Shaking when exceeding 65 mph

[FoXracing82085]

I have a 96 Eclipse GS and the steering wheel shakes and vibrates (not violently) when reaching speeds in excess of 65 mph. Also, the vehicle tends to pull to the right, normally at around 40 mph plus. Here is a list of what my mechanic has replaced over the last year, hopefully this narrows it down.

Inner & Outer Tie Rod Ends (Driver & Passenger Sides)
Rack & Pinion
All Motor Mounts
Front Passenger Side Wheel Hub Assembly
KYB GR-2 Shocks (All Four)
All Wheel Alignment


What could be making my steering wheel shake and also make the car pull to the right? Could bad bushings somewhere make this happen? Also to add my CV shafts, both sides, have not been replaced. I have all 4 new tires/wheels which are balanced as well. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[TrevorS]

Assuming the wheels are genuinely new and have never experienced any kind of impact (including potholes), then they should not be the cause, but I had a wheel that was subtly damaged and resulted in steering wheel sake above 55mph. A slightly out of round tire can also cause misbehavior as speed increases. I'd be inclined to try rotating those wheels (front to back both sides) just to make sure the behavior doesn't change at all.

Also, did it do this from the day you purchased it, or can you think back to some occurrence after which you first noticed it?

 

[FoXracing82085]

Assuming the wheels are genuinely new and have never experienced any kind of impact (including potholes), then they should not be the cause, but I had a wheel that was subtly damaged and resulted in steering wheel sake above 55mph. A slightly out of round tire can also cause misbehavior as speed increases. I'd be inclined to try rotating those wheels (front to back both sides) just to make sure the behavior doesn't change at all.

Also, did it do this from the day you purchased it, or can you think back to some occurrence after which you first noticed it?

Well, when I first purchased the car it had the factory 14 inch wheels with 195/70/14 tires. When I had purchased my new wheel and tire package(17 inch wheels with 215/45/17) from a local shop, the car was having the problems then. When I had right front wheel hub replaced, inner/outer tie rods on both sides, and the rack and pinion replaced, the problems still occured. Justt last week I had all 4 shocks replaced and a 4 wheel alignment. Since all that, still having the issue. Also to add all motor mounts have been replaced. But I doubt the would cause the pull, but fixed the vibration at idle.

 

[TrevorS]

If I understand correctly, everything was fine until the local shop installed the new 17" rims and tires. My guess is either you never drove that quickly on the original rims/tires, or there's likely an issue with what the local shop installed -- got a warranty? Also, try re-installing the originals, what happens then?

 

[FoXracing82085]

If I understand correctly, everything was fine until the local shop installed the new 17" rims and tires. My guess is either you never drove that quickly on the original rims/tires, or there's likely an issue with what the local shop installed -- got a warranty? Also, try re-installing the originals, what happens then?

I'll give the originals a try and see what happens. I hope that that is not the issue because I really like my wheels and tires that I got. The shop did mount and balance them before they installed them.

 

[jtmcinder]

Did you check to see if there are any clean spots on the wheels, such as where a wheel-weight has fallen off?

 

[FoXracing82085]

Did you check to see if there are any clean spots on the wheels, such as where a wheel-weight has fallen off?

I did check to see if any wheel-weights had fallen off but all of the wheels have their weights. None have fallen off.

 

[bjones18]

Problem #1 is the statement "my shop replaced..."

You will rarely (ie never) get a straight answer from a shop. They don't get paid for solving problems. They get paid to replace parts. Think about it... if a shop says "yeah the part was loose, we tightend the nut." how much do you expect to pay? If it took them two hours to find that loose nut, do you think... I got ripped for $200 to tighten a nut. Now, if the shop says "We had to replace the X-Part, (and tighted the nut while they were at it) you feel much better because that nasty $$ X-part won't be a problem anymore.

Violent shaking is most likely:
-bent wheel
-non-uniform wheel mounting (washer or rust at mount surface preventing "true" wheel-axis-spinning)
-broken belt internal to tire.
-junk wheel/tire that cannot be properly balanced.

Jack up each corner and spin wheel with hand. Hold a stationary object next to the tire to see if "gap" changes while spinning (bent rim).

Look for bulges in tire (all-over), this is an indication of a broken belt in the tire.

Move wheel/tires F/R and L/R then test drive to see if vibration follows a wheel/tire.

After you find the issue, then contact the shop and resolve the financial issue.

Sorry for being a pessimist. I don't like other people working on my cars, because I don't know what they did or didn't do.