'72 c10 front suspension question
 

Hey everyone, I am experiencing a lot of bouncing, vibration through floorboard, vibration in steering wheel, as I'm driving down the road. It happens at all speeds, but seems worse at lower speeds. On the highway it seems to smooth out but is still there. I understand there is a thousand possibilities for what I'm experiencing. But I will provide as much info as possible up front to help narrow down the guessing game. I'm running original stock suspension components i.e.: stock upper and lower control arms, stock height coil springs, alignment was performed about 2 years at the same time that I replaced all control arm shaft assemblies,tie rod ends, ball joints, idler arm, wheel bearings and shocks. All parts moog brand, SDK bearings, KYB gasajustshocks, shock reinforcing brackets, I added a stock sway bar from another 72 c20 with stock brackets and energy suspension bushings. Tires have some mileage on them but were recently rotated running 32 psi front and back.

Today i jacked the front end up,put it on jack stands, and removed front tires. Everything looks good, fresh grease in joints. Except control arm shaft bushings. They do not take any grease. As in I physically cannot pump any grease into the zerk fittings. I almost bent grease gun handle trying to pump grease into the zerks for the control arm bushings both upper and lower and on both sides.been that way since i replaced them about 2 years ago.
So, i have front end of truck supported on jack stands at the lower control arm shafts. I used my floor jack to compress the suspension on each side at the lower spring cup. The drivers side compresses around 1"-2" before the truck is lifted off of the jack stand on that side. So I did the same for the passenger side. There is almost no compression of the suspension before the truck is lifted off of the jack stand on that side of the truck.

What would cause or inhibit the suspension from compressing and absorbing road forces? I'm leaning towards control arm shaft bushings being too tight or lack of grease and seizing up. Any and all info that is relevant is appreciated. I'm currently able to access my truck and any points on it as of this posting until about 10 p.m. PST. So, I will be checking my phone for alerts to this thread periodically. And hope I can achieve somethig today to remedy my situation. I'm all ears. :)

Re: '72 c10 front suspension question
 

Does sound like broken spring or something loose .....Steel belted radial tires? check your tires...broken belt in a tire can cause a lot of vibration....

Re: '72 c10 front suspension question
 

Notsolo, thanks for your reply. Yes steel belted radials. My buddy said the same thing to me a couple of days ago. How do I check for a separated belt in a tire?

Re: '72 c10 front suspension question
 

Reading your post the first thing I thought of was front wheel bearings. But I agee with you as to the lower control arm bushings maybe a problem. You maybe able to determine whether it is the upper or lower shaft by loosening the unbolts on the lower shaft and levering the shaft off of the index rivet in the front saddle. With this done try to jack up the passenger side again and see if it makes a difference in it how jacks up with the lower shaft rotating free.
If that doesn't make a difference your upper shaft maybe gauled. If it acts like the drivers side now, the lower bushings maybe gauled.
Worst case both shafts are unhappy.
I just changed my front springs and lower control arms and your driver's side numbers sound about the same as I saw on both sides of my Burban.
When I installed the shafts in the arms I used ChevyMikes method in this thread. The second post.
Good luck.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=508095

As a second thought did you try your jack test with the shock disconnected? A bad shock could cause the same result.

PPS Here's a tire link that may help.

https://www.souzastireservice.com/Ti...es-and-Wobbles

Re: '72 c10 front suspension question
 

HO455, no I have not tried with shock disconnected. But a good suggestion. I will try it now. Also, out of all of the control arm shaft bushings, the lower front passenger side looks a lot different than the other 7(upper 2,lower 2, both sides=8) first pic is passenger side lower control arm shaft seal. 2nd is drivers side.

Re: '72 c10 front suspension question
 

In the photo is the distance between the blue lines the same on the other bushing on that shaft?

If not then it is possible they weren't centered properly when installed. I don't know what problems that may cause down the line other than caster alignment issues.

Re: '72 c10 front suspension question
 

Broken belt, Tires will usual have a dent in side wall or odd looking bump.

