When im on the highway hitting about 80 mph or sometimes even 60 i get a HEAVY vibration in the steering wheel. I thought doing a wheel balance would help but noo nothing yet. What other things should i have a mechanic check to fix the Problem or can i do it myself. Thanks

 

how are your CV boots? How are your struts?

Any previous accident that could have bent the frame?

 

i have same problem, first thing to do is balancing and rotating tires (in my case didn't help) then it could be loosen front end part like tie rods and ball joint. after replace them should be alright

 

axles, bushings, ball joints, strut mounts...
basically, anything that moves with the wheels.

 

Check tie rods inner/outer i had a bent inner from the previous owner, called town fair tire to price an alignment told him i knew of the prob he said i could bring it back anytime w/in 30-days! so i went down found out my outer on the other side was frozen replaced both parts in one shot (while changing the brakes) saved me from takin it apart twice!

 

i have the same issue

 

Same issue. A strut bar helped the problem. Drastically reduced the vibrations in my steering wheel. I suspect I have a torn CV boot tho.

 

That's easy to check.

I have a vibration as well. It really started to be noticable after I rotated my tires. I had them balanced, but they either 1) didn't do a good job or 2) I have a bad tire.

It doesn't feel like an up and down vibration, but more a side to side vibration that starts around 65-70. It gets worse when I am turning the wheel. When I replace my rear tires (soon) I'm going to get an alignment and hope that solves it.

 

Thats exactly how mine is ^^^

Like i said, ebay strut bar, very noticeable difference

 

Might have to check that out. Easy to install I take it? Don't have to mess with the struts? Just uninstall the bolts and slap it on?

 

I had the same problem...they were not vibrating all the time...Had the wheels balanced a few times by different shops and still not good. Afterall, the problems were the rims. Little out of round can make the steering wheel vibrate. I changed the wheels and Im good to go.

 

I bought a strut bar on Ebay. Once I'll install it I'll let you know how it goes.

 

Modding the car won't fix the problem. you have a bad part SOMEWHERE in your front end. It could be anything from a bent wheel or bad tire (balancing them won't solve that, but a close inspection off the car will find those problems), to a bad strut or or worn bushing.

A BENT tie rod will not cause a vibration either, but a worn one will. a bent one does not move- no play for the vibrations to occur. your alignment may be off causing tire wear, but that doesn't cause a vibration in the wheel. A worn out tie rod has play in the joints, which is where the vibrations come from.

If you can find it yourself, take the car to an alignment shop and tell them you have a vibration in the front end. let a professional find it and fix it. don't just bolt a freaking strut brace on it thinking that will solve the problem. that's just dumb.

 

i'm surprised no one mentioned a wheel bearing! does the car make any kind of noise? do you feel any vibration while taking sharp turns/corners, etc?

p.s. you could try raising the front and wiggling the wheels for any play (side to side, and top to bottom)

 

No noise whatsoever. It really is only above 70 that anything can be felt. I also noticed that it started when I rotated my tires (stock, steel rims), so I am generally thinking that it is an out of balance tire/rim.

 

lol "A BENT tie rod will not cause a vibration either" uuhh yeah it will just happend to me. it cuases the one wheel to pull out of alignment causing a vibration increasing at high speeds feels like a wheel that is out of balance. ....was inner tierod that was bent...

 

You don't have an out-of-balance issue, you have an out-of-round issue. Bent rim (flat spot) or tire ply separation "Goose egg in the tread surface".
Jack the car up and spin the tire to check. A good tire shop will have a road force machine to look for an out-of-round condition too minor to see with your own eyes.

Rotate the tires to the rear again and I bet you it will go away.

 

I have a similar problem, but mine also vibrates at a stand still (I suspect the engine mounts are going bad) it's not a bad vibration, but just started noticing it - this would be one of the things to check when looking at vibration issues.

 

http://www.gsp9700.com/

I had to use that, and that is all I use now...

 

The shop I go to for tires has that one - it's nice.

 

The Les Schwab tire shop I worked at had one. They call the process "road forcing" there.

 

Thanks for the link. I was surprised to find a lot of shops with it right by my house. I'm planning on replacing my rear tires soon, so after I get those I'll have to take it to one of those places and get it checked out.

