Shaking Steering Wheel

When you say the steering gets 'tight', I take it you mean that you have to fight the wheel to keep it straight?

Your tires are inflated and balanced correctly? (Although your problem would not be intermittent if that was the case, but check it anyway).

It could also be that your discs in the font are warped but usually your steering is not really affected. Does the vibration stop or get worse when you press your brake?

Perhaps the brake caliper is not properly floating on the assembly. Disc brake pads (mounted on the caliper) are meant float freely around the disc. It could be that dirt or rust got into the assembly and this doesn't happen as freely anymore.

Take your car to an empty parking lot and make tight turns, turning the wheel as far as it will go. Listen for 'clicking' sort of sounds -- it could be that one of your U-joints is bad (probably your right one). I had a similar problem years ago (non Nissan) where it almost seemed like an invisible passenger jerked the steering wheel one way.

These are just some possible things you can look at -- others here will have more things to try, I am sure.

Remco

Btw, I would not keep driving it without knowing what the problem is.

Thanks for your input.

When I first noticed the shaking in the steering wheel, I immediately took it in to have the tires checked and was informed that everything was o.k.

I do hear a clicking sound when I turn the wheel which I forgot to mention.

It does feel like an invisible person is jerking the wheel whenever I come to a complete stop, the wheel which jerk to the right.

So...do you think it has something to do with the brakes?

Thanks you're probably right...

Yeah, I'd check it out of have it checked soon if I were you.

The clicking is usually attributed to a bad u-joint. This is not related to the brake assembly. It can cause problems like you're describing as well, though. It can be dangerous if ignored too long.

Even if the u-joint may be bad, it could still be your brake system. The caliper is what pinches the pads to the disc. A special sort of mounting pin allows this assembly to float. The pin is covered by a boot and has been greased up fairly heavily. If this protective rubber boot tears, dirt get in and makes this pin bind up -- and the floating of the assembly is not happening any longer. When this happens, the pads rub against the discs and this particular wheel basically has its brake on or intermittently on. Imagine braking only on one wheel -- the car would pull to that side, wouldn't it?

It could also be that the brake caliper is seized - different problem, but this is still in the disc assembly. Similar effects, though.

Take care of it is soon as driving like this can be really dangerous. Hope this helps. Remco