Shake in the steering wheel

[Powerzen2002]

Here is another quickie question. I know the general facts,
but need more specifics. I only have this car for about 6 months now. So ... if anyone has any clue on the following:

-My steering wheel shakes at 55-75 MPH
-I know for fact one of my rims is bent, but i had it balanced
and put in the rear.
-My front struts DO need replace'ing, but they are not that
bad, just giving me a little bumpy ride.
-When I press on the brakes at above 55 MPH, the wheel
Shakes EVEN MORE - but not crazily, just a little more shake
than it would normally.
-On a side note, i just replaced my TC Bushings for safe
measures. Plus, just had my rear brakes done, had roders
 cut.  No problems there.

From all this, I can tell my front roders probably need replacing? But could the bad struts also cause some jitter in the wheel? Could the slightly bent rim even after balancing cause some problem although in the rear now?

What else should I see for wheel shaking? (Checked the tie rods and bushings, they are fine)

Thank YOU!

[chickenmanq]

Not to harp on you, but roders is actually "rotors".  Root word of rotate.

Anyway, yes, your dented wheel is probably causing some of the vibration.  Find another undented rim, and have all rebalanced and see if it goes away.

Your front rotors could also be warped.  Consider getting them turned. (Machined)

Other than that, check every single suspension related component in the front and rear for looseness and wear.  Fix as necessary.

[HippoSleek]

I'd start by getting your wheels balanced.  Vibration at a specific speed is usually a sign of bad balance.  Number two, for me, the front rotors (turned or replaced).  Vibration when braking is almost always a sign of warped rotors and/or material transfer to the rotors surface.  (but the fact that the car does it even when not braking makes this choice #2). Both of these are pretty cheap.

[Powerzen2002]

GRRRrr ... I just had all 4 rebalanced today. No change in
wheel shake. It does it at over 55 ... will do it through 85 MPH. After that it basically goes to not enough to notice.

I dont know what to do. I dont think the rotors would cause a shake when not braking even when warped right? (I also just had new rotors put up front less than 6 months ago)

Once again I checked my Tie Rods 'n busshings, all still
100%. Any other suggestions???  

What is this I heard bout a 7 dollar part that is in the steering that could cause shaking?  There was a recall for it, or replacement.

[ImportMatrix240sx]

dude mine does the same thing.  i hope there is a solution case its kinda annoying.

[HippoSleek]

hrm?...  Okay, the easy fix didn't work.  If your rotors are 6 mos. old, they should be fine (even if you live in Bklyn).

The $7 part makes me think you have an s13.  I think we need an s13 expert... where's Steve or Eric or Camppain.

[GamblerZ]

Despite the fact that the rotors are only 6 months old, they could still be warped.  It is not uncommon that a new rotor may require turning.

However, since you are only experiencing the vibration during specified speeds, I am inclined to agree with Hipposleek from earlier that the shimmy between 55-85mph would indicate there is something with the wheel symmetry.  I suspect that you *still* have a wheel out of balance, one of your tires is out of round, or you have a separated steel belted radial.

As far as the $7 part you have mentioned, are you referring to the steering rack bushing?

[uiuc240]

I agree with the balance issue.  And I suspect that bent rim is a part of the problem.  Also, have you checked your alignment?  I know for a fact mine is off...getting redone today.  I'm hoping that will help some of the 75-80 shimmy I have.  I'm replacing inner and outer tie rod ends at the same time...what makes you say yours are "fine".  Did you just do a quick check?  I'd consider replacing them.  Oh, and I would consider taking your car to ANOTHER place for balancing...sometimes the machine is out of calibration, and they won't even know it.  

Eric

[Frappe]

My S14 does this too, at about the same speeds. It also pulls to the right during braking at those speeds. The previous owner never got it aligned after lowering it, and the front rotors are cross drilled and about 2ish years old, and pretty worn, so I'm almost positive that's the problem. I don't really mind it myself...but eh, I should get it aligned soon anyway, and new rotors because sometimes they scare me.

-Frappe

[HippoSleek]

GamberZ - interesting about the steel belts.  I've heard of that being a problem b/f - someone who tried to hunt down a shimmy forever and found out it was a bad tire.  I also know several people who've had problems w/ new rotors (usually pad transfer film, not warpage) - but none at speed.

PZ - Any chance that you could put some other wheels on the car and take it for a drive?  I know it would be a PITA, but it would determine that it was either suspension or tire.  Heck, maybe even run the donut in place of the bent rim.

Frappe - it could just be the suspension.  If a car is bad enough out of alignment, it will pull even harder during braking.  I'd start w/ an alignment and see if you are still having a problem.  If so, I'd look for a seized caliper next.  Rotors causing pull would be about last on my list.

[nrcooled]

Here's the scoop as it applied to my situation:
My '91 s13 did the exact same thing at the exact same speeds.  Keeping the correct air pressure in the tire helped but didn't remedy it.  After replacing my tires all was good.  

Take it for what it was worth.  I did a ton of searching while I had the engine out for the swap and didn't find a damn thing wrong bushings were good, tie rods etc.  And it did it even worse after I put the SR in.  After replacement of tires Viola!  No more shimmy

[jyt747]

lik nrcooled said, get new tires. your rim being bent, would probably cause your tire to have uneven tread wear. After that, go get an alignment done. Or you can reverse order cause alignment's cheaper. BTW, if you need new tires, tirerack.com has a closeout special on yokohama avs intermediate for $56. Hope this helps.

