99 Suburban has severe front end shake only when towing.

Asked by Paul Jun 14, 2014 at 06:42 AM about the 1999 Chevrolet Suburban C1500 LT RWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Truck's front end is solid, it's been to several front end specialist, some with 45
years experience.  Truck's steering wheel and dashboard shake violently ONLY
when towing.  I tow, or I should say, try to tow a small jon boat trailer( Ventura),
at 45mph, the front ends starts to shake. It gets worse the faster I go. Shake
lessens when speeds are 40mph and below. Ventura trailer is brand new.  I
have another small homemade trailer that I was towing and though it was a
problem with that trailer but, it happens when I tow anything at all, no matter how
light the tongue weight is.
I have a ghost!  Please help. :(

4 Answers

200,965

Possibly a out of balance tire or one that is separating internally. Having them balanced will tell if this is the issue or not.

Thank you, The tires have been balance twice to make sure that wasn't the issue. Internal separation is something I hadn't thought of. I had planned on replacing the tires any way. We discovered the tires came off another truck that had been sitting in a salvage yard for quite some time, and are try rotted between every thread. Thank you very much for your input. Great appreciated. I'll respond back later this week, once I replace the tires.

200,965

Ok. With dry rot in the treads I would bet on internal separation. Look at your wheels. Does one of them have a lot of wheel weights on it. If so they had to add all of these to balance it because of internal separation of the tire. Went and had mine balanced the other day and they had to put 10+ ounces on to balance it. Future investigation showed that the tire was separating on the inside. It also had small dry rot lines in the treads.

So what can it be when the truck goes to 45 mph it shakes real bad after 45mph it stops shaking what can it be

Your Answer:

Suburban

Looking for a Used Suburban in your area?

CarGurus has 550 nationwide Suburban listings starting at $7,500.

Postal Code:

CarGurus Experts

  • #1
    Andrew Olsen
    Reputation
    3,090
  • #2
    JimO65
    Reputation
    2,400
  • #3
    Rowefast
    Reputation
    2,150
View All

Find great deals from top-rated dealers

Search

Related Models For Sale

Used GMC Yukon XL
14 Great Deals out of 683 listings starting at $13,950
Used Chevrolet Tahoe
24 Great Deals out of 911 listings starting at $11,900
Used Ford Expedition
23 Great Deals out of 821 listings starting at $7,888
Used GMC Yukon
16 Great Deals out of 929 listings starting at $1,225
Used Cadillac Escalade
21 Great Deals out of 376 listings starting at $6,900
Used Chevrolet Silverado 1500
202 Great Deals out of 5,975 listings starting at $2,975
Used Lincoln Navigator
10 Great Deals out of 172 listings starting at $9,869
Used Ford F-150
321 Great Deals out of 14,968 listings starting at $1,712
Used Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD
16 Great Deals out of 1,285 listings starting at $8,995
Used GMC Sierra 1500
148 Great Deals out of 7,258 listings starting at $3,950
Used Toyota 4Runner
10 Great Deals out of 304 listings starting at $9,700
Used Toyota Sienna
40 Great Deals out of 750 listings starting at $4,200

Content submitted by Users is not endorsed by CarGurus, does not express the opinions of CarGurus, and should not be considered reviewed, screened, or approved by CarGurus. Please refer to CarGurus Terms of Use. Content will be removed if CarGurus becomes aware that it violates our policies.