Truck Rides Like a Boat!

"I also had them install 4 new tires."

Radial tires? Go to the tires first.

Do the tires show any uneven tread wear? Could point to an alignment issue. Worn ball joints on the steering knuckle or control arm bushings may also contribute. Is it making any unusual noises that could point to a worn spindle bearing? If there is weight in the bed, does it handle any differently? Lastly, more than once when I've had the front end suspension worked on, some component or joint was not properly tightened, like a shock mount or torsion bar connections.

Good Luck!

Most likely you are suffering from bad or no alignment.

To me it actually sounds like the toe-in is way off but the caster and camber settings may also be off.

It is best if you have a 4-whell alignment performed so that the front and rear tires track each other.

Some dealerships such as the one in my neck of the woods do not perform any alignment services. They will however replace any part(s) for a tidy sum of money.

Sears offers a lifetime alignment service that is well worth the cost if you are going to keep the vehicle for a long period of time.

GA.

Caster is usually pretty much fixed, camber issues will tend to cause a consistent pull. Too little toe in (or even toe out), especially on a rear wheel drive, will make the vehicle feel as if it wants to dart to one side or the other on small corrections. This is worse at highway speeds. And if you've done front end and steering work they had to set the toe, but wouldn't necessarily have affected camber.

If you put "directional" tires on the front (and the back I hope) you can get some squirm. I assume this is a 4wd truck? Also have them check the torsion rods to see if they are in spec.

They did align the front end. There is no unusual wear on the tires. I don't think these are directional tires. No indication on the tires. It is 2 WD. I get pretty much the same feeling and sway with or without a load. There is no noise coming from the front end that I can hear.

Thanks.

What size are the tires? I believe they should be 245/75-16.

I cannot stress enough the importance of a 4 wheel alignment especially for safety reasons.

If the front wheels of a vehicle are not in alignment with the rear wheels, the handling can become very dangerous especially on wet, snowy, or icy roads.

I would take the vehicle to the closest reputable tire shop and get a 4-wheel alignment done as soon as possible.

If the shop is a good one they will check all of the front and rear components before attempting an alignment and if there is anything awry, they will let you know and refuse to do the alignment until the issues are taken care of.

I once had new tires installed on my truck and an alignment done. The next day going to work the truck went ape sh#! and I almost ran off the road. I looked under the truck front end and found the mechanic had failed to tighten the adjustment sleeve on the right end of the main steering linkage. This allowed the adjusting sleeve to rotate causing the vehicle toe to rapidly go to the extreme out/open condition. Lucky for me because if it had rotated in the other/opposite direction the sleeve would have disengaged and fallen off and I would have lost all steering control. I had to have the vehicle towed back to the shop where the owner and I had a nose-to-nose conference and he made it right then proceeded to get the mechanic's attention.

If my wife or teenage daughter had been driving the truck who knows what would have happened.

One thing that would have most certainly happened if either of them would have been hurt would have been me getting arrested for physical assault of a careless mechanic.

It is not worth the risk to continue driving the truck without knowing what is wrong with it.

Good luck and stay safe.

Sounds like excessive toe out...

Camber +0.25 Range -0.3 to + 0.8 degrees
Caster (Left) 4.0 Range 3.0 to 5.0 degrees
Caster (Right) 4.75 Range 3.8 to 5.8 degrees
Toe (Left) +0.05 Range -0.05 to +0.15 degrees
Toe (Right) +0.05 Range -0.05 to +0.15 degrees

http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/63-gm-diesel-engines/7-duramax-first-generation-2001-2004-lb7/2446-front-end-alignment-specs.html

Whenever there is a handling problem, the first thing to check is tire pressure. I like to set it to the TIRE manufacturer's max, unless the ride is too harsh.

Since they changed the tie rod ends, the toe MUST be readjusted. As mentioned, improper toe will make it wander. Ideally, toe should be set using a Scuff Gauge, but not many alignment shops use them. The toe should be set slightly toed-in. This does two things: under load, any slop in the steering linkage will tend to make the tires tow-out slightly. Also, given the crown of most roads, the left wheel will steer straight and the right (downslope wheel) will be turned slightly upslope, causing the car to track straight.

Rub your hand across the tread, side-to-side, on both front tires to check for toe problems. They should feel smooth. If you feel any sawtooth pattern at all, the toe is off and will wear the tires out very quickly.

If the tie rod ends and pitman arm were worn, it's very likely that the other suspension components are also worn. What part of the 'steering shaft' did they replace? Are you referring to the rubber coupling in the steering column?

As others have said it sounds like the allignment was mal-implemented post tierod end replacement.

Check quickly yourself. Stop the car while rolling straight on a level surface. With fishing line check if the front wheels are close to parallel or a little toed in at the front compared to the rear.

Some here have suggested 4 wheel alignments..not possible on rear wheel drive with live axle ( unless you have had a major shunt) and then you would be crabbing not just wandering.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuYsd7SUwTA

Before you go back in a huff about the handling, do your homework. If the tire pressures are not to the TIRE manufacturers specifications, the handling will be crappy. This is especially true if the tire pressures are lower than recommended.

Next, what tire design did you buy? If your truck had LT series truck tires on before, and now you have P series passenger tires on it, your softer tire casing will flex more, and you will feel it.

