vibration in steering wheel and floor?

Hey...so far, you have 3 repair sources, none of whom can solve a simple problem. May as well add a 4th. I'd be sure to mention that if you leave a message for them to call you.

No, I replaced the struts myself because they needed replaced - at 110k miles, the original struts were dead. I was thinking that new struts would at least dampen the vibration a little. After doing the struts, I took the car in to get an alignment, and figured while it was in the shop for alignment, I'd get the tires balanced. Turned out to be a good thing to have done! They were just balanced a few months ago, but I guess the quality of the balancer is a pretty important factor for obtaining a good balance at high speeds.

By the way, is there any way to perform a 4-wheel alignment myself? Is the laser alignment equipment really cost prohibitive?

Take care,

-Chris

I have no idea what it costs. But, even if it was given to you for free, you'd still need training, without which the equipment would be worthless. Take it to a professional.

What are symptoms indicating the need to replace struts? Are there any noises or feelings that can indicate worn struts?

The main symptom I saw was a very loud *BANG* when driving over bumps such as uneven railroad tracks. Also, the car would lean outwards when taking corners.

Before replacing the struts, I checked the force response of the front suspension by pushing down on the front bumper and releasing quickly. They say the car should oscillate no more than one time. My car only oscillated up and back down once, which made me think that the struts did not need changed... but I knew otherwise from the banging and lack of cornering performance. I replaced the struts anyways, figuring that I was at the very least performing preventative maintenance on my suspension :) 110k miles is a decent life from one set of struts.

After changing the struts, the steering response is much tighter, the car no longer leans outwards around corners, and the railroad tracks down my street no longer cause my front end to bottom out!

Take care,

-Chris

longer leans outwards around

to bottom out!

I was wondering because when I run over small bumps on asphault, such as in a driveway or a rough road, there is a very slight rattle in the front of my car. It is not a fast paced or constant rattle, but just a 1 or 2 little knocks. I don't know if this should even be a concern or if maybe it's related to the vibration issue I have at high speeds.

My car, however, handles very well around corners and the suspension seems very responsive when cornering and going over railroad tracks, for example.

It could be a concern. Might be as simple as a license plate bracket, but could be more complex, such as some loose bracket that vibrates enough at speed to feel it in the steering. Definitely look for the cause.

It is possible, but unlikely that the wheel bearings are the culprit. Bad wheel bearings generally make noise before they cause a vibration.

As I mentioned before, find a shop that uses the Hunter Road Force wheel balancer. This machine puts a force on the tire when rotating it so that the operator can also determine whether it is out of round, out of true, or just unbalanced. Also, if your vehicle has alloy wheels, the shop should be using a precision adapter kit to mount the wheel on the balancing machine.

It is possible to perform a 4 wheel alignment with strings and a measuring tape, but you have to really know what you are doing. Most auto mechanics who spend 8 hours a day working on cars probably could not get good results with string, which is why they use alignment machines.

As far as the cost of the laser alignment equipment, I have not priced it in a long time, but they were $20,000 to $25,000 about 15 years ago. Whether it is cost prohibitive depends on your fiscal priorities ;-)

What kind of noise would worn wheel bearings make? Would there be a drone or droning noise when cruising at higher speeds? Or is it more common to hear noise when cornering?

Actually, I just did a search on this machine. Oddly enough, the Discount Tire Co. location I got my new tires and wheels uses this machine. Therefore, maybe it's possible that there are issues with my car and not the tires.

Then again, after reading reviews on this tire, many other drivers have experienced vibration and other problems with them. No matter how good the balance and mounting is, a slightly out of round tire or odd tread patterns will cause vibration. This may also be hard to detect which would explain why Discount Tire would be so willing to "work with me" on upgrading to "better" tires.

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@k79g2000hse.googlegroups.com:

On a hoist it doesn't matter. And higher up is easier to see.

The tranny is filled with oil, remember.

You know how a fluid coupling works? This is similar. Even in neutral, the mainshaft is spinning in the oil, dragging the countershaft and one driveshaft with it. The effect is more pronounced at low temperatures.

The other driveshaft won't automatically spin unless you have a limited slip diff. That's why you have to give the other side a push with your hand.

Wheel bearings can make a droning noise, grinding noise, or howling noise. The noise will tend to get louder and higher in pitch as vehicle speed increases, and the loudness and/or pitch may change when cornering.

Ah ah ah! Do a little checking before you assume they used it! They may have *one* of those fancy Road Force balancers, and three or four of the regular ones, and they only use the fancy one for cars they know will be a problem, or ones that already have a problem they need to cure. Otherwise the tire busters would get way ahead of the balancing station guy.

Compound that with only one or two operators at a shop will be trained and really good at using the Road Force machine to it's full potential, and know all the tricks to getting it right. If they're both off, the other employees will just use the regular machines.

The regular computerized spin balancers do a very good job most of the time, on most regular wheels. It's when the wheel or tire is way off round and even, the balancer reads 00.00 yet the road test is bumpier than a jackhammer, that you need to break out the big guns.

Hell, they NEVER pass an opportunity to upsell you. ;-)

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Thanks for the input, Bruce.

One good thing about Discount Tire Co. is that they are set on making things right. After expressing my discontent on their survey, the store manager called me and asked why I am disappointed. He said no matter what happens, come on in and we'll make things right. Well, I guess if I want it done right I should make sure a trained operator uses the Hunter Road Force Machine (based on this thread).

I'm sure this act kindness and caringness is a great way to get me to come back.

Well, my car is due for a tune up... I am going to have the mechanic spend some time making sure the vibration is not suspension or steering related before I really take my frustration to Discount Tire.

Thanks for the input, Bruce.

One good thing about Discount Tire Co. is that they are set on making things right. After expressing my discontent on their survey, the store manager called me and asked why I am disappointed. He said no matter what happens, come on in and we'll make things right. Well, I guess if I want it done right I should make sure a trained operator uses the Hunter Road Force Machine (based on this thread).

I'm sure this act kindness and caringness is a great way to get me to come back.

Well, my car is due for a tune up... I am going to have the mechanic spend some time making sure the vibration is not suspension or steering related before I really take my frustration to Discount Tire.

I'd take it to Discount Tire first to see if that corrects the problem. No sense in wasting a mechanics time and your money when the problem is most likely tire balance.

I don't mean to be rude, and maybe I'm focusing too much on one specific word, but I believe that your thinking on this subject is defective. You're using the word "mechanic" to describe a guy who does one set of things to your car, which suggests that the tires were (or should be) installed by guys who are NOT mechanics. They're something else? Tire installers? It's totally inappropriate (and unsafe) to have your suspension serviced by people whose knowledge ends at the lug nuts.

This is where I disagree. Unless you're paying someone to wax the car, or giving the keys to a valet parking person, nobody but a qualified mechanic should work on your car, not ever, not for any reason, no exceptions, period. You know this is true because you're still trying to get your problem solved. I don't care if a real mechanic costs twice as much in labor for mounting & balancing tires. It's not a purchase you make that often. One day, the extra bucks will pay off and you'll be happy you spent a little more.

Of course, if getting killed due to mechanical failure is your idea of a good time, then ignore all this.