[TTA89]

I have had my truck for about 2 weeks and have about 950 miles on it. I am thinking about bringing the truck to the dealer but wanted to see if this is normal with a 3/4 ton truck or what?

The steering in my truck feels like it has a "dead" spot when going straight. It feels like the alignment is correct, I let go of the wheel and it goes straight if the road is level but just normal driving down the highway I feel like I am constantly moving the wheel about an inch to the left and right to keep the truck in the lane.

Its not that it needs an alignment it just feels like when the wheel is straight I'm not "connected" to the wheels until I move the wheel to the left or right and so I'm constantly over correcting. Looks like I'm "see-sawing" the wheel about an inch going back and forth when driving down the highway at 65+.

I'm affraid that when I hook up a trailer its going to induce sway plus its not very comfortable to drive it like this. I find myself holding the wheel tight and its not something I want to drive 1000 miles with.

I ordered the On-Road/Off-Road Tires that are a factory option and I'm wondering if thats part of the problem?

Does this sound familar to anyone else?

 

[DURAtotheMAX]

hmmm mine is always DEAD ON center. I couldnt ask for a better "on center" feel in a truck. Ive always loved the HD steering. Its just heavy enough not to have to be constantly moving the wheel on the highway to keep going straight. Unlike my dad's 2003 Tahoe which has an annoying dead on-center feel thats really light, so you find yourself constantly steering back and forth to stay on center... Id get it aligned and/or take it to the dealer...

Ben

 

[maxedup03]

I have had my truck for about 2 weeks and have about 950 miles on it. I am thinking about bringing the truck to the dealer but wanted to see if this is normal with a 3/4 ton truck or what?

The steering in my truck feels like it has a "dead" spot when going straight. It feels like the alignment is correct, I let go of the wheel and it goes straight if the road is level but just normal driving down the highway I feel like I am constantly moving the wheel about an inch to the left and right to keep the truck in the lane.

Its not that it needs an alignment it just feels like when the wheel is straight I'm not "connected" to the wheels until I move the wheel to the left or right and so I'm constantly over correcting. Looks like I'm "see-sawing" the wheel about an inch going back and forth when driving down the highway at 65+.

I'm affraid that when I hook up a trailer its going to induce sway plus its not very comfortable to drive it like this. I find myself holding the wheel tight and its not something I want to drive 1000 miles with.

I ordered the On-Road/Off-Road Tires that are a factory option and I'm wondering if thats part of the problem?

Does this sound familar to anyone else?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Mine has the same feeling.
I took it to the dealer and had the mechanic drive it and he told it felt normal.
???????????????????
he got under the front end and he said things look tight.

I was thinking that it could be bad steering stabilizer????????

Let me Know if you find anything out.

___________________________________
03 CC SB D/A :ro)

 

[TTA89]

Just got back from lunch, met a friend about 30 miles away so I had a 60 mile round trip. Its better than it was a few days ago, but it been really windy the past few weeks so maybe that had a lot to do with it.

I cruised back at 80-85 and it felt better but still doesn't feel as tight as I thought it should. I'll give it a few more weeks and see if its something I get used too.

:blahblah:

 

[banshee42096]

mine feels great highway speeds no problems here.

 

[Rcher]

I was told awhile back that most of the new GM trucks wear out the idler/pitman arm connections very fast. So, this time when I bought a new truck, I installed a set of Cognito idler/pitman arm supports. I have about 2500 miles on this truck and everything is still tight. Now this maybe cuz its new or these supports are working.

My old '03 2500HD wore 'em out right away and I had to replace them within the first 10k.

Coincidence?? Not sure but I have a tight system this time.

 

[ob_1jr]

Mine has that dead spot in it and I have the idler/pitman arm support kit. I installed it within about 500 miles of getting the new idler/pitman arm on... I am at a loss. I am waiting on one of my ball joints to go bad (ripped boot)so I can get them to look into the steering again for the third or 4th time.

 

[scottdcoffey]

Mine feels tight, but it has always been clocked off center- clock wise about 8 to 10 degrees off... I just learned to live with it...it's not as bad as my old Furd was...

 

[mitchn]

I've noticed, when running empty, my truck drives much better on the highway if I run 6-10 lbs. less air in the rear tires than in the fronts.

I had my tires rotated and they didn't adjust the air pressure (?). It drove poorly and felt really vague going down the highway. As soon as I adjusted the tire pressures it was fine.

 

[GS340]

The dead spot is normal, and comes from the steering box. If you really want to feel the dead spot do the following. Truck running, foot on the brake, and in park turn the wheel a little to the left or right about an inch or two. Now you should be able to wobble the wheel back and forth, left and right and the wheels won’t move. That dead spot is the center of the steering box and there is a little slack in it.

My 1980 corvette and all C3 corvettes use a similar steering setup. When I bought my corvette I thought there was something wrong but dealer explained the reason for the dead spot which I can’t remember now. There is also an adjustment screw on the steering box you can tighten to make the spot not as noticeable on the C3 corvette. I’m not sure our trucks can be adjusted.

My 2003 S10 also had the same dead spot. I really didn’t notice it. My 2005 HD has the same dead spot.

