My tires are feathering really bad. I replaced the shocks 2 weeks ago and im fairly sure they are in right even though it was a different type of shock than im used to.

Theres a BAD vibration at highway speeds... pretty much anything over 50mph.

Could this be Ball Joints, Tie Rods, Balance issue, bad alignment, or are the shocks on wrong?

The shocks were rancho, most shocks i have installed have had a zip tie like thing holding the shocks compressed. These didnt they had a nut on the top that you had to loosen to get them to expand. The weird thing is that once i got them to expand they didnt expand all the way i had to extend them by hand (is this normal) I also noticed that they are soft, i can expand and contract them by hand. Other shocks ive used have been much stiffer. Did i not loosen the nut enough?

Another thing is tie rods and ball joints? I need to see pictures of a bad one and a good one. I know mine arent great but i want to rule them in or out of whats causing the vibration.

How much do parts run for ball joints and tie rods. Ill be installing my self.

What tools are needed.

 

I doubt it's the new shocks, but all of the other parts you listed could be the cause. It could also just be the tires if they are cupped badly enough.

 

they arent cupped horribly, they even seem to round back out then start cupping agian.

i need to do a total over haul on the front suspension but dont want to when i plan to rip everything out next year for my SAS...

 

i seem to have the same issue, might want to check your alignment

 

thats the first thing im gonna do as its the easiest and probably the cheapest. If that doesnt work then ill be tearing the frontend down and rebuilding.

 

I would check the balance on your tires. Balance tends to shift on big aggressive tires, or you could have tossed a wheel weight. Since you have a vibration at highway speeds that's the first thing I would check. Bad balance can cause some strange tire wear too. Being out of alignment would explain your tire wear but not so much the vibration, so I would check out the balance first, then get it aligned. Any decent alignment shop will check all the front end parts before aligning it but you can do that yourself and maybe save a trip.

 

to check balljoints and tir rods: jack up front end and grab the tire at 12 and 6 o clock and push back and forth and see if you get movement. if not, grab the tire at 3 and 9 o clock and go side to side and see if it moves, thats a quick way to check those out.

i agree with wandell, i really doubt its your shocks. it could very well be a alignment issue. i would think it would pull one way or another if they are cupping and feathering.

also, ive seen that you offroad ALOT. before paying somone to check balance, check the insides of your wheels to see if you have mud caked inside. that will throw them out of balance. hopfully one of these ideas will help you out a little.

 

well as of right now i do have mud caked up but when this started i didnt. The truck does pull HARD to the right.

Maybe i should have mentioned that

 

well the mud wont help out any, but it is hard to keep tires that big in decent balance. you probably do need an alignment then. and if you dont want to clean them mud out, leave it and let the tire shop do it..they love it when people do that

 

oh no ill clean it thats no biggie. I took it out sunday and havent drove it since. Ill clean it when i get a chance.