Cutless009

So the other day it had rained pretty good and I was pulling up to back into a spot and I had the wheel cranked hard to the lock. When I came to a stop the front right (passenger) tire "skipped" across the ground like it wasn't straight up and down anymore and it was trying to come back out, while I was at a stop. It did it again a little while I backed into the spot I was aiming for.

I got out and checked it out but I didn't see anything visibly wrong. It hasn't done it again in the time since (a couple weeks now). Is it something I should worry about, or was it just a freak thing? This is my first truck so I'm not sure if half this stuff is normal or not lol. The tires on it are 33" if that makes any difference.

homer

I would Check your tie rods and ball joints. If any are worn it'll do that skipping due to the play in the wheel.

Cutless009

Any simple way of checking those?

Martian

Jack up the front of the truck and grip the tire at 12 and 6, shake the tire (push one hand in, pull one hand out, and reverse) to try and get it to "shake" up and down. If you get movement, ball joints need to be replaced. Put your hands on 9 and 3 and do the same thing. If you get more movement and the steering wheel isn't moving much, tie rod ends need to be replaced.

18_F-150_XLT_Screw

iTrader: (1)

How many miles are on vehicle?


Also could there have been rocks under that wheel? I've had that feeling when there have been rocks that throw themselves out while moving the truck.

Manuellabour247

While this is a good answer, remember that you will have a little bit of play. All vehicles do. If you didn't then bearings would be going out from being too tight. In my experience you would need movement of more than a half inch to possibly have bad tie rods.

That being said, if there was any sand or gravel when you were parking it could do the same thing like said above.

Martian

Right. It's very helpful to have a second set of eyes on the other side of the wheel while you shake it to actually see any excessive play in the ball joints or tie rod ends.

homer

Yes, very good points on both notes. I was also surprised to learn here that some shops will perform a free inspection for you on their hoist. The idea is for them to hopefully gain your future business. That could be worth looking at?


The last vehicle that I saw do this though (due to worn components in that case) was so obvious if you drove in a parking lot in circles you could see the tire moving in and out. It was to the point that the tie-rod end was ready to snap off though, so that was quite a severe instance. It was easy to point out though. Again though, as the others have suggested it may not necessarily be worn components in your case, I'm just providing that as an example. If you drive around in a circle in a parking lot, see if you notice anything abnormal.


I have also had this occur on sand/gravel as the others suggested. And the obvious, being in 4x4 will do this of course too (although I hope you're not in 4x4 on dry asphalt haha).

Cutless009

What do you mean? What's the point of having a 4x4 truck if you don't leave it in 4-wheel all the time? I mean sure it makes horrible noises when I'm parking or making a turn, but I just take that as a sign that the 4x4 is doing it's job. It makes me feel safe, and it's great to know that when I am doing 70 on the freeway in 4L (whatever L means! I just turned that **** all the way to 11!) that I can dip off into the median at any time and have some fun (and I frequently do!). Plus the sound that big bad V8 makes at constant redline is amazing. It feels like I'm driving a stock car around Daytona! Why would you drive your truck any other way?



Seriously though, thanks for the thoughts guys. I recently lost all of my tools in a family spat, so I don't even have a jack to lift her up with at the moment. I'll test this out as soon as I can get some access to my tools back.

Manuellabour247

Lmao, that was classic. Sorry to hear about your tools. Not sure on the shops where you are, but I know by KC they will do an inspection at a reduced rate to try and get your business. And around Wichita they do something similar.