99 Durango 2wd, I have a vibration in the steering wheel and brake pedal at low speed (under 25mph) and while turning (both directions), vibration immediately stops when I press on the brakes. Also pulls to the right a fair amount. To go straight down the highway steering wheel has to be held at 11:30 position.

BOTH front wheel bearings/hubs replaced within the last week with new Timkens. I replaced front brake pads and rotors in the fall, but the vibration was there before that.

I'm trying to sell the vehicle, but I won't just pass the problems along to someone else, I want it fixed.

 

Play in any of the steering components? (Tie rods, steering box, etc.)
How do the tires look? Shifted belts, bad wear pattern ?
Lots of things to look at here, get the front end off the ground and grab the wheels and try to wobble them side to side. Look for movement in all of the steering components.

Has it been checked for alignment?

Bob

 

Right front tire is garbage, worn almost completely bald after 12,000 miles, left front still has 4/32nds or so. Noticed a little side to side play before replacing the wheel bearings.

Edit: Took it to a shop this afternoon to see what they could find. They said everything looks alright as far as suspension/steering. Recommended I get two new front tires (they don't sell tires at this shop).

Could a shelled out tire even cause the symptoms I described? I can understand it pulling right due to a crap tire, but the vibration?

 

yea a bad tire (slipped band) or out of balance tire can and will cause a vibration, the only question is at what speed will it do it, there is no way to tell it depends on exactly how it happened

 

maybe i'll rotate my rear tires to the front and see if the vibration persists.

 

You can rotate them, but if they are trashed, you'll probably still feel a vibration. You said both tires were bad, are they just old or is there a noticeable wear pattern? If there is a pattern, you'll most likely ruin the other tires after rotating because the cause of the problem is still there. Sometimes suspension problems are tough to diagnose Durangos. When my ball joints were bad, the tire did not have any play in it when testing by hand. However, when I took them off, they were obviously toast.

 

My bet is on ball joints. Tires don't wear completely bald after 12k unless there's something wrong, even WITH soft tires, no rotation, soft compound, etc. Unless of course you're doing slalom courses in your truck!

Bob

 

sounds like a bad tie rod end to me

 

Is there a good/easy way to check the ball joints in a 2wd Durango?

 

jack it up at the frame grab tire from top and bottom and push and pull if theres movement then ball joints bad you can also put a bar under tire make sure to use jack stands