flat tire delemia...conclusion

I broke down the front tires and removed the balancing beads. The beads looked brand as new. I hit the tire shop on a slow day, so they let me hang in the shop and watch the changers. As they balanced the two front tires the tech said watch the tire wobble back and forth, the rim is bent. One was worse than the other. Those tires went on the back and the new tires went on the front. I might have been mistaken about the value of balancing beads, they aren't made to take up the slack of bent rims. The rims with the new tires were true and balanced well.
Then off to my buddy garage, where the shop is warm and the beer is cold. As I put on the rear tires I checked the brakes, almost no grove and the shoes had no wear. I guess the used car dealer I bought it from really did change the shoes like he said he did. As I was greasing the drive shaft, I noticed the boot over the spines was starting to slide south, so I cut off the clamp and slide it back up and reclamped it. I noticed a few of the push pins in the wheel wells were missing , so I removed one for a sample to get more. Since it was up on the rack, I checked every thing I could think of. Looks like I'll be in the market for a new carrier bearing.
Two hours and two beers later she drives straight down the road with no shake in the steering wheel. Happy camper.
the tire shop gave me a great deal on the balancing , so on my way out I went thru the shop and flipped the tech a $20, and said lunch is on me.

 

From my experiences balancing beads are pointless unless they’re in something like a road tractor. At The tire store I worked at for awhile we would vacuum them out all the time.. glad you got it figured out tho.

 

Steel rims?
And make sure that you're looking at the rim itself when you're looking for wobble and not at the tire. Bad tires can make a wobble even on a straight rim.