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30-40 MPH wobble in front end???


ucw458
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I hav a wobble in my front suspension that I can't seem to diagnose. Around 30-40 mph the steering wheel shakes and the car wobbles, not horribly but enough. It goes away above 40 mph and below 30 mph. I know, that's weird but it does. I've replaced the front brakes and the wheel bearings and it didn't go away. I checked all the tie rods and ball joints and they seem fine. Nothing feels loose. Tires are good. My friends car has the same wobble, he replaced his tires and it didn't fix the problem. Struts are good, with eibach coilovers. Sway bar bushings are new/addco. A arm bushings feel fine as well as the strut rod bushings. All the bolts are tight and have loctite on them.

 

I don't know where else to look.

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double check for a separated belt...your friends problem can be completely separate than yours. i would just go into a tire shop, pay them 10 bucks for a balance on all fours to be safe. then when they have it on the lift check it out with a better view =) i didnt notice i had bad strut links till it was on a lift
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Check the rims, one slightly bent rim will make trouble. Just for kicks, switch the wheels from another car to test that theory...you can borrow my front wheels when I pay you a visit for them injector cleaning.
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Perhaps one of your front wheels is bent ?, my brothers 86 had the same thing at the same speeds and that was the problem .

 

X2 mine had the same issue I replaced my right front wheel and all is good..

 

Best way to check is put her in the air on jackstands hold a screwdriver steady against the fender close to the wheel.. spin the wheel see if she wobbles about..

 

Or take it to a shop to do a spin balance and ask them to check wheel straightness aswell...

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I've never hit anything in my car but I wont rule out a bent rim. Though If I remember correctly this started maybe 4 months ago. I'm going to replace all the bushings and steering components eventually just for peace of mind. Almost 190k on the car. I have spare rims I could test with but no tires. And if it's bent it's a bent shp :(

 

It's not a huge problem, just one of those little annoying ones you want to fix. I guess I'll have to visit a tire shop this weekend.

Edited by ucw458
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4 months ago hmmm.......Jeff didn't you do your dirt road racing video about then????

 

 

That was pavement, the last part was dirt where we slowed down and pulled off the road. But I think that was a few months earlier. I posted the videos about 6 months ago and it didn't wobble then, I think. idk so much has happened since then.

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remember that guy you ran over that you didn't want me to say anything about that was about 4 months ago...

 

 

 

 

EDIT hows the front end bushings???

 

 

LOL You know what he did last summer!!! lol

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Checking for loose joints in the steering linkage is harder than most folks think. Joints can be bad yet "feel" tight by hand. Often you need to push/pull them in one specific direction to find the worn spot.

 

Jacking up one side of the car, so one front wheel remains on the ground, is the easiest way I've found to test the linkage. Let the ground hold one side still while you yank on the other side at 3 & 9 o'clock. A helper jerking that tire back and forth while you watch the linkage is the best way.

 

If you have ramps, put both front wheels on ramps. Then have a helper wiggle the steering wheel back and forth enough to make the tires wiggle a bit. Any slop in the steering linkage will show up under this type of loading.

 

Worn dampers (shocks) will also let the suspension resonate at specific speeds. Any worn rubber bushing can lead to MPH specific resonating as well.

 

mike c.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Figured it out. I finally got around to jacking the car up and looking at it. I had replaced the front wheel bearings because they were worn and a little loose. When I replaced them I put the proper preload on them, or so I thought. The passenger side was a little loose. Just a tiny bit of play so I tightened them up and the wobble went away. It was the wheelbearings the whole time.

 

I'm still gonna replace all the steering and suspension parts just to make sure everything is perfect. (origional parts, 190k miles on them) But at least now it's not an urgent repair, I can wait awhile longer.

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