Re: '72 c10 front suspension question
 

HO455, I wish I would have seen you post before I took it upon myself to loosen the front bushing on the passenger side by a half turn. But regardless of that, NO, the measurements are not the same. With my dial caliper measuring the space between the blue lines in your post on the passenger side I got: 1.180" for the front and 1.050" for the rear. This is after I loosened the front bushing about 1/3 turn. So I'd assume the difference is actually closer to 1/4" difference between the front and the back bushings on the passenger side.

Re: '72 c10 front suspension question
 

At this point I think I would take the time to remove and reinstall the bushings on the shaft. That would allow access to inspect the bushing surfaces and if everything is good, reassemble them correctly. At the same time all the grease passages could be cleared.
It would give me peace of mind if nothing else.

Re: '72 c10 front suspension question
 

I hear ya HO455, I actually set out to do as you suggested and basically redo the shaft bushings. As of right now, I cracked all 4 bushings loose on passenger side. Used floor jack to try and compress the suspension on that side. I might have gain 3/8" of travel in the suspension before the weight of the truck is lifted off of the jack stand. My next step is to disconnect the shock on that side to see if that makes a difference. Other than that, I dont know what would prevent the suspension from collapsing somewhat in a normal manner. One last idea is that, I got these coil springs from a friend and was told they were new stock height, stock spring rate, front coil springs for 1972 c10. Other than his word, I have no way to verify the truth of this. Other than buying a known new set from a vendor.

Re: '72 c10 front suspension question
 

Disconnected shock. No change in suspension travel. I have floor jack supporting lower spring cup up off jack stand and I tried to compress suspension with my bodyweight on the fender. Stiff as a board. No travel at all. Drivers side has about 1or 2 inches of travel. So I'm thinking I either have A. Wrong springs for my setup. B. Mismatched set of springs with the passenger side being possibly HD or for 3/4 ton truck. I'm gonna buy a brand new set of coil springs that fit my setup and hopefully that will fix the issue. I'm still open to the idea of a bad tire. Because I do have one with a dip in the outer side wall. I will take the truck in to where i bought them and have them inspected and rebalanced in the meantime. Thanks for all the help and info. I really appreciate this website. Glad to be a part of it.

Re: '72 c10 front suspension question
 

Big block or small block make a big difference in front springs 1/2 ton to 3/4 ton less so as it is the back spring do all the carrying capacity

That you can not pump grease into the a arm bushings i find a concern and would disassemble to find out why could cause binding issues

Ask your friend if they where for a big block front springs

Does the front end ride higher then the back ?

Re: '72 c10 front suspension question
 

Can you measure the width of the coil on each side, dial caliper would help... I think diameter would be different on heavier, if 1 is for a BB truck.

Re: '72 c10 front suspension question
 

Vibrations are usually caused by rotating components. #1 is the tires

Re: '72 c10 front suspension question
 

I measured diameter of coils on each side. Both came out to .777 .
After I cracked all four end caps loose on passenger side I was able to rotate each seal and get them kind of seated a little better. Only after I did that was I able to pump some grease into each zerk. Some took grease easier than others but they all eventually took some grease.
Lastnight while I was doing all this I had a "a-ha" moment. There was a real obvious reason I couldn't compress each side of the suspension independently. THE SWAYBAR WAS STILL ATTACHED! :dohh: lol. After I disconnected the swaybar from the control arms I got some travel from each side but not a lot. I'm not sure what would be considered normal. But it was getting late so I buttoned everything back up because this is the only vehicle I own and I had to get home. I was at my dads house working on it.

Now to the subject of tires. I'm really thinking this is where I'm getting the vibration and rough ride. So I'm going to take the truck in for tire inspection and rebalance. And I will report back in a few days what the tire place says. Thanks again guys. :)

Re: '72 c10 front suspension question
 

Also, truck is lab '72 c10 with HD leaf spring rear suspension. I'm running ECE drop shackles to help level out the stance and I also have caltracs traction bars and rear swaybar. All spring eye bushings are about 2 years old and rear shocks are too. KYB gasadjust. 2 piece driveshaft with brand new (2 weeks ago) spicer non-greaseable u joints and timken center support bearing. Rearend is fresh rebuilt about 4 months ago with Yukon Gear posi unit and Richmond 3.08 gear set.

