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Tire wear and steering wheel shake

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Old 11-17-2007, 02:52 PM
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Tire wear and steering wheel shake

i just bought a 01 max, it now has 171k on it. 157k when i bought it.

the tires were worn when i bought it, and i knew i would need to replace them soon. but i have a very odd tire wear pattern on the inside of the front two tires. its almost like an aquatread on the inside most part of the tire. and not all the way around. there are spots that are worse than others.

i beleive that is what is contributing to the steering wheel shake. im not sure if this is the cause of bad alignment, bad bearings, etc.

it doesnt do it 100% of the time?

any ideas?
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Old 11-17-2007, 03:28 PM
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It could be a # of things. I would get new tires and an alignment, and take it from there.
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Old 11-19-2007, 04:58 AM
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Originally Posted by NmexMAX
It could be a # of things. I would get new tires and an alignment, and take it from there.
Also, check to make sure the rim is true....when you get new tires have the look at it when they spin it.
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Old 11-19-2007, 04:26 PM
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thanks, tryna get something jumping in the next few days!
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Old 11-19-2007, 04:39 PM
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Most of the time, steering wheel shake at freeway speeds in a narrow mph range is the tires being out of balance. However, if the tires are worn too much, most shops won't balance them.

If the tires are safe to drive on, get the suspension looked at first to see if there are any problems before popping for a new set of tires.
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Old 11-19-2007, 05:56 PM
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You could have a few problems wrapped up in one package. The odd random wear patterns could be bad balance and/or a worn strut. Push down on that side of the car (compressing the strut) and then let go. Does it rise to the original spot with relative control? Does it kind of bounce around the original spot? Does it *slowly* come back up?
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Old 11-19-2007, 06:15 PM
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thanks alot, the tires should have lasted a little while longer but not much.
i will have some new treads in a weeks time. i hope its just a bad alignment
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Old 11-19-2007, 06:18 PM
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i havent noticed bad control like a bad strut. it takes pot holes and bumps with regular ease. but i will give it a whirl in the morning. it does it on both sides
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Old 11-20-2007, 12:49 PM
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do u have after market wheels?
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Old 11-20-2007, 12:51 PM
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it can be because no centric ring or maybe a bad cv joint thats about to go out
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Old 11-20-2007, 05:57 PM
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it could be a number of problems.... wheel bearing,ball joint,inner tie rod,outter tie rod....
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Old 11-20-2007, 08:39 PM
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looks like im gonna have to drop it off, and see.

too many possiblities, too little time

stock wheels SE

and stock tire size
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Old 11-21-2007, 04:28 AM
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What about a bent a rim/rims?
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Old 11-21-2007, 08:25 AM
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I had this happen to me once. One of my inside rims were bent.
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Old 11-21-2007, 11:14 AM
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quite possible, it is on both front tires, the first owner may have been a pot hole magnet? im pulling them off saturday hopefully. i will take pics
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Old 12-17-2007, 05:54 PM
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got new rubber and an alignment. waiting to see
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Old 12-17-2007, 06:36 PM
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I hate to thread hijack but I got a similar problem, also my car sort of makes a rattling noise when I go over a speed bump at low speeds.
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Old 12-17-2007, 06:45 PM
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i have heard so many noise stories about the front end on these cars. there are many threads on it. i hope someone will give a good clue in this thread
i have the same noise
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Old 12-18-2007, 06:03 AM
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if the rear tires are fine just balance all 4 and rotate em..se what happens..oh n get alignment
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Old 12-18-2007, 08:03 PM
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most likely just need an alignment. go from there.
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