steering wheel shake

[powelldl]

hey

so heres a question? really an explanation first. i have a 99 rs and when i get it out on the highway, the steering wheel shakes between 68 and 75 miles per hour. ive tried getting it to that speed and putting on cruise, still shakes. i tried putting the clutch in to drop the rpms thinking it was that, still shakes. i tried keeping it at the same speed for a while, still shakes. does anyone know what this is or how it can be fixed? i want to know before i take it to get it looked at and then getting raped by the shop. let me know if you have any ideas.

thanks
dave

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[Rev]

It think you need your wheels balanced, and perhaps your steering realigned.

[de Rookie]

I agree with Rev. How many miles do you have on your RS and when's the last time you got your tires rotated and balanced?

Mike
http://kanedasrealm.net

[Need4Boost]

You either need a alignment or your wheel combo needs to be rebalanced.

If it still vibrates after doing both ofthese, you might have flat spots on your tires or your rim may be slightly bent. Make sure your rims and tires are true.

[tdxflex]

also retorque your lug nuts

[powelldl]

thanks fellas

um i had my tires aligned, rotated, and balanced a couple of months ago but it was shaking before and after this. they didnt say anything about any of my rims being bent. i guess there could be flat spots but i was still wondering why it would only happen at these speeds. if anybody has any idea on this that would be great. also about the steering thing, do i need to do something with the steering column, i dont really understand what you were trying to say. let me know

thanks again
dave

[johann]

new brakes/rotors

grand-am's have this problem every 5k miles.. which is one reason i dont' have mine anymore.. its no fun getting an oil change and rotors and brakes every 5k

[Foxbat]

Originally posted by johann
new brakes/rotors

grand-am's have this problem every 5k miles.. which is one reason i dont' have mine anymore.. its no fun getting an oil change and rotors and brakes every 5k

That's only happening when you brake. His problem is crusing at certain speed which indicates the balancing problem with wheels.

[Brady]

since this is a problem before and after the alignment/balance, you probably need new tires to make the problem go away. try rotating the rears to the front. if the problem remains and doesn't feel any different, you have some kind of other mechanical problem (like the brakes previously mentioned). my initial thought was just mud/dirt/snow packed in the wheel. this can be really annoying, but easy to fix.

[Foxbat]

Or wheel bearing problem since it is a 99rs? From what I know only 01 or newer Imprezas won't suffer wheel bearing problem.

[MightyWRX02]

Originally posted by tdxflex
also retorque your lug nuts

What I was going to say.

~~MikE--

[Darby]

i had the same wheel shake, except it started at 50mph. Turns out it was just some dried up mud on the inside of my rims leftover from playing in the mud.... if it ain't mud, then get your wheels/tires rebalanced. Sometimes those little wheel weights like to jump off your wheels

[2002 GT LTD]

Originally posted by Foxbat


That's only happening when you brake. His problem is crusing at certain speed which indicates the balancing problem with wheels.

That is not entirely true.
I had the same problem with my Legacy.
I had a terrible shake in the front end at 100km (62mph) when it was just cruising. Putting the brakes on did amplify the problem but it still shook pretty bad.

I had the dealer turn the rotors and like magic the shimmy went away.

[Stubaru]

The same thing happened in my RS i got new tires from my dealer (yokahama Avid) and at 75-80 mph my stearing wheel would shake but would go away after 80mph. The tires were balanced and still no good, it turns out that the dealer thought that a "belt" had either moved or flipped in the tire. This was a while ago so I can't remeber exactly what they said. Either way they replaced the tire for free and it was fine.


Stu

[klockridge]

The most complex site ever. Help! The 03 Legacy GT is grossly overweight (3600) for its brakes, which deform down any mountain pass, clutch, which stinks on hill starts, and engine, which I doubt will last 80,000. Is there any official a) fix to cool the brakes? b) admission that they let the car get too fat for its infrastructure? Otherwise, once warranty runs out, we are all snookered once again, as with the legendary turbo. Advice? Where to turn? Don't buy one for mountain driving!

[mch]

Originally posted by powelldl
... the steering wheel shakes between 68 and 75 miles per hour.

Swap your front and rear tires. Reset your tire pressure to your usual operating range. Go out and drive the same road. Does it still do the shake/ shimmy?

If no, then one or both of the (now on the rear) tires is the culprit.
If yes, then you have a problem with either two or more tires OR a steering/ suspension problem.

Take the car to a 1st rate tire place and have them look at the tires.

So, why is one or more tire causing trouble (reiterating points made above)

1. The dealer could have done a bad job balancing. In any case try having them balanced again by a diff shop. If there is mud on the rim, it will show up when they take the wheel off to put it on the machine. Sometimes the balancing weights fall off.

2. Your tires are heavily worn and are no longer round. Look for cupping or other deformities that are indicators of unusual wear. (usually means alignment problems and/or over/under inflation)

3. You could have a slipped or broken belt. (see out of roundness above)

4. You could have bent a rim. (take the tire off and check for trueness if you can not see evidence of a flatspot.

5. You have a suspension/ steering/ brakes related problem. (Not likely given your description but eliminate the obvious first.)

[Jimmy S.]

Originally posted by mch



Swap your front and rear tires. Reset your tire pressure to your usual operating range. Go out and drive the same road. Does it still do the shake/ shimmy?

If no, then one or both of the (now on the rear) tires is the culprit.
If yes, then you have a problem with either two or more tires OR a steering/ suspension problem.

Take the car to a 1st rate tire place and have them look at the tires.

So, why is one or more tire causing trouble (reiterating points made above)

1. The dealer could have done a bad job balancing. In any case try having them balanced again by a diff shop. If there is mud on the rim, it will show up when they take the wheel off to put it on the machine. Sometimes the balancing weights fall off.

2. Your tires are heavily worn and are no longer round. Look for cupping or other deformities that are indicators of unusual wear. (usually means alignment problems and/or over/under inflation)

3. You could have a slipped or broken belt. (see out of roundness above)

4. You could have bent a rim. (take the tire off and check for trueness if you can not see evidence of a flatspot.

5. You have a suspension/ steering/ brakes related problem. (Not likely given your description but eliminate the obvious first.)

problem solved.

-sF