Originally Posted by yukon45427

the truck is all stock no lift kit and has new breaks all around when i changed the tye rod ends i took it to good year to have it alined the tires are like new i even took it to the shop down the street and they cant find anything wrong with the front end or the rear end its got me stumped. the steering is tight on dry roads but as soon as you hit the snow or ice its shooting to one side or the other. its not slideing its gerking to one side or the other.like theres all of a suden play in the wheel

Classic description of bump steer! You'll need to find a good alignment technician to find and fix it. The pitman arm supports the center link on the driver side, the idler arm supports it on the passenger side. If either one of those are worn, it causes the center link to set lower on one end and you'll have bump steer...guaranteed. The mounting holes in the idler arm are slightly larger than the mounting bolts. This is where the adjustment is done to make the centerlink level with the chassis. After it's level, align the front end.

[RahX]

Toe does not cause a pull, ever. If one wheel is off center and the other is straight | \ toe will center itself so both tires are / \ which will throw the steering wheel position off. Toe causes tire wear and determines steering wheel position. Bump steer is caused by improper steering geometry and caster. Have them check all of the angles, including thrust angle. If the front and rear wheels aren't in line like they're supposed to, when the front end loses traction the back end would likely push it one way or the other. I'd have to agree with the dragging rear brakes theory too. It wouldn't take much for the rear brakes to send the truck sliding. It has to be something dumb since it isn't a problem all of the time.