Shaking Steering Wheel

[thedsmsource]

Hey guys, Ok, my 92 tsi has had a shaking steering wheel sinc ei got it about a year ago. It has gotten slighty worse, and i am running out of ideas on how to fix the bloody thing. In my efforts to fix it this is what i have done.

Front Suspesion:
Sandblasted and stripped all control arms, had them re coated
New Ball Joints
Energy Suspesion poly bushings
New Tie rods ends (outer)
KYB Agx shocks
Eibach pro springs
New dual pistons calipers
New brake pads
New rotors

Rear:
Sandblasted rear frame, re coated, new camber bolts all around
New ball joints wherever applicable
Energy suspension poly bushings
New rear swaybar
KYB AGK Shocks
Eibach springs
New rotors and break pads

I have had all new tires, w/ 2 allignments. WTF is wrong with it. Possibly the steering rack? I would really like a manual rack. Help me guys

-Shain

 

[leet]

My steering wheel shook until I had my brakes done. I had badly cracked pads.

 

[steve]

When does it shake?
If it does all the time start looking for runout at the tires, rims, rotor (assuming your alignment is correct).
If it only does it when you brake then look at the
brakes.

Steve

 

[jtmcinder]

I notice that wheel bearing aren't on your list of things that have been done. Have these been checked?

- Jtoby

 

[thedsmsource]

thansk for the reply. The car shakes at speeds of around 60+ (usual when id rive down the highway), and does not shake when the brakes are applied, so everything is fine brake wise. I have new wheel bearings all around, along with new top bearing plates ont he the front struts. Still lost in this problem

 

[kyleporambo]

Start with the simple stuff (kiss method) like....
See if you knocked off a wheel weight on that last monster of a pothole, and you might want to check the lower tie rods, because some have troubles.

 

[kyleporambo]

Also check the tires for cupping.

 

[thedsmsource]

Originally posted by kyleporambo
Start with the simple stuff (kiss method) like....
See if you knocked off a wheel weight on that last monster of a pothole, and you might want to check the lower tie rods, because some have troubles.

What are lower tie rods? I had it before i got my new tires. I even had my tires re balanced and used speedtape to hold the weights on just to make sure. I'm running out of ideas. BTW do you mean inner tie rods

 

[Vandy4g63]

I have the same prob.....not gonna lie, thouhg, never heard of the wheel weights...and I have hit some monster potholes---then it started happening too...where are the weights located?


Thanks
Vandy

 

[Raph]

Originally posted by Vandy4g63
I have the same prob.....not gonna lie, thouhg, never heard of the wheel weights...and I have hit some monster potholes---then it started happening too...where are the weights located?


Thanks
Vandy

wheel weights are those tiny weights on your inner and outer wheel rims.they are either hammerd on(steel wheels) or pasted on (Alu wheels)

look closely at your rims,youll find em there

 

[Vandy4g63]

thanks!

 

[jtmcinder]

If I'm reading this thread correctly, you have checked or replaced the entire suspension, plus the wheels & tires, plus the brakes, and still have a minimum-speed type of shake. That doesn't leave a whole lot (which kind of explains your confusion).

I see no reason for a loose or dying rack to have a minimum-speed issue. On the other hand, maybe the shaking steering wheel is merely where you are feeling the problem, while the problem is actually in the drivetrain. 1Gs have the same sort of boxes of goo in center and rear as I have on my 2G, right? Could one of these be going? Could one of the carrier bearings on the main propellor shaft be going? How much poking around in the drivetrain have you done?

- Jtoby

 

[thedsmsource]

Jtoby, I agree wqith you, i do not see a dying rack. Usuualy they get sloppy, and leak. But who knows.

The driveshaft idea sounds good. I was going to replace all the bearings and such, before i install my new motor. Guess i'll have a weekend project. The only thing on this car is that it is very predictable, around 60-90mph it shakes, slows down or vanishes when i go around corners (highway). I just want to get it fixed because it is anoying, and i fear i will damage my new wheel bearings. And the fact that is nto good on the alignment either. As for the drivetrain, i haven't had too much problems with it, it had a new clutch installed at cotman before i got it 500 mi prior, so i assume/hope they installed it correctly. The drivesahft seems fine when i inspected it, but on the outside only.

 

[BISHILVR]

front engine roll stop. aka the front motor mount!!! try that they are always goin bad on these cars and they will make the wheel shake like that sometimes!!

 

[thedsmsource]

The motor and transmission mount(s) seem to be fine. At least with the bar testing method. I could order some prothane mounts and see if that helps.

 

[theTuner]

Bad CV joints could cause this... do you have any torn boots? Check all 8 ;\

 

[workin_on_it]

cv joints will make a clunking noise when your pulling into a parking spot at a decent speed(aka sterring wheel cranked all the way over with a little bitta speed) if they are going bad or are bad.....check the boots too.....could be getting brittle

 

[REDBLUR]

This may sound off the wall here, but I had a similar problem a year or two ago. Alignment/suspension was fine, so I was told to check the inside of my rims. Well I pulled the tire off one rim and noticed alot of build up (flaky rust like stuff from aluminum) inside my rims. Took a wheel grinder to it and the rest of the rims and no more steering wheel shaking or the car pulling to the right. I guess this build up threw my wheel balance out of wack and when removed corrected the balance.