5 years ago I had the steering box in my corvette rebuilt at Tony's corvette shop. With the top off the box he showed me the dead spot. how the gears interact on center and when the driver changes direction causes the dead spot feeling.

 

[maxedup03]

The dead spot is normal, and comes from the steering box. If you really want to feel the dead spot do the following. Truck running, foot on the brake, and in park turn the wheel a little to the left or right about an inch or two. Now you should be able to wobble the wheel back and forth, left and right and the wheels won’t move. That dead spot is the center of the steering box and there is a little slack in it.

_________________________________________

I did notice this in mine also a few weeks ago.
Along with what TTA89 was experiencing with his truck.

___________________________________________

03 CC SB D/A GMC:ro)

 

[TTA89]

Normal or whatever its not a good thing. -:t-:tI need to drive someone elses 3/4 ton and see if its normal. I'm wondering if its the Onroad/Offroad tires that are optioned on it.

Its just annoying enough that when holding the wheel straight its not "tight" enough to keep the truck straight when the wind blows or the pavement is uneven. The constant correcting of the wheel is driving me crazy, I shouldn't have to think about keeping the truck in the center of the lane at 75-80mph.

 

[ob_1jr]

It doesn't matter how tight the steering is, when the wind blows, it will push you across a little bit. Look at the lack of aerodynamics of the pick-up. As far as the pavement being uneven, I don't think it would matter either way on which tires you have on you truck. Try driving in Alaska with all the frost heaves in the road. I think you would be glad to deal with what you have. Almost every vehicle I have driven has had a dead spot in the steering..Normally you don't notice it because it is something you don't have to think about when driving. The curvature of the road should help you keep a little tension on the steering.

 

[TTA89]

Normally you don't notice it because it is something you don't have to think about when driving.

Thats exactly right and thats why I'm asking because its something that is causing me to notice that I have to concentrate on keeping the truck in the center of the lane without drifting from line to line.

I drove my Cobra to work today, it doesn't do that nor have any of the other 25+ cars that I have owned.

I dunno, I haven't even checked the tire pressures since I got it.

 

[GS340]

Thats exactly right and thats why I'm asking because its something that is causing me to notice that I have to concentrate on keeping the truck in the center of the lane without drifting from line to line.

I drove my Cobra to work today, it doesn't do that nor have any of the other 25+ cars that I have owned.

I dunno, I haven't even checked the tire pressures since I got it.

I would check your tire pressure and have an alignment done. GM will perform a alignment at no charge as long as the truck doesn't have more then 12,000 miles.

Try test driving another truck on the dealers lot. just a thought ???

robert

 

[banshee42096]

i was told on alignment issues for gm to cover is only 8000 miles. i have tried this twice with each of my trucks and it was out of 8000 miles
and lower than 12 and within 12 months.i have not heard much about gm suspension wearing out i know of 3 differant freinds with approx 20000-
40000 miles on there trucks only problem was the steering shaft.may just
be the quality michigan roads-:t around here.no realy i dont think michigan has a smooth road except 696 and thats it.i think they put up the construction signs on the road just to make the people happy):h

 

[GS340]

That must be a recent change to GM's warranty policy then. I've had an alignment done at NO charge around 10,xxx miles, but not on the truck. did you look in the warranty book that comes with the truck?

 

[ob_1jr]

Thats exactly right and thats why I'm asking because its something that is causing me to notice that I have to concentrate on keeping the truck in the center of the lane without drifting from line to line.

I drove my Cobra to work today, it doesn't do that nor have any of the other 25+ cars that I have owned.

I dunno, I haven't even checked the tire pressures since I got it.

With your two vehicles, you are comparing apples to oranges. Your truck isn't going to steer like a sports car. Our trucks don't have rack and pinion steering. What kind of tires do you have on your truck? (brand/size/rims) Also, what tire pressure you running? I know that when I had my 285s on stock rims, it was a little squirly especially if I didn't have at least 50 PSI in the front....actually, even with aftermarket rims I still have 50 psi in the front. Tire pressure could have something to do with it...but only a little. You would probably know if your tires were getting a little low when you are trying to do parking lot manuevers. Just food for thought though.....I bought my truck slightly used, the alignment was off (only about 13000 miles on it). I had to take it to the dealership for an alignment within the first week of owning the truck. I drove it for a couple of months and then had to take it to a tire place to get it done right. With your truck being so new, I would just take it to the dealership and have them look at it and do what was suggested....drive a different truck on the lot to see if it does it too.

 

[maxedup03]

Hey TTa89,

If you get to a dealer and drive a new truck. Let me know on what you find out.

If you dont. Im going to get the oil change next week and I will let you know what I find out.

And I agree with you that we shouldn't have to white Knuckle the steering wheel when we drive.-:t

I check my tire's all the time and run them @ About 40psi Front and rear.

_______________________________
03 CC SB D/A GMC:ro)

 

[GS340]

40 PSI is to low. The door sticker says 60PSI with a max of 80 (ithink). My truck came 60PSI front and 70PSI rear from the factory.

I don't have to drive "white knuckle"... I would suggest upping the PSI to 60 on all 4 tires and go for a drive.