Steering Wheel Shaking - Help?

[RedRotors]

Did you ever rotate the tires to see if that moves the problem around? This may give you a lot of answers as to if the problem is the wheel/tire.

[tirolerpeter]

Originally Posted by Mihogan

How much would it be to replace the front struts? Can I do it myself? I didn't notice any noise from the bearings and I have yet to check the looseness of the wheel when jacked. The tires are almost brand new so I assumed they were okay but I will have to have them checked too.

I think I'll go to my mechanic and explain all of this to him when i get it inspected in June. Maybe he can figure it out?

I don't know the cost of front struts, but based on your postings I hesitate to suggest that you try to DIY. Why wait until June to see your mechanic? BTW, you might try jacking up the front end and spinning each of the tires by hand. Look closely and try to see if they are out of round.

[Mihogan]

Originally Posted by RedRotors

Did you ever rotate the tires to see if that moves the problem around? This may give you a lot of answers as to if the problem is the wheel/tire.

Originally Posted by tirolerpeter

I don't know the cost of front struts, but based on your postings I hesitate to suggest that you try to DIY. Why wait until June to see your mechanic? BTW, you might try jacking up the front end and spinning each of the tires by hand. Look closely and try to see if they are out of round.

I've tried all this and can't seem to find anything that seems abnormal or out of place. Rotating the tires did not change it. I would wait til June because I can't afford to be out of a car right now.

[Wagondude]

Nobody said to check ball joints and tie rod ends? Both of those will case a vibration while driving that will get more violent under braking. Also, jack the car up and check that you don't have a caliper with a seized slider pin. That will cause a vibration as the brakes on the offendeng wheel heat up.

[T_swensen]

Originally Posted by Wagondude

Nobody said to check ball joints and tie rod ends? Both of those will case a vibration while driving that will get more violent under braking. Also, jack the car up and check that you don't have a caliper with a seized slider pin. That will cause a vibration as the brakes on the offendeng wheel heat up.

+1 on the tie rod ends.

My wife's '01 had horrible inner tie rod ends along with very warped rotors when we first got it. Trust me, it was a harrowing experience if you ever had to slow from 55 to 0 in a hurry!

I did all the work myself, but if I had it to do over again I would let the dealership do the tie rods. (You need like three hands to get one of the inner tie rod boots on, but the other one was easy enough though.)

Starting with the rotors is a good idea, as if it isn't fixed with that you can move towards the more expensive fixes. It always sucks when you replace tie rods and it really turned out to be a wheel bearing or something else!

[Mihogan]

Originally Posted by T_swensen

+1 on the tie rod ends.

My wife's '01 had horrible inner tie rod ends along with very warped rotors when we first got it. Trust me, it was a harrowing experience if you ever had to slow from 55 to 0 in a hurry!

I did all the work myself, but if I had it to do over again I would let the dealership do the tie rods. (You need like three hands to get one of the inner tie rod boots on, but the other one was easy enough though.)

Starting with the rotors is a good idea, as if it isn't fixed with that you can move towards the more expensive fixes. It always sucks when you replace tie rods and it really turned out to be a wheel bearing or something else!

How would I check the tie-rod ends? And the wheel bearings? What should I be looking for?

Thank you guys for the help

[Mihogan]

Well, I jacked up the Sube today and tried to look under it, though I had no idea what to look for, haha...

regarding what I think is the tie rod, it looks one of the joints (i think?) that connect to each wheel was messed up. One side looked normal - dry, moved but not too easily, just normally. The other side, though, was covered in a thick grease/grime, and seemed too loose, as though it was moving on that joint too easily. Mean anything? Ball joints themselves seemed okay, I remember what a bad ball joint felt like on my Jeep, haha..

Any ideas?

Also, update on all the other problems: In three weeks, my mechanic is going to replace the head gaskets, water pump, timing belt, clutch, and try to fix this problem with the shaking wheel.

[airlia101]

I de/re-mounted one of the front wheels a couple days ago and the vibrations seemed to ease up for me. Will try the other and see if it clears up; willing to blame the impact guns' excess torque for now (or lack of - I could tighten w/o any effort with the lug wrench).
Does anyone specify some symptoms to look at with the suspension, tie rods, joints, etc. while jacked up? Wiggling the wheel only seems have a bit of steering play, and makes no noise.

[Mihogan]

Originally Posted by airlia101

I de/re-mounted one of the front wheels a couple days ago and the vibrations seemed to ease up for me. Will try the other and see if it clears up; willing to blame the impact guns' excess torque for now (or lack of - I could tighten w/o any effort with the lug wrench).

I wish that worked for me - I tried that along with switching tires around and it was a no-go

Does anyone specify some symptoms to look at with the suspension, tie rods, joints, etc. while jacked up? Wiggling the wheel only seems have a bit of steering play, and makes no noise.

Yes, I would appreciate this too. I'm hoping my mechanic can figure it out but if I can first I'd have it that way

[canubaru]

it there a standard tool i can use to clean up the mating surface of the lug nuts. i'm finding it more and more difficult to get the nuts to seat evenly and equality.

suggestions?