I also found this great video on how to change the outer tie-rod (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFXfcM325ss). It was posted in another string from a while back. I think sometime this week I'll check that out to see if there is any play in it. That could be a source of vibration as well correct? Seems like a very easy fix. Luckily I live in AZ so the car doesn't really have any rusted parts

 

well that seems to work im going ahead and taking it to a good mechanic that deals with all these wheel problems to have it checked out.

 

So I was going to put the strut bar on yesterday (I'm going to rotate the tires this weekend and check the tie rods while the tires are off). Anyways, it says that for my year, '98, that the lug nuts should be 13mm. They definitely are not. The largest socket I have is 18mm and it still was too small.

I read that the 99-00's have bolts that are 19mm. I bought the car used, so would it be plausible that since my car seems to have the larger lug nuts, that the struts were replaced sometime before I bought it, and for some reason the larger lug nuts were put on? Or maybe the install instructions for the strut bar I read had the wrong size? I'm just trying to figure out what to make of it.

 

13mm NUTS ON THE STRUT TOWER BRACE

19-21mm LUG NUTS on the tires... and wtf does that have to do with this thread?

 

That's my point, the strut tower nuts seem to be 19mm. Wasn't talking about the tires.

It has to do with what has been said above about putting on a strut bar to help minimize the vibrations. Not solving the problem, but helping until I can figure out what exactly will fix it.

 

A strut bar has nothing to do with wheel vibrations.

If you have different size nuts, then use a different sized socket. I am pretty sure mine weren't 13mm(maybe that is the thread size and not the nut size)

 

first what year is your car? if you are getting a shake in the steering at speeds above 50 MPH then you have one of a few issues. I would recomend you jack up the front of the car with both wheels off the ground. make sure the steering wheel is straight and the key is out the ignition. First thing to do is visually check the outer tie rods for busted bushings or any play. next visually check the lower ball joints for busted bushings, then check your sway bar links for play or busted bushings. If the visual inspection is good then start with any side, hold the wheel with you left hand at 9:00 and your right hand at 3:00. then rock the wheel side to side, you should not have any movement at all. Then hold the wheel at 12:00 and 6:00, and rock it up and down. Samething applies ther should be no movement. If you have movement from side to side then you have bad tie rods. I would replace both inner and outer. if you have movement up and down then you have bad wheel bearings or ball joint. Happy hunting.

 

So I rotated the back tires onto the front and the vibrations lessened a bit. The weird thing is, the vibration is very small in a straight line, but when I turn, it gets much larger.

I visually inspected the bushings, tugged on the tie rod, etc. Everything seemed to be fine. I wasn't able to try yur trick traffik, since I only had 1 side of the car jacked up at a time and I was in somewhat of a time crunch.

I think I am just going to take it to a shop with one of those GSP9700's and let them diagnose it.

Thanks for all the help guys

 

Have you tried the tire wheel balance? If it does NOT do it all the time I would say that your tires are not properly balanced and /or the rim is out of round. I would not suspect other steering components unless the vibration is going on all the time. The strut bar will only help stiffening a vibratin car...You say that you need to replace the rear tires....Why don install new tires on those rims and put them up front? I will still look into the rim out of round. If you have steel rims , your problem is right there (bent rims).

 

If you rotated the tires and the problem changed, then it's most likely not in the suspension. it's a bent wheel or a tire problem.


Your tie rod was worn as well as bent then. alignment does not cause a vibration. it will cause the car to pull to one side or the other and wear your tires out, but it will not cause a vibration. Play in the steering components (a worn out tie rod) will cause a vibration that often gets dramatically worse when the alignment is off. Also, if your inner tie rod was bent, that's only caused by hitting things- curbs, potholes, whatever- and when you exert enough stress on the arm to bend it, it's very likely the joint was damaged at the same time, causing the play that wound up giving you the vibrations.

 

Yea I plan on doing it all at the same time. I've got a pair of tires that have about 3 months life left on them. Once I replace them, I will go get a balance and an alignment. Call me weird, but I don't like doing an alignment on older tires. I once did just that and the car pulled enough from the tires to throw off the alignment. Money down the drain...

I'm crossing my fingers it's the steel wheels and not any components

 

This is my third SE/I30T (96,97,98). All have had a high speed front end vibration. My theory after checking all of the above at dealer is the spoiler is the culprit. Over 70mph the aeordynamic force pressing the rear down lifts the front drive wheels enough to cause the vibration.

 

I have the same issues,,,,,I must think this has to do with parts being worn...The weird thing on my car is that I don't have any weird tire wear. They are wearing perfectly!

Zack