I have vibration/wobble feeling on the highway going 72 mph
it seems to get worse then better then worse again, on different roads, accelerating...but it doesn't seem too consistant. but I pretty much feel some verison of it at any speed over 72
facts I know:
1. not the tires or rims, I've been through a few rotations and new tires with exactly the same sympotoms.
2. not alignment- I've had a few alignments, again always had the same issues
3. I've had this problem for a few years- I don't go on the highway often enough so it's gone ignored for a while -but I'm sick of it now.
4. with my car on a lift, you can put your hands at 3 and 9, and rock the tire back and forth and feel play in the steering- you can see the wobble from 4 feet away! passenger side is much worse than the driver's side if that matters.
5. no noticable movement in the opposite direction- holding 12 and 6 and rocking in the other direction -so this rules out wheel bearings?
6. when watching the play in the steering, it allows the movement/wobble/play without moving the steering wheel. the loosenes/play appears to be where the tierod connects to the rack in the accordion style cover thing.
7. my tie rods are new- no change in the problem and I've had an alignment since changing them.
8. I suspect the rack itself is the culprit- it does have a little seeping fluid- but no drips. and it's a 4 banger rack on a 93 5.0 coverted car with 16" rims it was never designed for. -BUT IS THIS WHAT CAUSES MY SHAKE ON THE HIGHWAY?
9. The only other thing I could think of is the ball joint- but I really don't want to change those rigth now- I plan to convert spindles/coilover kit/ with MM lower control arsm and cannot be done until next year when I convert to 5 lug.
sorry for all the detail- but thought I'd spell it all out to eliminate the typical recommendations like tires/alignment/tierods etc
thanks ahead of time for any help
it seems to get worse then better then worse again, on different roads, accelerating...but it doesn't seem too consistant. but I pretty much feel some verison of it at any speed over 72
facts I know:
1. not the tires or rims, I've been through a few rotations and new tires with exactly the same sympotoms.
2. not alignment- I've had a few alignments, again always had the same issues
3. I've had this problem for a few years- I don't go on the highway often enough so it's gone ignored for a while -but I'm sick of it now.
4. with my car on a lift, you can put your hands at 3 and 9, and rock the tire back and forth and feel play in the steering- you can see the wobble from 4 feet away! passenger side is much worse than the driver's side if that matters.
5. no noticable movement in the opposite direction- holding 12 and 6 and rocking in the other direction -so this rules out wheel bearings?
6. when watching the play in the steering, it allows the movement/wobble/play without moving the steering wheel. the loosenes/play appears to be where the tierod connects to the rack in the accordion style cover thing.
7. my tie rods are new- no change in the problem and I've had an alignment since changing them.
8. I suspect the rack itself is the culprit- it does have a little seeping fluid- but no drips. and it's a 4 banger rack on a 93 5.0 coverted car with 16" rims it was never designed for. -BUT IS THIS WHAT CAUSES MY SHAKE ON THE HIGHWAY?
9. The only other thing I could think of is the ball joint- but I really don't want to change those rigth now- I plan to convert spindles/coilover kit/ with MM lower control arsm and cannot be done until next year when I convert to 5 lug.
sorry for all the detail- but thought I'd spell it all out to eliminate the typical recommendations like tires/alignment/tierods etc
thanks ahead of time for any help