Just a thought!

 

[thedsmsource]

Hey guys, thanks for continuing on with this thread. The axles are both brand new, and i really don't here a clunking sound anymore. The rims were cleaned, and rebalanced againjust yesterday. I'm really running out of ideas. I wil try with the drive shaft, although i doubt it very much.

 

[Rodman]

I have the exact same problem Vibration in the steering wheel that starts at around 60mph up till 100 or so then smoothes back out. This happens in 4th gear as well and when coasting out of gear. I have replaced almost as many parts as you as well. When you installed the polys on the front control arm, what condition was the rear pin in that the bushing slides over? It should have fit snug. I noticed on mine that the pin had rusted away some causing play in that area. I didn't replace the bushing but suspect it. It could be the inner tie rods, you have replaced almost the entire suspention why not check them. Also what about the steering colum U-joint? I'm as stumped and agravated as you are
BTW poly motor mounts didn't help I'm wondering if it has something to do with the power steering pump, maybe the pressure sender is screwed up or something, or even air in the lines, improper fluid type ect.. I don't know just brain storming

 

[thedsmsource]

Rodman, From what i have read many people have this problem, it just isn't half as severe as ours. I want to replace my rack with manual rack w/ new inner tie rod ends. Maybe that will help. I don't have a parts listing for the steering knuckle u joint, but I will look into it. On my inner control are i accidently removed the sleeve (lack of instructions given). So i had custom made sleeves pressed into them. The insert is also teflon coated just to make sure. So i give up, i just want to shoot it. I will this weekend work on the main propellar shaft and have that bebuilt.

 

[skater182]

Originally posted by thedsmsource
thansk for the reply. The car shakes at speeds of around 60+ (usual when id rive down the highway), and does not shake when the brakes are applied, so everything is fine brake wise. I have new wheel bearings all around, along with new top bearing plates ont he the front struts. Still lost in this problem

i had the exact same problum in my 92 gs, the steering wheel would jitter at speeds from 55 to 65 then go away when going faster then that,... i took my car into Big-O-Tires and had them balance my wheels,.. never had the problum sence

 

[Rodman]

About the drive shaft. I replaced the carreir bearings and the center U-joint, no change. I did however notice that the front U-joint (one that connects the yolk to the input shaft that goes in the T-case) binds wile moving it but exibits no play. I wonder if a sticking or binding U-joint close to the T-case could cause a vibration to resinate into the tranny then though the axle shafts to the hubs and finally to the tie rods It's a long shot but possable. I also feel the vibration on the floor close to the gas pedal, the speed and amount of vibration on the floor is = to the amount of steering wheel shimmy and or vibration. I'm wondering what could be causing this, you figure it has to be something connected to the sub frame.

I even put my rims on another car to see if it was them, the other car rode glass smooth, so it's not my rims or tires. I also noticed that sometimes wile going 90mph or so if I hit the brakes I get some shudder as if the rotors were warped yet if I brake wile the car isn't vibrating at 50 or 150mph they are smooth. It's almost like the vibration is being transmitted to the hubs shaking the rotors and tires in the process giving you a false sence of it being the rotors themselves. I like you have new 'big brakes' up front and they did not make a difference.

If we go back to that front U-joint on the drive shaft, it could be enough to cause the engine to vibrate as well. The rear motor mount is connected to the sub frame close to where the floor vibration is felt and wether or not you have poly MMs the vibration will still be there. There is no real way to 'get rid of' the drive shaft as a possable cause since it is spinning at X amount of speed consistant with the speed of the car. Wether or not the car is in gear doesn't matter since the shaft is still spinning at the same speed since it is connected to the wheels. After you get the drive shaft rebuilt (new U-joints and carreir bearings) I will be interested in seeing if it works

 

[Rodman]

One other thing If you think about it the drive shaft isn't really connected directly to the car itself. The carrier bearings are connected to the body of the car but the drive shaft itself is being held in place by rubber so it would take ALOT of force to transmit into the body. The rear of the shaft is connected to the diff which is suported by the over built sub frame. The rear wheels are not connected to any steering components or anything so the vibration being transmitted in the rear by the drive shaft would not be easy to feel and further more not be the problem in our case. There may still be vibration in the rear but is going unnoticed. How ever the front of the drive shaft is connected to the T-case, which is connected to the tranny. The tranny is connected to the drive axles (cv joints) which are connected to the hubs, the hubs are basicly connected to the entire front suspention and steering sytem. The tranny is connected to the motor which is connected to the front sub frame and body of the car. So you can see how the drive shaft 'could' cause all sorts of vibration problems in the front wile never being felt directly in the drive shaft area at all. If this happens to be the problem I will be amazed though

 

[NDgsx]

You guys dropped your transfer case lately? How easy did the splines slide? How often do you launch hard?
You can twist the splines in the transfer case yoke causing it to bind and not allow movement of the splines. This can cause what you guys are describing.