wobbly steering wheel

usually this means there's the need for a front-end alignment I guess, but I figured I'd put it out there for opinions. My '90 Chrysler's steering wheel starts to wobble noticeably at 15-25mph. Back and forth, oh about 1/2 - 1" in each direction.

Reply to
Chris
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Alignment isn't the problem.

Tire has belt damage and is starting to fail. Bent rim. Bad wheel bearing that is allowing the hub to shift. Possibly a bad CV joint that is binding and causes the wobble.

Reply to
Steve W.

"Chris" wrote in news:1171397191.298896.297580 @m58g2000cwm.googlegroups.com:

nodding in agreement with replies!.............to slow of speed for align or balance probs to be a concern, bent rim most likely, if no force damage found then back to slipped belt. put drive axle in air and start engine and put in drive. usually you can see the prob while watching tires rotate;.

Reply to
Kjun

Could be a slipped belt on one of your front tires. Usually an imbalance doesn't show up until a higher speed.

good luck

nate

Reply to
Nate Nagel

particularly on wet ground (I think) when wheel turned counterclockwise (I think) and possibly more so when going in reverse (I think), the steering wheel will jerk a little. It happens so fast and relatively infrequently, I don't have time to study it.

Reply to
Chris

If it's FWD, that could either be torque steer, or a failing CV joint. Does it just pull a little, or is it the same wobbly feeling you mentioned earlier?

nate

Reply to
Nate Nagel

it's kind of like a jerk from what I could tell. Doesn't happen that often.

Reply to
Chris

so if it's a cv joint, that entails replacing one of the half shafts, correct? The front end, mainly left side I think, also where I'm guessing the mentioned problem is coming from, rattles when going over small bumps, but that probably means the struts are in desperate need of replacement.

Reply to
Chris

Check the ball joints, tie rod ends, and I have even heard of sterring racks becoming loose from the frame.

Reply to
scott21230

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