YourBoyFools

So I nailed a pot hole the other day and blew out my tire. I purchased 4 new tires and replaced the wheel that hit the pot hole because it was slightly bent and was causing my steering wheel to shake a little.

Now that I replaced the tires and the wheel, the vehicle still *slightly* shakes (less than it did). I mean, I only notice it because I'm looking for it.. But it's driving me crazy. I went back and got all the wheels checked for proper balancing and they all come up fine... So why does it still shake?

Should it have a little shake to it around 75mph or so?

One of my co-workers said it could be the control arm, but I thought I would run it by all of you and see what you think.

Thanks in Advance!

Sportstick

There should be no shaking at any speed. Where is the shake? Is it felt through the steering wheel, or through the seat and/or floor? Is it smooth until 75mph, and can you drive through the shaking by going faster (where allowed by law, of course) and find a speed where it smooths out again?

YourBoyFools

The steering wheel ever so slightly but moreso in the body of the car around 75ish (little higher/little lower). When I'm driving home tonight I'll see if I can speed up past the shake and let you know.

I think it stopped around 85 but I can't say for sure.

albert101

When you had your tire and rim changed, did you have all four tires and rims balanced? Did you also have the car aligned? I would have these two procedures done first before checking your suspension. It's honestly unlikely that the control arm would cause a wiggle at speed. If your control arm was broken, you would feel and hear a popping sound whenever you hit the brakes.

YourBoyFools

I bought 4 new tires and 1 rim... All 4 were balanced at that time. When I first noticed the car was shaking again, I brought it back to the shop and they verified all the wheels were properly balanced.

When they balanced the wheels they said I didn't need to have the alignment done because it was fine. The car isn't pulling let of right... Just vibrating/shaking.

After driving tonight, I would say it's more of a vibration than light shake.. Dunno if that makes any difference. As far as the speeds:

It's smooth up until about 70 then I can slightly feel it starting to come on... at 75 I can feel the vibration in the body of the car more than the steering wheel... then by the time I hit 85 it's smooth sailing again.

I have an appt at the dealership on Wednesday and was going to mention it to them... But I was hoping you guys could help me figure it out before then so I can sleep at night without worrying what's up with the car.

Thanks again for any and all ideas you guys come up with... Thanks!

Sportstick

Body shaking versus steering wheel shaking usually (and this is all arm chair diagnoses, so add the usual grain of salt) means the rear wheel/tire assembly is generating the vibration. Being able to drive through it to a higher and smoother speed makes the wheel/tire the stronger suspect. Issues to think about:

- Damage/dent to the internal face of one of the rims which is not easily visible when on the car. Watch the rim from both sides during the balance procedure and look for any wobble or high/low spot as it rotates.
- An out of round new tire...it happens
- Improper balancing...I'm a bit picky, but I would look for a shop with a Hunter Road Force balancer.
- Put the rears on the front just to experiment and see if the body shake turns into steering column shake, which will add further evidence to the wheel/tire assembly being the culprit.

Just some thoughts...good luck!

Glyn M Ruck

^ great advice.

AF330i

this is great advice as you can totally pinpoint the problem to which wheel/tire is causing this.

Sometimes a wheel/tire can seem balanced because the balancer is not as sensitive as others or not calibrated correctly.

If you want to know exaclty what the problem is, find a shop that has the hunter 9700 ... here is the link
http://www.gsp9700.com/pub/search/findgsp9700.cfm

Enter your zip code and find one near your home. This machine can tell you if it is a wheel or tire ... also keep in mind it can be an 'out of round' tire which some basic balancers cannot determine. The Hunter can tell you this as well as it is a VERY sensitive machine.

I personally have a Coats balancer in my garage (only used it a few times and yes anyone who see's it thinks I am crazy) don't ask why but I hate a vibration and most people don't take the time to balance a tire correctly.

YourBoyFools

AFI, you are the man! My local dealership had a HunterGSP9700 and did the road force balancing which solved the problem!

Thanks to everyone for your help... You guys rock!