Third, what tread design did you buy? If you went from a smooth highway design tread(higher mileage) to a more aggressive tread design, you are definitely going to feel it. The more air space between the treads, the less there is anchoring the tire casing to the road. That aggressive tread design will allow the tire to move around on the casing. Personal experience, I was using Goodyear G159 tires on four corners of an F350 mini fire truck. Good handling, decent life on an aggressive airport surface. We wanted a little better traction for the times we went off of the pavement. I changed to Goodyear G133 tires in the same size. These tires are marketed as the same construction, but with a more aggressive "dog bone" pattern. That truck was horrible to drive the way we had been driving it for years. After three days of searching for anything to repair the "unsafe" truck, as the drivers referred to it, I had to switch the tires to another truck not used for emergency service,, and install a new set of the G159s.

Any lesson that hard is never forgotten. Good luck. If none of this applies, you seem to have an alignment problem. Most likely tow out issues.

Wheel alignment ? Should have accompanied replacing the tyres..

Not necessarily, but most definitely after tie rod end replacement.

I'm sure a wheel alignment was done it just wasn't done correctly and needs sorting.

I have had more than one substandard wheel alignment procedure performed on my cars in various places during my life. It's always sorted for free.

Lots of good answers already, but if they do not help, try these (I did not see them anywhere else here, but apologies to anyone if already mentioned!):-

1) getting the front wheel alignment checked out,

2) increase tyre pressures to the max for your vehicle for when fully loaded. Especially the fronts.

Years ago I had some "all Year tyres" that were total crap, the car swayed like a boat. But by increasing the tyre pressures to the max allowed, "calmed the waters" quite well. I dumped them as soon as I could afford to....about a year later.

They were crap in summer and crap in winter!!

Also, assuming that the alignment is good and increasing tyre pressures improves the ride, you will know that its the tyres.....and nothing else....

If its the tyres, are they of the correct type for your vehicle? On all the "heavier" vehicles and trailers I have owned (not THAT many), the tyre construction/load carrying ability was important.....I am WAY out of date on such stuff, but a lot of people here are well up to date......The heavier load carrying tyres are to my mind, "stiffer" when driving......

These links might help further:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tire_code#Load_range

http://freewayfastfit.co.uk/tyres/about-tyre-markings.htm

Max out the tire pressure first, it makes an amazing difference.

The tires are the same type, size and tread design that came with the truck. I checked the tire pressure after feeling the problem and the fronts were a little low and the rears were a little high. I adjusted the pressures and I still have the same results. I did have the front end aligned when the tires were installed and parts replaced. I'll have that checked again.

Are you at the max air pressure for a fully loaded vehicle? Check manual.

Are the tyres from EXACTLY the same manufacturer as before?

What load are they for? (see the sidewall of the tyre!) I always go "higher" than the minimum requirement, funnily enough, the ones for higher loads are often cheaper, which I cannot explain!!

Incorrect "toe" [toe out] will make a vehicle feel like it wants to wander. Put your hands together in front of your chest and separate only the fingers a bit. If this is the case it will get significantly worse the faster you travel. Toe out is used in racing where the driver wants faster initial turning response, the "inside" tire is already pulling in the direction you want to go. Toe in is more stable as road motion forces the tires to try to get closer together.

Put your hands together in front of your chest and separate only the fingers a bit.

Sorry, got this far and packed up laughing ! Hope I didn't miss the point.....

Hopefully, I'll be able to get the truck to the dealer today. I'll let everyone what happens.

The tires are the exact size and load range as the original tires. This will be the 3rd set of tires on the truck. They have been from different manufactures but this is the 1st time I've had handling problems. The tires have been correctly inflated.

I'll bet that its the change of manufacturer of tyres. We will see much much later I feel.....

As a stop gap, these new tyres need a lot more air pressure.

They need at least the "fully loaded" pressures specified by the vehicle manufacturer all the time, and even then, in my experience, they will still wallow a bit....

The verdict is in: The dealer found that the alignment was out. There was toe-out on the driver side.

I'm on the road and I had to bring the truck to another dealer. I called and advised my home dealer about the problem. I was cordial; just telling him what the problem was. He is paying for the re-alignment.

Thanks to everyone for your advice.

Don

Thanks you for letting us know you found the solution. It's nice when the OP follows up!

Told you so.

Let us know how it feels after realignment.

If none of this applies, you seem to have an alignment problem. Most likely tow out issues.

Good call.

You mean toe-ld you so??

It was a toe-out issue on the driver's side. The Chevy service advisor was very helpful in explaining the issues. He, I think, is a Nascar fan. He told me that race drivers have their tires pointed toe-out so the steering is more responsive. Makes sense.

I have driven the truck 30-40 miles at highway speeds and it does feel lots better. I haven't towed yet.

Thanks again,

Don

Just a note- when he says toe out on the driver's side, that means measured from a centreline with the steering wheel leveled- meaning the driver's side tie rod end needs adjusted.

While you can check toe fairly easily with a tape measure in a drive way, it doesn't tell you which side is out! (although you can often tell if you have to drive with the steering wheel slightly to one side). One of the advantages to paying someone with the correct training and equipment, sometimes.

Or make sure your string is tight and the suspension camber rolled out to normal and your steering wheel is pointing straight ahead.

I have had crappy wheel alignments "repaired" by having the steering wheel removed and turned around a notch or 2 on the column....naughty naughty.

"Straight ahead and steering box/rack centred is the datum sport. Do it again"

That technique will alter the turn signal canceling feature.

Yeh, no kidding. But it does happen.