Recurring Tire Imbalance

I agree, take truck to level parking lot stand back and give it a hard look at all angles. had a truck repaired after a wreck that was breaking engine mounts. frame rail was pushed back and twisted. got underneath truck you could see were the cab was bolted to frame were it had shifted

 

This is great! I will definitely give this a go and really check out my frame.

Whoa! Those beads are really neat, I have never heard of such a thing before!

LOL!

Okay, what I feel like I understand and what I don't understand about the possibility of a bent frame...correct me if I'm off.

I understand that: If my frame is bent, then ultimately everything attached to it is out of wack (out of alignment, etc) and thus creates a side affect (imbalanced tire(s)).

What I don't understand: The delay in the side affect. My accident occurred September 2011 but I didn't start having issues until some time in November 2012 (little over a year later). Could it be it took time for a possible bent frame to mess up attached components and this is why I didn't have noticeable issues until later?

As I have mentioned originally, since getting my tires balanced this past time I have yet to have any steering wheel shimmy. It's been almost 800 miles of travel so far.

 

It really depends on everything.......Stranger things have happened. You mentioned 4 weeks later I got my truck out of the body shop with suspension, tire, wheel, power steering, alignment and more major parts replaced. Truck rolled like nothing happened for a while, I some times have a strange phenomenon with power steering but that story is for a different time.

If there is an issue with your frame - all those major parts were installed and tightened down to fit a 'bent frame' (so to speak). Over time, those things could come loose and / or vibrations causing things to change (the entire package was not engineered to function on a bent frame). Hard to explain...
Sure...it felt really good at first...as things were still tight.

I hope its not a bent frame.....but...I'm willing to bet, your problems are a direct result of your accident.

Who installs your wheels & tires after you get them balanced? Are they tight enough? I would highly recommend checking the lug nuts weekly...just to make sure they're not coming loose. I think 85ftlbs is the recommended torque. I tighten mine to 100ft lbs.

 

I agree with you, the accident really has me suspicious. It makes total sense to me anyways that anything attached on the frame (if bent) would cause this domino affect. It's a scary thought indeed, but worth knowing and then figuring out what actions to take after that. I will check the torque like you've suggested for my lug nuts. Thank you!

 

**UPDATE **

So since getting my tires balanced at the dealership in November of 2014, I have had no steering wheel shimmy after 3 tire rotations all done by the dealership. I have not had to rebalance them. I am up for another oil change and tire rotation this week and will be getting it done again at the dealership. My dad helped me check my frame and we found it to be square. I almost hate to admit it but maybe the dealership was the answer. Like gearcruncher said it may have had to do with the equipment the garages were using at the other places I had been taking it to. Once the dealership got a hold of it they got it corrected with the adapter mentioned.

Thanks for all the help on this!!