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Steering wheel vibration

Old Jun 28, 2004 | 10:00 AM
  #1  
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Steering wheel vibration

I have a 96 Maxima which I love. No major problems yet at 75K except when I go faster than 65MPH, my steering wheel starts to shake/vibrate.
Anyone know the possible reasons for this?
Transmission? Engine? or Tires?
Old Jun 28, 2004 | 10:06 AM
  #2  
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Your tires could be out of balance or have displaced belts.
Best thing to do first is to rotate and balance and see if that helps.

My GXE has a high speed vibration that I just isolated to a bad stru on the driver side front. I found it by going over a speed bump, SLOW, and checking drop and rebound as well as listening. The left side has no leaks but makes a barely perceptible rattle when doing low speed rough roads.

When I get over 65mph the driver side tire just bounces around due to normal surface changes on the hiway.

Damned annoying....but time for new struts for me!
Old Jun 28, 2004 | 10:13 AM
  #3  
TurboMax67
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Go get an alignment. Mine did the same thing, except it shook so bad my hand looked like it was laying on a sub box. Alignment will cost about 50$ or so, but she will be as smooth as she would be brand new.
Old Jun 28, 2004 | 11:02 AM
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http://www.gsp9700.com/

That will fix it.
Old Jun 28, 2004 | 02:01 PM
  #5  
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Originally Posted by kevlo911
http://www.gsp9700.com/

That will fix it.

Yup, that will fix it....if it's tire related and not alignment or strut.
Old Jun 29, 2004 | 01:41 PM
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check you ball joints as well
Old Jun 29, 2004 | 03:32 PM
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I have had the same problem for the last year and I can't figure it out.I have bought tires 3 times,had them balanced twice,change out the rotors and brakes,bought new rims,replaced the struts and have had it aligned by 2 differant shops.I have had the whole suspension checked out and I still have a vibration at higher speeds.The only thing left is change out the wheel bearings or check the axles to see if they are warped.I plan on lowering my car within the next couple of weeks and changing out the bearings and taking the axles to have them checked to see if they are true.I'll make sure to post anything if I find out one of these things is the problem.I have 235,000 miles on my max so I expect some parts to be worn out and replaced but not everything in the front end at the same time.Man diagnosing this problem has been expensive!
Old Jun 29, 2004 | 04:12 PM
  #8  
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Originally Posted by cw96
I have had the same problem for the last year and I can't figure it out.I have bought tires 3 times,had them balanced twice,change out the rotors and brakes,bought new rims,replaced the struts and have had it aligned by 2 differant shops.I have had the whole suspension checked out and I still have a vibration at higher speeds.The only thing left is change out the wheel bearings or check the axles to see if they are warped.I plan on lowering my car within the next couple of weeks and changing out the bearings and taking the axles to have them checked to see if they are true.I'll make sure to post anything if I find out one of these things is the problem.I have 235,000 miles on my max so I expect some parts to be worn out and replaced but not everything in the front end at the same time.Man diagnosing this problem has been expensive!
This thread is hilarious!! It reminds me of that commercial where everyone is giving someone advice on how to get rid of their cold....you have to feed the cold, blah blah blah blah just like everyone around here knows why the Flyers will never win a Stanley Cup.

Anyway, I've had the same thing for more than a year and it's gotten worse--used to be you could speed up over 55-60 and it would go away, not anymore. I have 93k on my car. You can really feel it by just moving the wheel slightly from right off center to left off center, and back again. Yeah, I did the align/balance thing, makes 0 difference.

From everything I've read on this topic, I'm thinking tie rod ends and ball joints sound like something to try. It does ruin an otherwise ok car. Such a treat to rent a car on business and not have that shaking!
Old Jun 30, 2004 | 09:33 AM
  #9  
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Originally Posted by Frank Fontaine
This thread is hilarious!! It reminds me of that commercial where everyone is giving someone advice on how to get rid of their cold....you have to feed the cold, blah blah blah blah just like everyone around here knows why the Flyers will never win a Stanley Cup.

Anyway, I've had the same thing for more than a year and it's gotten worse--used to be you could speed up over 55-60 and it would go away, not anymore. I have 93k on my car. You can really feel it by just moving the wheel slightly from right off center to left off center, and back again. Yeah, I did the align/balance thing, makes 0 difference.

From everything I've read on this topic, I'm thinking tie rod ends and ball joints sound like something to try. It does ruin an otherwise ok car. Such a treat to rent a car on business and not have that shaking!
I guess I forgot to mention that I replaced the balljoints and tierod ends without any results. Your correct that every problem might have several differant causes so you obviously would start diagnosing with the least expensive part.From what I've read on this website there is something else that is causing this problem other than the obviuos fixes because a lot of people have been complaining about it with the 4th generation body styles and have done virtually the repairs I have.
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