Wobble Wobble HELP/ Hub Assembly

Has anyone ever had experience with a hub being out of round? I finally isolated the problem that is causing a bumpy ride.... The problem is I cant SEE anything wrong.

With the front drivers side wheel off the ground I can spin the tire and actually see the problem. Using a fixed point on the inner fender well I can watch as the tire rises and falls as it spins. I swapped wheels from every corner of the truck and they all spin true on the opposite side. However, ALL 4 wheels/tires exhibit the same behavior while mounted on the drivers side front.

The bearings definitely need servicing and they will receive it soon. Im really scratching my head though trying to figure out what would cause this. Would it be possible that the lug studs are drilled off center? Are these wheel hubs designed in such a way that bad bearings could allow for something like this and I am just missing it?

I really look forward to hearing peoples thoughts opinions on this because I am totally confused....:scratchheadblue:

There is no way a hub would be made with the studs off-drilled. The hub itself must be buckled (would take a hell of a hit laterally to do it but not impossible). Or maybe the mount isn't seated properly. Take it apart and do a visual inspection of everything - but I'd cut to the chase and just get another one from a yard rather than play around with it.

I wouldnt think one could be produced out of round myself... Thats why Im scratching my head and going crazy. Ive replaced some really bad wheel bearings that make noise like crazy and do the typical bad wheel bearing stuff. I just wanted to see if there was some oddity in design that I might be overlooking.

There are 4 in the local u-pull-it. An 86 that Im dying to check out, and 3 early 90's. Cross checking part #'s shows they are all the same hub/bearings. So.... hopefully Ill find a couple that will work.

Thanks for the input Geezer.

The 86 MM has 28,459 miles on it. The interior is immaculate. The engine bay is immaculate. It was incredibly sad to see that truck sitting there. A gorgeous silver exterior... Truly a bummer.

I took the rotor/hub assemblies. The grease inside the caps looked brand new and I am sure factory.

I swapped the 86 rotor/hub assemblies onto my 95.

While I was there I did the tie rod ends (inner and outer) on both sides.

She drives like new again.

Awesome. The 86 in the JY sounds like a tragic waste. Maybe put up a post of where the collection of trucks are and even if one is beyond being rescued, they can pull a bunch of good salvage parts before they get crushed.

I think that this entire bounce/wobble thing was due to the blown tie rod ends. When I say blown... I mean totally dead. The joints will fall in all directions by the weight of the joint alone.

you might also want to change out the lca bushings - that will cause a shimmy at 55 when they fail.

Not sure how I missed your response but I appreciate it. This bounce has actually returned twice now. I get the tires balanced, it rides great for 200 miles or so and it returns. Last time I threw a fit and insisted it was faulty tires. I got the tires replaced and was thrilled at the smoothness of the ride. Now... 200 miles later its back. The tire guy(s) didn't want to sell me new wheels as he spun them on the machine and insists the wheels are NOT the cause.

Im at a loss. Seeing your post regarding the LCA bushing solidifies my need to replace them. This problem only presents itself at about 50mph and is intermittent. I do NOT understand what the heck is going on.

are you running non factory wheels? bacause some bigger wheels can take a toll on those bearings, my 87 had 32's on it at one point and i have 3 receipts for front wheel bearings, at 60k, 95k, and 111k. (i have every receipt, window sticker, contract, etc. og owner was OCD)

there is also the pitman arm. i have 2 receipts for those. the one on it now is bad and the one on the 82 is bad.

idler arm bushing can cause a shimmy / wobble

I am running 18" Titan wheels with 225/40/R18 tires. The overall height is actually a fraction shorter than the stock setup and is a few pounds light. I have tracked the issue down and wish I would have used my brain before throwing money/parts at it. The Nissan wheels are hub-centric (I do not care what anyone says, they are centered on Nissans via the hubs). When I had the Nissan wheels bored out to fit the hubs on my truck I went with everyone saying they needed to be 108mm. I got the wheels back and installed them thinking they were centered with the lug-nuts. (I replaced lugstuds and also got extended length BULGE-ACORN lug-nuts to properly seat the wheels on the hub.)

After first installing the wheels and tires the truck rode like a dream. Smooth and quite... Then after some time (miles) a slight vibration developed and then a VERY noticeable hop/bounce that would come and go intermittently developed shortly after. I figured with 150k miles it was time for the front suspension to be redone and was sure that was where the bouncing was coming from. I replaced; Upper and lower balljoints, inner and outer tie-rod ends, hub/rotor assemblies. The bounce was still there. I had the tires balanced twice and on the 3rd trip to the tire shop insisted there was a faulty tire(s) to blame for the problem. I got the tires replaced and left. Incredibly smooth ride on the way home and I was confident I found the issue. I drove the truck for a week and the slight vibration came back and within 50 miles developed into the dash rattling bounce I described earlier. Out of pure frustration I decided to remove the wheels and put the stocks back on and discovered a perfectly smooth and vibration-free ride. Thats when it hot me (by a simple matter of deduction really) that it WAS the wheels. I re-installed the Titans taking EXTREME care to center the wheel via the lug-nuts using a folded up soda can to act as a spacer around the lug-nuts and meticulously centered, re-centered, and tightened the lug-nuts down. Stock torque specs call for 80-90ftlbs. I went 125ftlbs. I drove it for 250 miles and the vibrations/bounce has not returned.

The latest is what got me to measuring and spec'ing the wheels and hubs. Had I done this in the beginning, I wouldn't have been chasing my tail and ready to light this truck on fire. Now that I go back and think about it all... It makes sense. Haha!!

Short of the long... Nissan wheels ARE hub-centric. 2WD hubs ARE NOT 108mm. Hub centering rings are required (with hubcentric wheels) and do work.

yes i saw your other thread and thought, 'is that the same guy here?'