Hey guys what could be the problem? I have just had new tires installed and balanced and front aligned and still get steering vibrations at about 60mph or above. One of my old tires on the front had formed dips which my tire guy said was from the front end being out of alignment. I am beginning to think I may have a bad strut. Does anyone know if this would still cause my vibrations? Thanks a million in advance

 

I have a slight steering wheel vibration, too, which was diagnosed when I got new tires last fall. My problem is a *wheel* that is bent slightly out-of-round. There is only 1/8" deviation from round, but you can see the wheel gyrate as it spins on the balancer. D@mn potholes! Good luck.

 

bent rim
blown strut
or
the things you already fixed
i went thru all of that

 

Hi,

I also have the exact problem. I had installed some used 15" Maxima aluminum wheels about one month ago. I was thinking it could be either the rims or the struts. How can you tell if the rims are bent or having some problems?

[Edited by Hercules on 02-17-2001 at 10:31 PM]

 

Also check your rotors. My car was smooth as glass until I had a tire shop rotate the tires and align the car. Unfortunately they got carried away with the air wrench and warped the rotor hubs. After replacing the rotors the problem disappeared.

 

Had the same problem on my old '91 Stanza.

Turned out to be the ball joints. $400

 

My Maxima is more sensitive to tire balance than any car I've ever owned. It could be balance, bent rim, warped rotor or bad strut.

First, try rotating tires front to back. If the vibration moves to the rear, it's obviously a wheel problem. It could be out of balance, out of round tire, tread separation, or bent rim. Either way, you'll have to take it back to the tire shop. If you can tell them exactly which wheel is the problem, they are much more likely to correct it the first time.

If the vibration happens when you apply the brakes, it's a warped rotor.

For a bad strut, inspect for leaks and do the bumper bounce test.

Good luck.

 

1) Mount a dial indicator gauge on a heavy stationary base.

2) Raise the wheel to be tested.

3) Position the base and gauge so the gauge tip rubs against the lip of the wheel.

4) Spin the wheel slowly through 360 degrees. Measure the total lateral runout. The ideal measurement is zero. I don't know how much is "too much". I couldn't find any specification in the factory service manual.

5) Repeat this measurement for all four wheels. If you discover (for example) that one wheel has a maximum runout of 0.100 inches and the other three have 0.015, you have found a problem. The problem might be a bent wheel or a bent hub.

6) Exchange the suspect wheel with any good wheel. Remeasure the corner of the car which formerly had the suspect wheel. If that corner still has 0.100 inches of runout, the defect is a bent hub rather than a bent wheel.

See Chilton (page 9-11) or Haynes (page 9-10) for examples of using a dial indicator gauge to measure runout on a brake rotor. You want to do the same thing to measure runout of your wheels.

 

Thanks, Daniel B. Martin!

I have also realized that the front struts are somehow "leaking", i.e. fluid (oil?) leaking on the surface of the strut. Does that translate some problems on them?

 

Some people believe that any leakage is reason to condemn a strut. I do not agree. Some small amount of leakage is tolerable. I would judge the condition of the strut by the "bumper jounce" test and also the driving characteristics of the car.

 

If you still have this problem, you may need a high speed balance instead of a regular balance. I'm not sure what it is but the mechanic should know. I was told to do this by my uncle when I got new tires and I never had a vibration in my steering wheel for a while.

 

Rotate your tires front to back and see if the vibration goes away. If it does, it's probably a bent rim. That's going to be pricey to replace. I know, since I bent a rim recently and it was nasty experience.

If the vibration is still there, and you are certain the wheels are properly balanced and torqued down, then it is a front end problem. I would suspect the ball joints or front struts are the culprits in that case.

 

Good thought. There is a new kind of wheel balancer called Road Force Measurement which is supposed to be superior. For more information, go to http://www.craigautometrics.com/huntergsp9700.htm