Ive got a 2005 AWD silverado 1500 and the bump steer is getting ridiculous it pulls hard right or left depending on slope of the road and when going over a bumpy road it swerves all over unpredictably. I added a steering stabilizer and that helped but its still not good, or even safe for that matter. I have already replaced the pitman, idler, inner and outer tie rods all with quality AC delco parts. I know the ball joints need doing and I should probably replace the steering box and idler support cause they have 190000 miles on them. My question is this, could ball joints and a steering box really be responsible for how bad the steering is?

 

What size tires are on the truck? Wide tires with a super-low aspect ratio (45 series or shorter) tend to follow ruts at cracks on the road much worse than others.

Beyond that, replace all worn out front end components, and have a wheel alignment done. As long as nothing in the rear axle & suspension is bent or broken, that should be all it takes.

 

wheel bearings can cause this, check them.
my left is bad and causes my truck to wander some.

 

I see no mention on your shocks... have you replaced those at all?

My truck would do the same thing with my 285/50-20s, follow the slope, swerve across ruts and railroad tracks, etc. I replaced my old shocks with new Bilsteins and its straight as an arrow now. My old original shocks were so shot, they would completely compress by hand and WOULD NOT return on their own.

 

Yeah forgot to say wheel bearings are new and shocks are also brand new.

The weird thing is the truck was better on the summer wheels and tires
(22x9's with 285/45/22's)
Now I switched to my winter set and it seems worse? they are
(20x9's with 285/50/20's) maybe I am just crazy.

I'm just worried because I just had it aligned and the guy said my ball joints aren't great but are still not terribly bad. So if that doesn't fix it what do I do?

 

Run a 275/55R20 and it won't happen anymore if the front end is good.

 

I honestly dont think the tire size is the problem. When I got my truck lowered, put my rear sway bar on, and had new shocks installed, I was still running my 285/50-20s. There is a VERY rough patch of road in town near me where a lot of trucks drive. So the asphalt dips in it. Before all that it would wander so bad I couldve been pulled over for a cop thinking i was DUI. Now it glides right through it. When I switched to my 265/60-18s it only got even better.

 

either alignment wasnt done right or check the play in the steering box, awd units take more abuse than reg ones. I replaced mine already with 50k less miles as it had tons of play and i had already adjusted it once. although mine has seen some abuse and wide 305 tires for probably more than half its life..