This is my problem.. I'm getting a shimmy in my sterring wheel starting at about 70 Mph. I've tried everything. new tire, balancing alignments, but nothing works. Today, I jacked up both sides of the car and put the car in drive to inspect the way the wheel spins. I found a few interesting things. First, the tire on the left does not spin round. It seems to have a hop to it. This also happens on the right side, but its not as bad. So then I took the tires off and ran the car. It seems that that the shaft that comes into the top of the hub assembly does not spin perfectly around either!! Is this the drive shaft or a cv joint?? It doens't spin perfectly around on either side. This seems to be the cause of my shimmy!! What does everybody else think and how hard is it to change a cv joint.

 

I have the same problem...gets bad right around 70mph and an alignment and tire balancing did not help.

 

does anybody have an idea of what the problem could be???

 

My sister's 95 max w/ 158k miles on it has always had that damn vibration. MY 95 max w/only 55k miles on it has MAD vibration. It seems like all maxima's have this. I've gotten used to it. Today I was drivin' home from school and I looked at my hand on the highway and it was shakin like mad! It can get real annoying.

Well I am just adding to the list of complaints.

 

OK this is a good one, I had an Accord (gezz) that did the same thing. Very annoying.

1) Did you try a different Rim alltogether on the car? Not even your own if thats a possiblilit??? Find a buddy whos car rides perfect and bolt on a wheel and perform the same test. If you still see the HOP, then your hub is definately BENT.

If thats the case, I think your best bet is to replace the hub and bearing at the same time. Better check with Nissan on cost, who knows perhaps a group deal from Courtesy??? You guys with very stiff suspensions put a pounding on the car. It's possible that the hub and bearing assy. just get out of round over time.
I'd be courious to know if anybody does this and what they find. Perhaps at a meet?

IDEA - Use yet the original 5 spoke or even the spare tire would confirm if it's the hub.

Good luck.

 

i think this is definetly a problem with most all 4th gens. i have the same problem, from like 70-80/85. it goes away after that but it is very annoying since 80 is my cruising speed on the highway. i'd liek to know how to fix this.

 

I also have this problem. We need to get solutions to this.

 

Vibrations that cannot be corrected with alignment or balancing suggest a bent rim.

The best way to diagnose this problem is to take your car to a reputable front end shop. "Self-diagnosing" your car problems by paying for balancing, then alignment, etc...sometimes works but not always. Have a technician drive your car and feel the vibration and then you will find out for certain what the problem is.

 

Or ...
- a defective tire
- a bent hub
- a bent axle
- a bad axle support bearing
- a bad inner Constant Velocity joint

 

how do you test for a bad cv joint, how do you test for a bad axle and how hard is a cv joint to replace??

 

Good questions, but they have no short answers. At this point you really need a manual. Either Chilton or Haynes will do. Borrow a manual from your public library or buy one at a bookstore or auto parts store.

 

when i first bought my max I bought the thick black service manual specifally for a 98 nissan max. They really dont exlain how to test, only how to repair parts!!

 

im glad i saw this thread. my mom drove my car down to school because i had a drive a truck down the day before. when she left he said "you need a front-end alignment ASAP because the wheel vibrates a lot when you get to around 70 mhp" if thats not the problem then do you think all of us have a bent rim or axle one of those other problems? i really cant remember if my car always did this but im pretty sure it didnt. Daniel thanks for the input

 

Since all i've done is balance all 4 wheels, i don't have much to contribute. It's scheduled to go to the dealer this tues. I'll post the outcome. i'm certain an alignment is in order as she drifts, but, the shake is thru the whole car, not just the wheel, and yes, it's around 80 MPH, where i cruise as well.

this is a 98 max SE 5spd with stock wheels and only 41,000 miles.


So, the ? is: does anyone have a max that doesn't have 'the jitters' at around 80 MPH?????

 

hey, you have that firestone lifetime alignment right. i went there yesterday after i installed my tokicos to sign up and they said they wouldn't do alignments on my car because i was lowered. they told me to call this other place but they are like 50+ bucks a pop and i wanted the lifetime. I got turned away by a couple places. do you have you alignment spec readout from when you got aligned?

 

The wheel vibration comes from somewhere. Sometimes the cause is easy to find, sometimes not. Do I think all of you have one of those other problems? All is a strong word. Certainly some of you do.

 

No vibrations here, smooth as silk at 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 right up to 125MPH. I have 34,000 miles on the car now. I'm running Konig Monsoons 17x8 with Dunlop SP8000 235/45/VR17 Tires @ 35PSI up front and 32PSI rear.

 

Remember one more thing people, if the tire isn't tightened with the criss-cross pattern EVENLY, you will get vibration also. I had a guy lock my wheels unevenly after a balance and my steering wheels were shaking out of control. My car is smooth but I get minimal vibration but I think I may get into the replacement of the things described by Daniel next summer.

 

Are you running on stock wheels? Some aftermarket wheels require centering rings to run true. If those rings have been overlooked your wheels will have radial runout... and you can balance those tires until you are blue in the face and the problem won't be resolved because it isn't a balance problem.

 

keep in mind that the vibration (for me and for some others also) starts at around 75/80 mph but then goes away around 85/90 mph. just to check, is this true with anyone else?

 

I have mentioned that point in previous posts. Those rings make a HUGE difference. They assure your wheel/rims run true when you mount them.

 

I have the stock 5-spoke 97SE wheels, and mine starts at around 65-70 and ends once I get up to about 83-85.

