Steering wheel vibration on '97 850 AWD Wagon, Stick-shift.

Is this vibration at a frequency corresponding to road wheel rotation speed - i.e. once per rev? If so, there's something odd about one of your front tyres, or maybe the wheel is actually bent. Try swapping the wheels front to back and see whether it goes away.

Thanks Roger. I'll check into that. Andy I.

: > At a very low speed (really crawling) on a smooth wet road, I find the : > steering wheel vibrating, rotating left and right very slightly and at a : > very slow rate. : > I'm familiar with a higher frequency steering wheel vibration at high road : > speeds due to unbalanced wheels, which this car has to some extent, but have : > never noticed this slow speed effect before. : >

: > Are the two just versions of the same thing? : >

: > Andy I. ('97 850 AWD Wagon, Stick-shift; 166 000 Km/ ~100 000 miles.) : >

: >

: Is this vibration at a frequency corresponding to road wheel rotation : speed - i.e. once per rev? If so, there's something odd about one of : your front tyres, or maybe the wheel is actually bent. Try swapping the : wheels front to back and see whether it goes away. : -- : Cheers, : Roger : ____________ : Please reply to Newsgroup. Whilst email address is valid, it is seldom : checked. :

Warped brake rotors are a classic cause of this as well, and if all that looks good, I would check the CV joints.

: >

: : : Warped brake rotors are a classic cause of this as well, and if all that : looks good, I would check the CV joints.

Thank you for your interest, James, and for your interesting suggestions. Do you mean a warped rotor could be responsible, even when the brakes are not applied?

Andy I.

Wow! Anything else, John??

Andy I.

: > At a very low speed (really crawling) on a smooth wet road, I find the : > steering wheel vibrating, rotating left and right very slightly and at a : > very slow rate. : > I'm familiar with a higher frequency steering wheel vibration at high road : > speeds due to unbalanced wheels, which this car has to some extent, but : > have : > never noticed this slow speed effect before. : >

: > Are the two just versions of the same thing? : >

: > Andy I. ('97 850 AWD Wagon, Stick-shift; 166 000 Km/ ~100 000 miles.) : >

: >

: : :

I had one warp badly enough once to do this, but the shaking got much worse when the brakes were applied.

I think a damaged tire or rim is more likely though in this case, or a bad CV joint. Check the wheels first since it's the easiest.

Thank you John for that addition to the list........ :-) I experienced that "thump thump" many years ago, but on a city street, got out and found that tell-tale bulge in the tire...... delamination! Swore never to buy Dunlop again (prejudice.....)

Andy I.

: >

: >

: : :

: > At a very low speed (really crawling) on a smooth wet road, I find the : > steering wheel vibrating, rotating left and right very slightly and at a : > very slow rate. : > I'm familiar with a higher frequency steering wheel vibration at high road : > speeds due to unbalanced wheels, which this car has to some extent, but have : > never noticed this slow speed effect before. : >

: > Are the two just versions of the same thing? : >

: > Andy I. ('97 850 AWD Wagon, Stick-shift; 166 000 Km/ ~100 000 miles.) : >

: >

: Is this vibration at a frequency corresponding to road wheel rotation : speed - i.e. once per rev? If so, there's something odd about one of : your front tyres, or maybe the wheel is actually bent. Try swapping the : wheels front to back and see whether it goes away. : -- : Cheers, : Roger : ____________ : Please reply to Newsgroup. Whilst email address is valid, it is seldom : checked. : Sorry Roger for this late acknowledgement of your courteous reply. I haven't yet been able to find a volunteer courageous enough to hang out the door to check your first suggestion :-), but I'm going to investigate swapping the wheels front to back.

Thank you. Andy I.

First thing I would check for is a bulge or bubble in the sidewall. Check both sides of both tires.