def sounds like ball joints..and trust me i know all about them...my bottom right lower is going out

you can tell it by looking at the pic below


personally i think your rims might be the culprit..depending on if your bjoints are originally or not..

another way to check your balljoints is to put the front end of on JACK STANDS..not a jack..put em high enough that the front tire is off the ground about 3-6 inches..then sit down facing one of the front rims..and pull on the bottom of the tire..(cause with the description you explained and the fact that the bottom ones usually let go more than the top)..anywhoo.pull on the bottom of the tire..dont be afraid to put some muscle into (hence why i said jack stands) it..if you can feel your tire come out towards you at all basically if you can wiggle the bottom of your tire..

its your ball joints..and cause your in the 94-01 class 4x4..those C style front knuckles..if your bottoms are going your going to have to do the top as well cause your gonna stretch it out putting the bottom one on anyway

lucas

 

That is exactly what mine looks like..... sorry i diddnt get any pics of my own but i was kinda busy with the army thing, I just changed my driverside hub about a month ago and 3 of the weeks of the month the truck was in the shop getting regeared. I did jack up the passenger side wheel and did the ball joint test and it move <.25" but that probably is the problem. Thanks for all the help and ill let you know how it works out.

Thanks for ALL the great info guys, surprised by how much i diddnt know hahaha.

 

i learned the hard way..and didnt pay attention..all of a sudden im going 60 mph and the whole trucks shacking like crazy..didnt think of anything but to slam on the brakes and pull it over

at about 7K pounds and doing this a couple of times..it burned up my rotor and poped the piston on my caliper..all because i thought i could stretch the ball joint..

thank god it held and i could get the mistress home

like i said though..it aint much more money but do the top ones along with..then that way you wont be down this road later..cause you have to stretch that top one pretty far to fix the bottom one

EDIT: also..depending how long youve been driving on them the could ruin your alignment and your front tires..just an FYI

 

yea i diddnt even think of the ball joints for some reason, i remeber seeing post or too about the c's bending and went to the worst mind set automaticlly. This is why i always ask for a 2nd opinion beofre doing anything major.

 

your C knuckles should be fine..if everything in your siggy is up to date

id be willing to bet that your ball joints are loosened but not breaking
does the truck shake for a minute after hitting a bump?

im betting you caught this right on time

good think you werent late like me

 

You have described what I always heard called, the "death wobble"

 

yea it shakes after bumps, after crosswinds, and some times when im driven straight it will jerk aliitle to one side, but that might be the ice around here.

 

noo man..trust me..thats ball joints..and if its doing that..you have about another 1K-1.5K before they pop and your going for a violent ride..

dont drive it unless absolutely needed..until you can get her fixed

of course thats just my opinion and experience and you can see how bad mine is in the pics above

 

Anyone Use the Moog Ball Joints?? I hear good things about the brand name but im wondering if they are worth the extra money.

 

Thats what I have in mine, the adjustable ones btw. Nothing wrong with MOOG. I wouldn't use anything else.