Steering wheel shakes when > 60 mph

[Minger]

Man...this is an interesting one. Just developed this problem yesterday, but I'm thinking it has to do with a curb that I ran into last Monday, when there was a freak snow storm. Anyways, my cars been fine up until now (except the wheel and hubcap are a little dented), but now hwen I go over 60, it shakes a lot...

Was wondering if you guys had any ideas on what this would be - my guess is I knocked it out of alignment, but it doesn't pull to any direction, it needs to be rebalanced, or All-Season tires on a civic are not meant to go over 60 in 35 degree weather.

Bleh.

 

[Flabby1]

unbalanced tires, bent rim, uneven tread wear are all basic reasons a car shakes at high speeds.

 

[Minger]

Tread wear should be good, the tires are ~12000 miles old. Bent rim...its a steelie...so hope it holds out better.

Guess I'm going in for balancing later. Should I do a rotation while I'm there...last time I rotated was...crap, can't remember. Either at 28k or 32k, and the sheet from BJ's says to go back on the 39k...I'm at 36-37.

 

[stedtale]

all of the above....


or, just go 55, or can't you drive 55?

 

[KeithBMI]

I can't drive 55.

 

[Minger]

I can go 55 easily. The only times I go 60 are on a highway thats 65 mph, or at the bottom of a hill...because theres another hill right after hill. Trying to hypermile, but its harder to do in an automatic because I have to fight with it to shift...

 

[dlloyd]

Man...this is an interesting one. Just developed this problem yesterday, but I'm thinking it has to do with a curb that I ran into last Monday, when there was a freak snow storm. Anyways, my cars been fine up until now (except the wheel and hubcap are a little dented), but now hwen I go over 60, it shakes a lot...

Was wondering if you guys had any ideas on what this would be - my guess is I knocked it out of alignment, but it doesn't pull to any direction, it needs to be rebalanced, or All-Season tires on a civic are not meant to go over 60 in 35 degree weather.

My Toyota Corolla had the exact same problem with vibration above 65 mph until I had a tyre replaced. Now the ride's nice and smooth.

Go and get it checked out.

 

[fenderx55]

Yeah this happened with my mom's car; hitting the curb probably unbalanced the tire (does that happen? i don't know much about this stuff) but I do know that her car did that when they improperly balanced the tires.

 

[NJL]

did anyone mention alignment, yet?

 

[Mon Rominee]

I was about to mention alignment. You probably toed-in one of your tires, or simply popped your rim out of balance. If it's the former, it could be as simple as an alignment, or as major as replacing a damaged strut. If it's the latter, it's about 100-200 dollar fix.

edit: If it's the strut, it's a bit more expensive.

 

[Philbiker]

I was about to mention alignment. You probably toed-in one of your tires, or simply popped your rim out of balance. If it's the former, it could be as simple as an alignment, or as major as replacing a damaged strut. If it's the latter, it's about 10-20 dollar fix.

+1.

 

[Pilgrim]

Almost certainly a bent rim. But if it's a cast wheel, not steel, it could be cracked or broken. I'd have a shop check it ASAP. You also might have damaged the wheel bearings or bent the suspension...neither one of those would cause the bounce, but it's worth keeping them in mind because of tire damage later.

 

[mellobud]

Go quick and easy first....then progress to the more expensive alternatives.


Do you have Ice or mud on the inside of your rim? check that first..its happened to me

If not ...then take it to the shop

 

[ROON]

Rumble pack.

 

[PaulMacCnj]

Many moons ago, I had a 1982 Toyota Corolla that had the same issue. The tires were fine, but the front end alignment was off (one of the front tires was skewed).

 

[Bryan316]

O.P.

Unbalanced tires, poor wheel alignment, damage to the rim when you hit the curb or damage to your steering linkage transferred from the wheel's impact. Any of these could be the culprit.

 

[Minger]

Yea, I'll go to get it balanced later today - at least its free at Bj's because I bought the tires there. I hope that saves it, opposed to new wheel or alignment...=/

 

[bluestarbass]

I agree with an above post. During the winter you get those big chunks of ice behind your wheel. I thought something on my car was seriously wrong as it would shake violently at high speeds, usually around 60. I kicked all the ice off of it and it was fine.

 

[Minger]

er...how do i go about kicking off ice if they're steelies with a hubcap?

 

[NJL]

Go quick and easy first....then progress to the more expensive alternatives.

this is probably some of the best advice for mechanical issues.

both my dad and step-father taught me this, it can save some money as well.