 

mine always vibrate on 70+

 

My current findings:
I think the vibrations were all having has to do with the stock SE rims that are on our cars. Yesterday, I jacked up my car on both sides and then put the car in drive. I noticed that at low speeds the tire and rim seemed turn true, i.e. they spun perfectly around. However, at higher speeds starting at about 60mph the tire on my left seemed to have a hop to it. I also had the same problem with the right tire and the back two tires. I put the back tires on the front and a hop in each tire occured, but at different severity. I have a feeling that some of the rims that were used on these SE's were not perfectly round. Tomorrow I will test that theory by taking my es300 lexus rims off the car and put them on my max. The other reason I believe this is true is because people that have aftermarket rims don't seem to have this problem. It's just us poor suckers that have stock rims!!!

 

Mine has the same annoying vibrations, and it's not an SE. I have stock, GXE wheels. Someone has said that rotating tires has solved their problem. Anyone else tried it?

 

A tire or wheel defect is more noticeable when it is mounted on the front. Moving a bad wheel or tire to the rear doesn't solve the problem, it only camouflages it. Rotating tires is often suggested as a diagnostic measure, not a remedial one.

 

I have a similiar vibration that starts around 70 and ends around 80-85. I will be looking at the car today. I am going to run the car with the front end off the ground and see if the wheels wobble. I will keep you posted. This problem is really bothering me and I hope we can figure it out soon.

 

yes, I agree with Daniel, however I want to add that by swapping rims around may help you detect the defective one.

I did have this problem on my 93 SE, crazy hard vibration around 60 mph, getting stronger as I reach higher speeds. I suspected a bubble in the sidewall of 1 tire, so I threw that tire on the back, vibration wasn't as hard after that but still there and very noticeable. Then I thought all of the wheels are way too worn or maybe 1 is bent so soon enough I got brand new aftermarket wheels with new tires and yes, it was STILL there... I was told worn suspension components can lead to vibration, something like wheel bearings or tie rod ends... ? don't quote me on that. I did have brand new alignment done, along with lower control arm bushings and cv joints.. did not help.
my new max has nearly 58k on it and rides smooth as silk and totally stock.

 

It's so frusterating trying to find the cause, I'm still trying!!!

 

Guys, I just got finished. With the car on jack stands and in drive, the tire/rim had up and down motion but no side to side motion. The car wasn't driven for a few hours so I don't know if this was a flat spot caused be the car sitting for awhile. I'm out of ideas and will probably bring the car to the dealer soon. i'll let you know what the dealer finds.

 

that s exactly what i have in all of my tires and rims, im gonna put my lexus rims on tomorrow and see if its the same problem, i'll keep you guys posted!!!!

 

I've had this problem after work was done on my car,(stock 97SE) Mechanics seem to love air tools for tightening lug nuts.
1-If you haven't already done so, loosen the lugnuts on each wheel and using a torque wrench retighten them in a criss cross pattern to the value in the manual, (approx 100ft-lbs). This helped a lot.
2- Balancing the Max's wheels seems to be an art. I have a local Gas station do mine, It costs more but they seem know what their doing, I have yet to have a tire place get it right.
3- Lastly, I just installed Konis in the front and that seemed to get rid of the rest of the vibration.

Best of luck, It can be fixed.

 

mine is almost totally gone now. rides way better than it did. i finally installed my tokicos and a camber kit and then went to a place that does specialty alignments on lowered cars and had them do the alignment. it kicks *** now. i'm so happy.

 

My car had a vibration and a left drift. Rotated tires front to back and the drift shifted to the right! and the vibration is the same. I'm thinking it's these cooper cobra tires. We inspected everything and it's all tight.

Tomorrow the dealer gives it the once-over.

 

it's definetly one of you tires or a rim. and get rid of those garbage cooper cobras. i had those on my car when i bought it. they suck.

 

I also have the vibes at above 70 mph. I have 17" aftermarket rims, dunlop SP5000 235/45 tires. two spin balances, one roadforce (hunter 9700) balance and a few allignments later (with only 6 months on these rims/tires) I still have the same damn vibrations which get really bad at around 80. Then the tires were rotated, and the vibrations didnt go away, but changed in the way it shook the entire car. I have about given up on it, and refrain from driving this car on long trips. Oh, by the way, I never had the problem with my stock 215/60 BBS 15" wheels that come on the "t" I30s...so I KNOW its because of these new aftermarkets.

 

I never had a problem with my stock rims. I first put on some aftermarkets and the shake was terrible. I had the wheels balanced numerous time and the car aligned and it never went away. My mehcanic told me to put some SE rims on. It still shakes some but, not as much as the aftermarkets. I have tried 3 different tire brands and the best so far have been Dunlops. Good luck with this one I have given up.

 

Am i to understand the only adjustment on these is toe? I was looking under the the car with a local mechanic. I told him i wanted it to track straighter on the highway, so i was looking for more positive camber. He pointed out the struts are not slotted for any kind of camber or caster adjustment.

Is that true?

 

yes, it's true. you can get camber bolts for like 30 bucks a set though. i have an extra set. wanna buy them. 30 bucks shipped to you.

 

I'd figure I would drop a line to see if any of you have gotten anywhere with this problem. I am going to take the front wheels off and inspect the axles spinning. I also plan to bring it too the dealer for a 4 wheel balance and alignment. Have any of you had positive experiences with any NYC Nissan dealer?