Steering Shudder

[Twinky]

So i have finally Got the old rolla back together again and it runs like a dream. But not it has developed a steering shudder at speeds higher and around 60kmph.

The shuddering dissapears when you turn or apply the brakes. Could the steering mechanism be loose and allowing the wheels to wobble whilst driving is straight lines??

It would explain why the shudder dissapears on turns and braking. The shuddering makes no noise, the feel of the shuddering is like you have not bolted on the wheels properly and they are going spastic.

Just wanted to know if anyone has ever had this problem and if you have what have you done to fix it?

 

Cheers

 

Alex

[Old fella]

G`day mate, got a couple of ideas. First of all was the car sitting for a long period in one spot? (not jacked off the ground) If so the tyres may have developed flat spots. Not a big deal and they will cure themselves within a drive of a few kilometres.

Wheel balance. How long since you had a wheel balance? (instant cure)

Loose wheel bearings combined with the above.

Front discs surface rusted except for the spot where the brake pads were resting during the rebuild. ( not likely to cause wobble but worth checking) This will cure itself after normal braking for a few k`s also.

Front wheel alignment combined with the above can also cause wobble and wandering.

Shagged front tyres that are worn unevenly will do it every time. (replace tyres).

All of the above will seem more apparent if you have recently replaced front end components such as rubbers etc.

 

Thats my two cents worth, so good luck.

[son of stig]

yeah id lean toward unbalanced wheels or tyres going 'egg-shaped' from sitting in one spot too long. Good place to start checking at least.

Might not be visibly out of shape or balance but pretty easy to take the wheels into a tyre shop and have them checked.

[Trev]

Rack ends or tie rod ends, turning puts a force on them so the vibration stops.

[ke70dave]

Rack ends or tie rod ends, turning puts a force on them so the vibration stops.

 

 

could also be a wheel bearing too, as when you load up (or unload) the wheel the vibration will tend to go away.had this in an old mazda.

 

jack up both front wheels and check wheel bearings/rack ends/bearings.

 

to check the bearings, grab hold of the top and bottom of your tyre, and push/pull to see if there is any clearance.

 

to check rack ends tie rod ends, get someone to hold the steering wheel still, and grab hold of front and back of the tyre and push/pull and check for clearance.

 

if neither of those yeild results, get your wheel balance checked. (since checking stuff is free, but wheel balancing might cost, yes I'm a tight ass!!)

[Twinky]

The car was sitting for a good month and one of the tyres went flat so I replaced it with the spare tyre. The discs look alright.

I am leaning more towards the tie rod ends and bearing failures because it only does it at higher speeds. If it was a tyre issue it would be a constant wobble which it is not.

Alsthough they may be unbalanced tyres because unbalanced tyres do not necessarily wobble at slow speeds. Could even be a combination of both I guess, one fault bringing on another.

 

Cheers for the advise guys. Thanks Dave I'll do the tests and see what I can find otherwise I might just take it into a tyre shop.

[silverra23]

A tyre out of balance will not be obvious at all speeds... generally you will only notice it 80km/h plus.

 

Take it some where and get them to have a look. Then you will know and can act accordingly.

[Trev]

could also be a wheel bearing too, as when you load up (or unload) the wheel the vibration will tend to go away.had this in an old mazda.

 

Someone had already mentioned wheel bearings so I put my 2c in.

[ke70dave]

Someone had already mentioned wheel bearings so I put my 2c in.

 

yeah sorry my reply wasnt directed at you trev,

 

i didnt see that old fella had mentioned bearings.

 

any luck twinky?

[Sloth]

Had something like this in my 55 just after we did the engine change, although it was the opposite, the shudder was at low speeds (initially only starting and stopping but at the end up to almost 30-40km/h). In my case it turned out at the bolts connecting the driveshaft to the diff hadn't been tightened (or had come loose), resulted in my driveshaft falling off at 40km/h on the way to work on day. Don't know if this helps, but could be something to check. In my case it was more the car shaking than the steering, can you only feel it through the wheel?

[Scoobzd]

Since "spare'' wheels rarely get used be very aware of case and or tread separation ! :)