[Frappe]

Hipposleek- thanks. Basically echoed my thoughts about the alignment. What does a seized caliper look like, anyway? I could check that sometime down the road when I'm putting winter tires on.

-Frappe

[GamblerZ]

Just a further observation.  If you hit something hard enough to dent your front rim(now on the rear), it also means that you hit something hard enough to knock your alignment out of whack.  Additionally, you are most likely to have damage to that part of the suspension as well.  A thorough inspection by someone like Nissan or Midas(usually free) might be well worth the trip.

[HippoSleek]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Frappe @ Aug. 21 2002,6:45)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Hipposleek- thanks. Basically echoed my thoughts about the alignment. What does a seized caliper look like, anyway? I could check that sometime down the road when I'm putting winter tires on.

-Frappe</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
Seized looks just like any other caliper - only the piston doesn't move. &nbsp;If you try to push in the piston and it doesn't move, you know you have a problem. &nbsp;BTW: if your car pulls left, it is the right caliper. &nbsp;Might seem backwards, but think about it - the one that can squeeze (i.e., not seized) works and slows down the car on that side first. &nbsp;Good luck w/ your hunt.

[dephrag]

How much does it usually cost to get rotors machined anyways??? &nbsp;I know mine are rusted bad, and every time I brake hard, the steering wheel shakes pretty bad. &nbsp;I'm just wondering if it would be worth it to machine them, or buy new ones...

James

[mrdirty]

I'll bet it's your t/c rod bushings; when they go they cause the steering wheel to shake. Mine were gone, my wheel shook; i bought some new ones from pdm and replaced them in a couple hours. The bushings are cheap and the install is pretty straight forward.

If you go this route, and need info just ask.

[importnut]

To add to the list of "me too's" I too have the same problem. &nbsp;Between 70-80 I can have between no wheel shake to "oh Lord keep it together"

My S14, having 196K, was in need of some new hardware. &nbsp;I swapped out the brakes, lower ball joints, TC bushings, Tie rod ends and tires. &nbsp;Everything checks out beautifully. &nbsp;The only element that hasn't been changed is the shocks. &nbsp;They have every bit of 196K on them. &nbsp;

My thought is this:

Even though the wheels are balanced, and every other variable is ruled out, I get a shake that can very. &nbsp;Since the shocks are hell and gone, I feel that when I don't have vibration, I am on smooth roads. &nbsp;If I hit a bump, even a small bump, it starts a vicious cycle of vibrations. &nbsp;Since there is nothing to dampen the blow, the vibration just gets worse and worse. &nbsp;

Ever see a screaming POS going down the road and the wheel is nearly hopping off of the ground? &nbsp;I'm not saying that I'm hopping down the road, but even a small vibration will go out of control (and seem worse with a lightweight Momo steering wheel!<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=';)'>

Unfortunately, I'm not in a financial position to get my tien's so I can't tell you if this will solve the problem.

Oh, one last thing, I do have the same braking issue. &nbsp;My rotors are definitely not warped and only shake when the vibration was there in the first place.

I don't know if this helps feed the wheels of thought, pun intended, but I hope it helps.

-Alex

[sykikchimp]

Is the vibration in the steering wheel only? or the whole car?
Does the vibration actually affect stability?
Which ever one it is will eliminate certain possibilities.

I have a feeling that this mysterious "Steering Wheel" vibration is in fact comming from the Steering Rack bushing. &nbsp;It was comming from anything but that, then you would notice the whole car shaking, and a loss of stability at speed.

Of course Vibration that comes and goes, indicates some suspension connecting point bushing is blown, or not seated correctly, thereby amplifying slight imperfections in wheel balance. &nbsp;bad balance in the wheels is usually more noticable at lower speeds than this. &nbsp;I've had cars with tires that were unevenly worn cause this too. &nbsp;like front more worn than back or vice versa.

From personal experience, My car used to do the shimmy around 55- and up.. &nbsp; replaced T/C rods with nice adjustable ones (bushings where noticably busted, and bleeding), and replaced all four tires. &nbsp;Made all the difference in the world. &nbsp;<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'>

[guidot]

sykik - your comments are noted thoroughly. &nbsp;There was a post on the 240sx.org chat list last year about this topic. &nbsp;

If it is not your balance, alignment, warped rotors, TC bushings, tie rods/ends, it is the steering rack assembly bushings, which are kinda a bitch to get fixed...if you do all those other things, its definitely the steering rack.

[Loofee95SE]

all i did is i change my tires..i have the same ploblem for 3 month try everything until i change my tires..but yours maybe differ!! <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/thumbs-up.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':thumbsup:'> hope u get it fix soon!!

[nacstate]

i'm digging this old bitch up cause I'm having similar problems and I'm not satisfied with the answers given already.

My steering wheel shakes when I brake lightly. Say I'm going 45 or whatever and I lightly press the brake to start slowing down for a light, thats when it shakes. When I press firmly to actually stop it doesn't do it.

I was thinking maybe the rotors, but I just had new ones put on in november. Although a couple months ago I had a little fun on a back road and by the end of the run my brakes were too hot to stop completely. Would this cause a warping problem not to be notices till months later???

Anyway, if its no that, what is the MOST PROBABLE problem? What would it take to get it fixed? (cost, ability to do it myself and the such). I think thats it. I don't want to hear any flaming either about searching and ****. I searched, I read, but I want new input. Thanks.

[Dousan_PG]

nacstate:

sounds like rotors