Front end shake at speed
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 2,510
Likes: 4
From: Austin Texas
Front end shake at speed
Well, I have a pretty noticable front end shake/shimmy which only occurs between ~62 and 70mph. Above and below this speed the car does not exhibit the problem. The front end shake is transmitted to the steering wheel, and it's only purposeful use is to wind up my wrist watch. I put on a set of Kuhmos about 2 months ago, and had them put the balancing weights on the inside of the rim(can be seen in pic). The shaking started about 1 month after new tires installed. I checked both fronts, and the balancing weights are still intact. I checked left and right wheels for 12/6 and 3/9 play. The 12/6 is solid with no play, but I notice slight movement, maybe 1/8 to 1/4 inch , when checking 3/9 axis(this movement includes the steering shaft going in and out to the rack). As far as checking the ball joints, the only thing I can say is that I can still get a grease fitting on the lower, but it is a snug fit. Would it be a safe thing to torque the upper/lower ball joint nuts and the tie rod nut maybe 1 notch to take up any slop from 67K miles of driving? And should I get new bushings for the sway bar??
Any ideas/thoughts on what causes front end shake only at certain speed range?
Thanks guys and gals.....
Any ideas/thoughts on what causes front end shake only at certain speed range?
Thanks guys and gals.....
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 2,107
Likes: 14
From: Lancaster PA
Chances are it is wheel balance. When you place the weights only on the inside you give up some accuracy in balancing. I would have them rebalanced and put the nessessary weights on the outside. Use coated weights to lessen the chance of corrosion.
3rd Gear
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Originally Posted by CF6873
Chances are it is wheel balance. When you place the weights only on the inside you give up some accuracy in balancing. I would have them rebalanced and put the nessessary weights on the outside. Use coated weights to lessen the chance of corrosion.
I have an 86 that was exhibiting the wobble your talking about so I went down and bought 4 new Fulda's. After balancing correctly, the problem was worse. Changed out shocks and the problem was minimized but still exists. I'm fairly certain its the tie rod ends or the ball joints. I'll let you know when I get rid of my problems.
This is obviously not an uncommon problem - anybody else have feedback?
B
Last edited by bbuckle; May 10, 2005 at 09:43 PM.
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 16,795
Likes: 62
From: Lake Havasu City, AZ
I aalways start with the simple and cheap solutions. A good balance with a Hunter road Force balancer is always a good thing to do. Once you have eliminated tire/wheel issues, then you can start on th emore complex and more expensive suspension possibilities
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 12,182
Likes: 1
From: Partying with the Cowboys cheerleaders in Mt. Olive, New Jersey
Originally Posted by rws.1
I aalways start with the simple and cheap solutions. A good balance with a Hunter road Force balancer is always a good thing to do. Once you have eliminated tire/wheel issues, then you can start on th emore complex and more expensive suspension possibilities
Word.
Everytime, I have installed new tires or new (newly repairded) rims, I'd get it balanced by my local shop that uses the Hunter 9700 machine. Best $53 (plus tax) I could spend for a smooth ride. The last time I had it done, the guy said that he did the best that he could but there's still issues with one of the front tires slightly out of round, and my upper ball joints are shot. All could contribute to shimmy, vibration issues, but since one part of the equation was taken cared of, I have really minimal problems on the road. The guy really had to use a lot of weights in different places on the rim, but it did wonders. And that, my friend, is a lot of good from a little dough. By the way, I would still think it's a balance issue. Did you also check the condition of the rotors? The torque of the lugs? Uneven torque on the lug nuts will give you oodles of problems. These are all I can think of for now... Good luck!
