Steering wheel shaking...

[JOHNP]

Could worn out ball joints cause my steering wheel to shake? I have aligned and balanced my wheels, but still get a shake in the wheel between 55-65 mph. I have checked tire pressure, and went back to get my tires roadforce balanced at discount tire.... still shakes sometimes. I was wondering if my work ball joints could be the cause. Any thoughts on this???

 

[JOHNP]

anyone

 

[Smokin35s]

I have that exact same problem with my 1996, tires wouldn't be the problem because normally if your tires are not balenced you will have a vibe all the time. I believe the problem is U-joints or a bent drive shaft. I think I am just going to get an aluminum driveshaft and hopefully that will take care of it. That is my guess though, anyone else have a concrete answer? I would love to know if I am wrong!

 

[stang9300]

If it is the steering wheel that is shaking then it would have to be in the front end of the car. Drive shaft problems would cause you to feel the vibration in your seat. I would recommend rotating the tires from front to back to see if the vibration follows the tires. If it is not the balance than it could be a broken belt or something else with the tires. A quick check of the ball joints would be to jack the car up and put a pry bar under the front tire and pry up watching the ball joint from any slack or movement.

 

[sasscuba]

If it is the steering wheel that is shaking then it would have to be in the front end of the car. Drive shaft problems would cause you to feel the vibration in your seat. I would recommend rotating the tires from front to back to see if the vibration follows the tires. If it is not the balance than it could be a broken belt or something else with the tires. A quick check of the ball joints would be to jack the car up and put a pry bar under the front tire and pry up watching the ball joint from any slack or movement.

If your rotors are even slightly warped it will feel like your tires are out of balance. Rotors will overtime get out of balance, sometimes turning them will help but sometimes they need to be replaced.

 

[StngStr]

If your rotors are even slightly warped it will feel like your tires are out of balance. Rotors will overtime get out of balance, sometimes turning them will help but sometimes they need to be replaced.

Yep...if the tires are balanced and aligned, my guess is the rotors. Take em down to AutoZone or Pep Boys and have them check em. If warped, you can have them turned. Might want to pick up some new pads while you're at it.

 

[Marine One]

Also agree on the rotor dianosis. For some reason, our cars are very susceptible to rotor warping. I always hand torque, using a torque wrench.

 

[poolee]

I had really bad shaking in the steering wheel and the rest of the car. I replaced the front rotors, with no luck (but waaaay better stopping). Today I got the tires rebalanced, again, and removed the brake rotor retaining clips on the back rotors. I don't think the rims were completely true with the clips in the way. But, I also replaced both u-joints and it's like driving a different car. I don't know exactly what did it, but the shaking from 65-72 is completely gone.

I took the car to a ricer rims shop, because I figured that they dealt with expensive wheels all the time. The guys that worked there were mostly mustang owners so they really took care of me.

All in all a pretty good day, except for blowing up the tensioner pulley assembly on the freeway. That sucked.

 

[merc123]

I've developed this problem with the shaking between 40-50 MPH. At 50 it's so bad that the wheel shakes back and forth at least 1/4". Other than balljoints what could be other problems to look for? I also have a popping sound from the left front on left hand turns and it's a few pops, not just one when doing a pretty deep left say into a parking spot.

 

[MBDiagMan]

Warped rotors will cause this problem only when braking.

I would start by rotating the tires front to rear and see if it feels the same. If it changes, the problem is tires. Sometimes an RFV check will not necessarily cure the problem. If you have a tire that has excessive RFV, they cannot fix it with weights, it is a bad tire.

The RFV balancer is a great machine, but like any other diagnostic instrument, it requires an IQ above 60. Not all tire store kids fall into this category.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Sounds like a classic unbalanced wheel situation.

Often I have to take my car back a second and sometimes even a third time before the monkeys will actually balance my wheels properly

Take it back and make them balance them again until they get it right.

 

[mity2]

check all of bushing as well BTW

 

[merc123]

2nd set of wheels AND tires and still doing it. The first issue I had was just a bad vibration with my old tires and wheels. Now with the new tires/wheels it's no longer a vibration, just the shaking.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

I am so pissed about the quality of the suspension, especially the front components, it is so poor

I am so going to get some stuff from Maximum Motorsports as soon as possible, some new rotors, and maybe new wheels and tires and I still will probably not have the front suspension 'perfect'.

I have had it balanced and aligned numerous times, had the rotors machined (turned) and I have also replaced the hub bearing assemblies on both sides. I have also replaced the shocks and struts. I am still not happy with it though.

 

[merc123]

I've got some bilsteins and C/C plates waiting to go on. I think I'll get them to put them on when I take it into the front end shop...

 

[MBDiagMan]

Unless you have worn suspension components, misalignment will NOT cause shaking.

Actually, as cars go, the front end components of these cars are as good as any.