Vague front wheels question
Vague front wheels question
I don't like to be real vague, because I know it makes it harder for people to formulate accurate/helpful responses, but...I'd just like to search for some general ideas from you guys...
What are some common causes of the steering wheel having a bit of a shimmy/wobble/play, without effecting the cars travel down the road?
I have some kind of issue with my front wheels or struts that I haven't taken too close of a look at yet (pretty busy whenever I have "free time" to do things like that)...but my steering wheel wobbled a *tad* left to right at times when I first got the car. However, it seems to have gotten a little more pronounced lately. If I'm travelling straight, I can take my hands off the wheel and watch it do a little dance...but the car keeps moving straight. The frequency of the shimmy seems to be related to how fast the car is moving, ie, something to do with the rotation of the wheels. (If I keep my speed, it keeps happening at the same frequency). Its kind of annoying to feel this all the time, I hold the wheel a little tighter now.
My front end makes some noises too...but I've already posted about that, and I'd have to get more information to formulate a better question to ask you guys as a whole...just trying to get some general ideas with the info provided above. Any certain red flags that go off, or are there still a number of things that can cause the above?
(Note: tire pressure is on spec...someone suggested in my other post to check the lugs on the wheels, but theres no real vibrating noise or any misalignment of sorts...the noises made are more "clunking" noises when going over bumps)
Thanks!
What are some common causes of the steering wheel having a bit of a shimmy/wobble/play, without effecting the cars travel down the road?
I have some kind of issue with my front wheels or struts that I haven't taken too close of a look at yet (pretty busy whenever I have "free time" to do things like that)...but my steering wheel wobbled a *tad* left to right at times when I first got the car. However, it seems to have gotten a little more pronounced lately. If I'm travelling straight, I can take my hands off the wheel and watch it do a little dance...but the car keeps moving straight. The frequency of the shimmy seems to be related to how fast the car is moving, ie, something to do with the rotation of the wheels. (If I keep my speed, it keeps happening at the same frequency). Its kind of annoying to feel this all the time, I hold the wheel a little tighter now.
My front end makes some noises too...but I've already posted about that, and I'd have to get more information to formulate a better question to ask you guys as a whole...just trying to get some general ideas with the info provided above. Any certain red flags that go off, or are there still a number of things that can cause the above?
(Note: tire pressure is on spec...someone suggested in my other post to check the lugs on the wheels, but theres no real vibrating noise or any misalignment of sorts...the noises made are more "clunking" noises when going over bumps)
Thanks!
Member who somehow became The President of The SE-L Club
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What year is your car and how many miles on it, what kind of tires/wheels do you have?
Vibrations come from tires/wheels/brakes. Rotor run out could cause a vibration while driving but that would be minimal and by that time your brakes would shake your steering wheel out of your hands.
Tires - check for proper treadware, out of round or side to side sway. This is done best with the car jacked up off the ground. Spin the tire and watch the tread closely to see if the tire is perfectly true with no tread squirm.
Wheels - Check for damage such as in impact to a curb which could leave the wheel out of round.
Struts or suspension components - If you car has high miles, check all suspension components for any weak points such as lose ball joints tie rod ends or bearing play. Is your car getting a bit soft?? Might be time to get some new struts in there as well. Do the bounce test on each corner and make sure your car doesn't keep on bouncing after you push it up and down a few times. If your up there with miles it may be a good idea just to change your struts to restore that "like new" feeling to your ride again.
If all else fails, just sell it and get a 2002 and enjoy the few extra horsies under the hood!
Vibrations come from tires/wheels/brakes. Rotor run out could cause a vibration while driving but that would be minimal and by that time your brakes would shake your steering wheel out of your hands.
Tires - check for proper treadware, out of round or side to side sway. This is done best with the car jacked up off the ground. Spin the tire and watch the tread closely to see if the tire is perfectly true with no tread squirm.
Wheels - Check for damage such as in impact to a curb which could leave the wheel out of round.
Struts or suspension components - If you car has high miles, check all suspension components for any weak points such as lose ball joints tie rod ends or bearing play. Is your car getting a bit soft?? Might be time to get some new struts in there as well. Do the bounce test on each corner and make sure your car doesn't keep on bouncing after you push it up and down a few times. If your up there with miles it may be a good idea just to change your struts to restore that "like new" feeling to your ride again.
If all else fails, just sell it and get a 2002 and enjoy the few extra horsies under the hood!
Yea...I forgot, no more sigs, so a lot of that info isnt automatically displayed anymore...95 5-speed SE with 88k on it.
With that mileage, and the way the car acts, I'm leaning towards something either with the strut assembly, or the wheels. I don't think any obvious CV joint signs are showing...it just seems there's one problem that does a few different things. Like when I roll out of my garage every day, and go over a small crack, the rear takes it nice and smooth (new shocks too, in the rear), but the front makes a "clunk"...this is at a slow speed, and you can feel effects like that doing normal street driving over small bumps, bumpy turns, etc.
I'll probably have someone look at it. I'd really like to get a service manual (or two) and get down in the nitty gritty, but I don't have the tools, any mechanically-knowledgable real-life friends to be there & assist, my garage is small, and I don't have much free time to learn what I'd want to learn. If it wasn't my daily driver, I might still try to work on it more, but as is...
I still havent found anyone in Omaha that does good work on Nissans :/ (only had the car for a few mos).
With that mileage, and the way the car acts, I'm leaning towards something either with the strut assembly, or the wheels. I don't think any obvious CV joint signs are showing...it just seems there's one problem that does a few different things. Like when I roll out of my garage every day, and go over a small crack, the rear takes it nice and smooth (new shocks too, in the rear), but the front makes a "clunk"...this is at a slow speed, and you can feel effects like that doing normal street driving over small bumps, bumpy turns, etc.
I'll probably have someone look at it. I'd really like to get a service manual (or two) and get down in the nitty gritty, but I don't have the tools, any mechanically-knowledgable real-life friends to be there & assist, my garage is small, and I don't have much free time to learn what I'd want to learn. If it wasn't my daily driver, I might still try to work on it more, but as is...
I still havent found anyone in Omaha that does good work on Nissans :/ (only had the car for a few mos).
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