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'95' Jimmy front end problem


99intriguePA
11-28-2008, 05:56 PM
My son's '95' Jimmy w/ 135,000 miles has something screwed up in the right side of the front end and its driving us nuts.

Last winter the truck was in an accident where the drivers side was hit and the fender and some bumper parts were replaced - slow speed accident, no one was hurt, and the truck was driveable. The right side was untouched and wasn't pushed into anything. Don't really know if the accident had anything to do w/ the prob.

Awhile after the cosmetic parts were replaced my son noticed problems w/ the front end. I checked it out and found 2 bad upper ball joints and a bad idler arm. After these were replaced we took it for a drive and the handling was terrible. The truck wandered all over the place and the steering wheel didn't return correctly.

He took it to get an alignment and have 2 tires replaced. It seemed a little better but not right. I checked all the front end parts again and found the idler arm and a tie rod end loose and figured the alignment wasn't done right.
After tightening everything back up I took it to a different shop to be aligned and asked that everything be checked carefully. Got it back and its still not right.

The symptoms are hard to describe but I'll try my best. While driving, the right side feels "floaty" and as you gain any speed and make right turns it will wander and its really bad if you hit any bumps - to the point that your afraid of losing control. At low speed its not too bad but you can still tell somethings wrong. There are no odd noises either. My son drove down for Thanksgiving and swore the ride made him sick - as in sea sick!

I saw nothing wrong with the shocks. The sway bar links are there but the right one looks a little beat up. Could this be signs of a bad torsion bar mount? Of all the years of working on front ends I never dealt with torsion bars susp. and never saw a problem like this one. My son would like to get this truck thru the winter.

Any help would be appreciated, Thanks.

MT-2500
11-29-2008, 08:47 AM
My son's '95' Jimmy w/ 135,000 miles has something screwed up in the right side of the front end and its driving us nuts.

Last winter the truck was in an accident where the drivers side was hit and the fender and some bumper parts were replaced - slow speed accident, no one was hurt, and the truck was driveable. The right side was untouched and wasn't pushed into anything. Don't really know if the accident had anything to do w/ the prob.

Awhile after the cosmetic parts were replaced my son noticed problems w/ the front end. I checked it out and found 2 bad upper ball joints and a bad idler arm. After these were replaced we took it for a drive and the handling was terrible. The truck wandered all over the place and the steering wheel didn't return correctly.

He took it to get an alignment and have 2 tires replaced. It seemed a little better but not right. I checked all the front end parts again and found the idler arm and a tie rod end loose and figured the alignment wasn't done right.
After tightening everything back up I took it to a different shop to be aligned and asked that everything be checked carefully. Got it back and its still not right.

The symptoms are hard to describe but I'll try my best. While driving, the right side feels "floaty" and as you gain any speed and make right turns it will wander and its really bad if you hit any bumps - to the point that your afraid of losing control. At low speed its not too bad but you can still tell somethings wrong. There are no odd noises either. My son drove down for Thanksgiving and swore the ride made him sick - as in sea sick!

I saw nothing wrong with the shocks. The sway bar links are there but the right one looks a little beat up. Could this be signs of a bad torsion bar mount? Of all the years of working on front ends I never dealt with torsion bars susp. and never saw a problem like this one. My son would like to get this truck thru the winter.

Any help would be appreciated, Thanks.


A good front alignment shop should be able to check it and find the problem and get it aligned right..:runaround: :rofl:

Tips on finding a good one.
Good luck
Check around Ask around
Word of mouth.
Family friends coworkers neighbors business people and delivery people.
Mailmen and parcel delivery people get around and notice a lot of stuff.
Even a good parts house knows what shops are good and not good.
Chamber of commerce and better business bureau and city hall.
If you find a good referral to a repair shop go look them over and talk to them.
Look for a clean looking busy place with nice people running it.
Ask a few questions and ask about their qualifications and training.
Not all places have trained tech/mechanics.
If they do not find a place that does.
Even all dealers do not have all trained techs/mechanics.

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