steering wheel shaking a little

[BrandonW]

when i get up to speeds of 50mph+ the steering wheel startes to shake a little (like side to side, clock wise and counter clock wise)

what is causing this? other then the fact that i need to get a alignment which im getting done on tuesday

tie rod ends?
lower ball joints?
upper control arms?
all of the above? lol

 

[Mischief7m]

poorly balanced tires...warped/bent rim, or a nasty combo of everything...

diagnosis is never fun

 

[JonoTurbo]

Alignment won't actually cause steering wheel vibration...at least, not directly. It can cause abnormal tire wear which will then cause steering wheel vibration.

As Trevor said, most often it's simply out of balance/worn tires. If you are running stock wheels they are rather hard to crack or bend.

 

[omfgitsdonovan]

unbalanced tires.

 

[suprastanger507mgte]

Low air n one wheel as well can cause that too.

 

[BrandonW]

yeah i have the sawblades on right now

they may be off balance or something but i know they are not bent or anything

but im having the alignment done on tuesday and my rims already have tires on them that were balanced so if it is still happening then its something else

 

[ilikebigbutts]

first thing i check when i get a wheel shake complaint is the tire pressures and condition of the tires.If that checks out i recommend a tire balance, but only after i have quickly checked for tie rod end/ball joint play.Very rarely have i had a tie rod cause a wheel shake.

 

[easternguy2005]

Most likely balance.


Check the tire with your hands. Look on the sidewall for any inconsistency like indentation lines that runs from the rim to the tire. The belt on the sidewall can start breaking and will cause the tire to be slightly higher on that side road surface. You can run your hands carefully around the sidewall feeling for indents.

You should also carefully run your hand around the tire tread looking for a "higher area" usually its a few inches in diameter. The tire would make a thumping sound with the latter.

Unlikely on a low profile tire.
Be careful cause tires can have sharp objects.
Plan on washing hands afterwards.

 

[maximous]

Oem wheels you say? if you are not the one who originaly bought the car then you may want to have the wheels checked out if all else fails, they are 20 years old and may have a hidden bend and or warped

 

[mirage83]

when i get up to speeds of 50mph+ the steering wheel startes to shake a little (like side to side, clock wise and counter clock wise)

what is causing this? other then the fact that i need to get a alignment which im getting done on tuesday

tie rod ends?
lower ball joints?
upper control arms?
all of the above? lol

I've encountered that before, was due to a tire or tires being out-of-round. If that's the case, I don't think there's a solution other than replacement.

 

[Poodles]

Alignment won't actually cause steering wheel vibration...at least, not directly. It can cause abnormal tire wear which will then cause steering wheel vibration.

THIS

Rotate your tires more often and it stops it from happening, buty you still need an alignment...

 

[blacjack]

Make sure that your sawblades are put back on in the proper direction after any tire removal.