I tried to search on this topic but I couldnt find something that could actually help me out.

I understand that rotor warping is caused by Pad deposits due to heat. These then create the so called warp.

My question is, in cases of warping can the warped rotor lead to steering vibration at higher speeds(65 and up) even without pressing the brakes?

any input appreciated.

 

I personally have never driven a car with rotors warped so bad that they caused a vibration without pressing the brakes...

Are you experiencing a vibration?

If you are,it is probably out of balance tires..or a out of round tire[mainly due to bad struts]..or it could be a bent wheel...

 

^ Exactly. Vibration at higher speeds is usually due to a lack of balancing or bent wheel or tire out of round. A quick B&R MAY help, and will be fairly cheap.

 

Thanks for the responses

If not rotors.... Can it point to worn out wheel bearings?

This is on a 2001 gle auto trans with 140K miles.

Recently, here is the work i got done to it.
- new outer tie rods...
- new lower control arms....
- new H&R springs
- new tokico illuminas... set on 3

my thoughts are....
- can inner tie rods create any vibration?
- can sway bar end links or worn out sway bar bushings cause vibration?
- how do i check for wheel bearing issues?
- can it be an alignment issue?

tires are also new and have about 6K on them. they are kumho exctas. I just got them road force balanced...

 

A bad drive axle will cause vibration,especially with drop springs...

 

That is another thing that i am thinking of

What would be the other symptoms of a bad drive axle? I know with the wheel jacked up there is some play in the drive axle when i turn the wheel in the front or back direction. There is no clickin when i turn.

as for the bearing i have heard you can check it for noise while turning. How does one go about doing this... i do get a "woo woo woo woo" noise when i make turns... but i suspect that to be tire noise...

i'm almost thinking off biting the bullet and spending the $80 the dealership takes to diagnose issues.

 

The play you feel is most likely in the transmission,not the axle...A bit of gear slop is normal...


The best way to check for a bad bearing is to of course "jack it up" then grab the wheel/tire at at the top and bottom,then try to rock the wheel in and out...If you feel/hear clunking,then a bad wheel bearing would be suspect...

but still,i have also never driven a car with a bad wheel bearing that vibrated...

good luck..

 

bad bearings typically cause noise and perhaps a bit of grinding if they're REALLY bad, but usually not any kind of heavy vibration.

Most likely, based on your previous comments, it is indeed a wheel/tire issue. Sometimes balances are not done well (I've had to have balances re-done 2 and 3 times before they got it right), and certain tires are particularly hard to balance (I'm not sure about yours). Could also be a slight bend in the rim.

Unlikely that it is a sway bar endlink - they don't really have an effect on vibration. Inner tie rods are good to check. I get some vibration above 80mph myself and will check my inner tie rods soon since I've eliminated pretty much all else.

 

Irish44j,

Just this afternoon I was reading some articles online about steering rack setup and how the tie rods can transmit vibration.

Then I decided to take the car out for a drive. What I noticed was the vibration was not like an out of balance vibration where the steering wheel vibrates off its circular axis. This vibration is more along the axis of the round wheel. i.e. its like a side to side vibration. it comes in between 55-60 when it osciallates the most and then goes down as the speed goes up and then just stays constant after say 75.

I was reading that the inner tie rods could do that kind of vibration.

I know when I was changing out the outer tie rods... that the inners were actually quite loose i.e. the ball joint would not keep the rod still it would fall downwards. However, I do not know how to check the inners.

Do you know the exact process to check the inner tie rods?

Since I am doing the front end anyways... I guess I can spend $80 and fix these too I do have the bearings in hand.. so in case the tie rods fixes the vibration... i'll go ahead and return the bearings.

 

I don't know....I will find out this summer when I check/replace my inners

 

From the nissan service manual:
SST468C
TIE-ROD OUTER AND INNER SOCKETS
NFST0024S05
I Check ball joints for swinging force.
Tie-rod outer and inner ball joints swinging force “A”:
Refer to SDS, ST-30.
I Check ball joint for rotating torque.
Tie-rod outer ball joint rotating torque “B”:
Refer to SDS, ST-30.
I Check ball joints for axial end play.
Tie-rod outer and inner ball joints axial end play “C”:
Refer to SDS, ST-30.
I Check condition of dust cover. If cracked excessively, replace outer tie rod.

From ST 30 of the SDS.
Applied model All
Steering gear type PR26AD
Tie-rod outer ball joint
Swinging force at cotter pin hole: “A” N (kg, lb) 6.47 - 64.63 (0.66 - 6.59, 1.46 - 14.53)
Rotating torque: “B” N·m (kg-cm, in-lb)
0.29 - 2.94 (3.0 - 30.0, 2.6 - 26.0)
Axial end play: “C” mm (in)
0.4 (0.016) or less

I think the parameters A and B described above holds the key as that, I suspect would be most affected in a worn out ball joint.

 

So are inner tie-rods not supposed to slowly fall down when disconnected from the outer tie-rods?

I suppose to make it simpler, how hard or easy should it be to move the inner tie rod around once disconnected?

 

I got the new set of inner tie rods this morning.

Man... these things are stiff. If I hold the ball joint the end of the rod does not fall at all unlike the inner tie rods I have on my car right now that just fall.

I think my 142K mile old inner tie rods are definately gone!!

Can't wait to get them on there