Steering wheel shake..

[VerbalKint]

91 N/T 2.0l Talon 5spd.

Ok, got a 4 wheel alignment, got the tires rotated, balanced, and pressure checked (2 tires were at ~50lbs).

Replaced the rear caliper (Was froze up) with one off of a 91 eclipse from a junkyard. Did this BEFORE the alignment.

Checked motor mounts, no 'visible' or 'noticable' degradation in the mounts.

Now, the problem.

Between nothing and 25 ish, there's no shake at all in the steering (tho it does feel a bit loose).
25 and up to prolly 75, it shakes, starting off not so bad, to make your fingers slap together. The longer i stay at a constant speed, however, the shake dies off. After about 10 minutes of driving at any speed (Pretty much 25 - 55 and 75+ depending on the road and traffic) consistantly, the shake is just about gone.

In the mean time, I have the powersteering belt off, in order to get a better gauge on the shaking.

I know no one is going to have a 100% solution, but a list of things to look at would be great.

Much Thanks


Dave

 

[LaserDad91]

My Laser (91, N.A. 2.0, 93K miles) does the same. I have replaced the front rotors/brakes, and that helped a lot. I knew most of the problem was isolated there.
Now I need to take it back in for balance, and see what that does. Like you, I have done alignment and had it checked after 6 mos and all is good. I was talking with someone who owned the exact same type of car and year, and they had the same thing. Seems to be most noticeable around 60+, and almost acts like a resonating type of vibration, (comes and goes).

It could also be related to the tires. If cold, they might be a little out of round from sitting until they are driven for a bit. I did notice a slight improvement when increasing the tire pressure. I am running BFG Traction T/A’s, 205-55-16’s on stock alloy wheels at 36 psi.

Hope this helps some.

 

[VerbalKint]

Dunno about the tires being cold.. The car sleeps in a heated garage. (Simply cause I like to be WARM when working on it.)

I'll pull the fronts off this evening, and nose around in there.

One thing I did forget to mention..
A few months ago, I replaced the clutch / pressureplate (Old clutch was worn flat, and pressure plate was dead). The flywheel looked spotless, however.

Right after that, we never did get the alignment done. My dumb ass forgot all about that, and drove around for a month+ before getting the align. We also had to replace the lower ball joint on the passenger side, and the CV boot on the driver side axel. (That last part was done in my wife's clean kitchen, much to her dismay)

Anyway, I'll check my tire pressure and pull the fronts to inspect the rotors / pads this evening. I'll let ya know if anythink is off.. The alignment is under a 60 day gaurentee, so all I have to do it take it back in once any additional that is needed is done.

Thanks for the Reply.


Dave

 

[LaserDad91]

Dunno about the tires being cold.. The car sleeps in a heated garage. (Simply cause I like to be WARM when working on it.)

I'll pull the fronts off this evening, and nose around in there.

One thing I did forget to mention..
A few months ago, I replaced the clutch / pressureplate (Old clutch was worn flat, and pressure plate was dead). The flywheel looked spotless, however.

Right after that, we never did get the alignment done. My dumb ass forgot all about that, and drove around for a month+ before getting the align. We also had to replace the lower ball joint on the passenger side, and the CV boot on the driver side axel. (That last part was done in my wife's clean kitchen, much to her dismay)

Anyway, I'll check my tire pressure and pull the fronts to inspect the rotors / pads this evening. I'll let ya know if anythink is off.. The alignment is under a 60 day gaurentee, so all I have to do it take it back in once any additional that is needed is done.

Thanks for the Reply.


Dave

No problem, FYI, if you are not experiencing any increase in the vibration when you hit the brakes, your rotors are probably OK. I knew my rotors were shot, due to the vibration during braking. Might not be a bad idea to check though. Good luck!

 

[VerbalKint]

Now that you mention it, the shake gets 100% worse when I hit the brakes.

Maybe time for new pads and turned rotors on the fronts..

;-/
I can see it now...

"Sorry Hun, you didn't get your Christmas present cause I needed some brakes.. "

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[DSM90AWD]

Try swapping the front/rear wheels. It's possible the wheel guy didn't balance one of the wheels correctly and/or incorrectly rotated your tires (if unidirectional). If the vibrations lessen then it's likely that's what it is.

 

[VerbalKint]

Swapping how?

Right front for Right left, or cross them, Right Front for Left Rear? Or both?

I watched the guy Balance the tires, and he actually pointed out that one of them was on the car wrong. The tires (Don't know the brand, etc) Have a small arrow on them, next to the size, on the sidewall, showing the direction of rotation. All 4 tires have that, and all 4 are pointed in the correct direction.


To keep that order, i think I'd have to cross left for right when I try the fronts on the back, correct?


Many Thanks

Dave

 

[DSM90AWD]

If they are uni-directional (i.e. have the arrow on the sidewall) rotating should be done this way:
RF > RR
LF > LR

If they are non-directional rotating should be done this way:

RF > LR
LF > RR

 

[VerbalKint]

*bows head in shame*
I should have realized that.

Thanks. ;-)


I'll try all that this evening. If it fixes it, Thanks a ton to both of you. If not, you'll see me again.

;-)

 

[LaserDad91]

Now that you mention it, the shake gets 100% worse when I hit the brakes.

Maybe time for new pads and turned rotors on the fronts..

;-/
I can see it now...

"Sorry Hun, you didn't get your Christmas present cause I needed some brakes.. "

Thanks for the heads up.

Well, if you do not mind stock replacement parts you can do your brakes for about $60, (front only is what I had the most problems with), new rotors and “gold” pads from Autozone. Make sure you reference some of the brake replacement threads on here; usually the rotors are rusted to the axle. I had to turn the wheels full one way and get a good swing with a nice big hammer, and got them off. I also applied some liquid wrench to them while I was taking the calipers and stuff off.

Good luck!!

 

[oldman]

1. Get new pads and turn the rotor.
2. Check the outer and inner tie rods.
3. Check control arm balljoints.
4. Make sure you don't have bent rims, If so put bent ones in the rear.
5. If all else failed, torque the lug nuts. I don't know the torque spec though, you'll have to do some research.

Good Luck.