Steering wheel shimmys from side to side increasing violently at speeds over 60mph. 42,000 miles to date.
Steps already taken:
All Tires balanced - Steering wheel still vibrates.
Balance rechecked - still vibrates.
Found and replaced wobbly rim(whole rim sways), reinstall and balance tire - vibration in steering wheel is *reduced* but still occurs at over 60mph.
What are possible next steps?
Thanks!
snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com:
I would find the tire that has a slipped belt and replace it or them. KB
Kevin: How does one diagnose a slipped belt in a tire?
snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com:
Find a better tire shop.
If the "whole rim" wobbles, then the wheel may not have been true on the hub of the balancer machine. Did they turn the wheel 180 degrees to see if the wobble changed?
Did anybody make sure the tire was true on the rim before balancing? There's a way of checking that yourself with the wheel/tire still on the car.
That should be noticeable at very low speeds.
Tegger:
They ran all 4 rims. Only one wobbled. The rim was replaced. Steering wheel jiggle is reduced but still present at higher speeds.
snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com:
Rims do not need to be perfect; some runout is acceptable. Automakers often allow about 1/32" runout, more for steel wheels. If your rim wobbled more than the allowable limit, then it needed to be replaced.
Still, proper tire mounting is CRITICAL. If the tire is not true on the rim, then it will never balance properly even if the machine says it's balanced. I suspect this is your problem. There is a way of checking this with the wheel still on the car.
Bill Vanek wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
Bad mounting will mimic a slipped belt. I think the OP is the victim of inept mounting.
snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote in news:81379168-237f-41a8-8e98-863815936b76 @googlegroups.com:
the easiest is to jack the wheel off the ground and put your hand on the tread and then spin it with your other hand. you should feel any out of round or a dibit in the tire if its slipped. usually on one side of the tread not necessaryly all the way accross. KB
Kevin Bottorff wrote in news:lh4ojd$tle$2 @news.albasani.net:
Don't use your hand, but your eyes.
If a non-driven wheel, spin it up as fast as you can by hand and observe. Any wobble or bounce will be very obvious. It's a bit trickier if it's a driven wheel, but can still be done.
I don't even bother jacking the tire up. Tire defects are pretty easy to feel. I also run my hand across the treads to get some idea of how the tires are wearing. You have to be careful of exposed belts that have frayed leaving sharp wires exposed.
have someone drive along side/behind you and see if any of the wheels are wobbling.
dsi1 wrote in news:lh6b1g$pa6$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:
if there are frayed belts the tire is junk anyway. KB
I always see cars with tires that are funny. Sometimes I'll even inform the driver.
Well heck, that's fairly obvious.
Just had the correct rim and cover installed by a dealer. Their suggestion for the wiggly steering wheel is the need for an alignment.
How can bad alignment cause the steering column/wheel to wiggle like that?
I've heard of "bump-steer", which is related to too much caster, or scrub-radius being too positive or neg, but a progressive constant vibration(increases as speed increases)?
Take it somewhere else. Did you ever follow my suggestion and see if the vibration changes with throttle application?
Regardless, there is a very good chance the hub is bent where the bent wheel was.
Bill Vanek - and an UPDATE to all:
Bill, steering wheel jiggle is most pronounced on a smooth, level stretch of highway, at speeds over 60mph. IOW: Going 60 - or 80 - on a pockmarked dog's breakfast results in zero steering wheel jiggle. Jiggle does not change with throttle position.
TO ALL:
Did side-by-side with my wife at 70-80mph this morning on a smooth, flat section of straightaway. Steering wheel was a frickin Tourette case! Wife said none of my four tires were hopping or wobbly, she has razor sharp sight at any distance up to the moon.
Correct rim was balanced and installed last week by Kia dealer after two attempts by Town Fair installed the wrong rim.
snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com:
you need to check for a slipped belt before one of your tires blows and ruins your day. your playing with fire. KB
If you put it in neutral while it's happening, does it change? If not, it's balance or something bent, probably the hub.
I mentioned this before, but you can jack up one front wheel (with a floor jack), and run the speedo up to about 35 mph - don't go higher because the wheel speed will be double the speedo reading. Do both sides. One of them should shake the car pretty badly. Also while each side is off the ground, just put it in drive, and let the wheel spin very slowly. If a tire is bad, or the hub is bent, it should be very obvious. And remember, jacks slip, so make sure there is nothing in front of the car, including you, when you're doing this.
If you don't find something bent, or out of round, you have an unusual problem, and your entire suspension system needs to be carefully checked. A balance or bent part problem will have a very regular vibration, and the frequency should increase with speed. If the shake seems more random than regular, it sounds more like loose parts.
BTW, is the only symptom a steering wheel shake, or does the whole car shake? And does the steering wheel move side to side at all at very low speeds?
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