Re: '72 c10 front suspension question
 

Do yourself a favor and get a pneumatic grease gun. You can thank me later. :mm:

Try spinning each front wheel and feel for vibration. Or, swap out the spare tire to each corner.

Re: '72 c10 front suspension question
 

Carl, it's funny you mention that. It's exactly what I'm gonna have to get. My forearms are sore tonight. Lol.

So I repeated what I did to the passenger side yesterday, and did the drivers side today. I tuned my carb(1406 eddy) got it to almost 20"Hg. at idle and reset my distributor timing from 12° down to 10°. I'm running a davis unified ignition calibrated for my specific setup. Between greasing up the control arm shaft bushings, retorqueing them, tuning carb, adjusting timing, I'd say about 80% of what I was experiencing is gone. So I think it was a combination of bushings too tight, not greased, and maybe some over advance on my distributor. Still possibly the tires. I will find out Monday. Side note, I noticed the upper control arm shaft on the drivers side is really really close to the suspension crossmember. So close in fact that I could not rotate the rear seal at all. I tried pliers, elbow grease, everything short of grabbing it with some vice grips. It took grease. But would not rotate around the shaft. The last person to touch it besides myself was the alignment guy about 2 years ago. Not sure what it means. But shouldn't be a problem unless it wears through the grease seal and allows the bushing to get contaminated or wears into the shaft/bushing. Anyways I definitely noticed a difference in how the truck handles compared to 2 days ago. Slowly but surely I'll get it figured out. Especially with your guys help. Thanks.

Re: '72 c10 front suspension question
 

You mentioned all of the new parts you have installed. Never assume that new parts mean that they are good parts!

Re: '72 c10 front suspension question
 

Bigbird05, I hear ya. I have a issue with one of my autozone replacement rotors. Cant recall which side, but one of the inner wheel bearing races spins in the bore. So I had to prick punch the inner hub of the rotor and drive the bearing race in with red loctite to get it staked in place.
I can't make it to the tire shop for a few days because of work. But I will report back what the verdict is when i take it in.

Re: '72 c10 front suspension question
 

If you have a bad belt on a radial tire just roll it on a flat piece of concrete. It will wobble and not roll in a straight line. Sometimes they want to roll in a circle.

Re: '72 c10 front suspension question
 

Bigbird05, now that's what I'm talking about! That's the kind of info I was looking for regarding bad belts in tires. Both of the tires that were on the rear of my truck rolled just as you described when I rotated them to the front of my truck. I tried showing my dad but he didnt know what it meant either. I knew something was up with them. I wonder if it's because I put posi and new ring/gear set in the truck. Along with rebuilding the trans with Shift kit. Plus adding traction bars. Hmmm..... LOL. Well, makes sense to me.
On a side note this situation is on the back burner. I caught something that has taken me out of commission. I been in bed since Tuesday and I dont feel the least bit better. I cant say for sure what it is, but I'm treating it like the 5 letter C-word. Of course a test will tell me. If I had the energy to make it to my truck and drive the next city over and wait 2 1/2hrs in line. I have a hard time just getting up to use the restroom. I'm only 34 yrs old. 6foot and 210lbs. And I feel completely wiped out. On Monday I demo'd an entire family room of drywall hefted it out to the dump trailer all by myself. Tuesday I knocked out all the stucco and tossed that by myself too. Tuesday night I almost passed out going up 2 flights of stairs to my room. Been here in bed ever since. Feel about 1% better today than I did on Tuesday. So as soon as I'm back on my feet. I'm heading to the tire shop.

Re: '72 c10 front suspension question
 

Best of luck with 'whatever it is' that's beating you up. Self isolate until symptoms moderate.

Re: '72 c10 front suspension question
 

Thanks Carl. That's the plan. Today I woke up feeling somewhat like myself. I say that because I woke up telling myself I need to go for a drive. :)

Re: '72 c10 front suspension question
 

My truck started a wabble this summer. I rotated the tires and sure enough it got better not gone but better. Further investigation I found that one of the weights had come off, the mounting clip was still there so I had it balanced new weight and all's well . Sometimes it just that simple