Steering wheel shaking at 70+ mph

[blackout51]

It started about a month ago and just got my wheels balanced and aligned today, but when I got back on the highway it was still shaking...I have also had the front u-joint replaced recently because it was loose when I pulled on it, any ideas what could be causing the shaking? When I lift the truck up everything feels tight when I rock the wheel. One more note is that I need new motor mounts and still haven't gotten around to replacing them, could this cause the shaking?

 

[CaptainXL]

High speed related vibration can only mean one thing. Something is not balanced right. Either the tire balance was done incorrectly or your tires have mild flat spots ( out of round) or the tires are just cheap.

Another thing to think about is your shocks. How old are they?

 

[tbuckalew14]

Are they new tires? Could be a broken tire belt?

 

[blackout51]

High speed related vibration can only mean one thing. Something is not balanced right. Either the tire balance was done incorrectly or your tires have mild flat spots ( out of round) or the tires are just cheap.

Another thing to think about is your shocks. How old are they?

Well they're not cheap tires, I trust the shop that balanced them, and I don't see any flat spots on them. The shocks however I don't know the age, I know I need new front ones really bad because I can lift and push down the front end easily with my hands and I just changed the rear ones a few months ago which we're pretty bad.

 

[blackout51]

Are they new tires? Could be a broken tire belt?

No they're not new, they look to be at about 50% tread compared to the ones on my moms envoy which are the same exact tire she just got brand new two months ago, wouldn't the shop have known it was a bad tire when they were balancing it?

 

[Jkust]

Sounds like a bad tire...I've been living with this issue for a while now. Over 65ish mph and the wheel shakes but I can hear the bad tire with every revolution while going slower. Its my front right tire and I can't see anything wrong visually but it clearly is. I'm due for new tires by spring time but the 9-7's low profile tires are expensive and I hate spending money.

 

[blackout51]

Sounds like a bad tire...I've been living with this issue for a while now. Over 65ish mph and the wheel shakes but I can hear the bad tire with every revolution while going slower. Its my front right tire and I can't see anything wrong visually but it clearly is. I'm due for new tires by spring time but the 9-7's low profile tires are expensive and I hate spending money.

Well maybe that'll be my reason to get new tires by summer, my brother got some bfg a/t ko's I have been jealous of, will it cause any extra damage leaving it?

 

[Jkust]

Well, the problem I suppose is since we don't know what the actual problem is there is always the chance of the tire failing.
Also then take a look around at the interior parts shaking from the vibration...I've gotta think stuff vibrating loose and making noises over bumps even after you do get the tires fixed is a possibility. You can always pop the spare on and figure out which tire is the bad one or if there isn't a bad one and it is something else. The idea of spending 1200 dollars on even mediocre tires just bothers me especially since two of them have decent tread left and two are close to the end.

 

[meerschm]

if your shocks are shot, your tires will shake, and scallop the inside fronts. only took mine a thousand miles to put a very noticeable cup on the inside (which now sing to me on the road)

If it shakes, and you do not fix it. the tires will tell you.

of course you will want to fix this before putting new tires on.

 

[CaptainXL]

if your shocks are shot, your tires will shake, and scallop the inside fronts. only took mine a thousand miles to put a very noticeable cup on the inside (which now sing to me on the road)

If it shakes, and you do not fix it. the tires will tell you.

of course you will want to fix this before putting new tires on.

Is scalloped the same as cupped? Cause there is a ton of info out there about how cupped tires are the result of bad shocks

 

[blackout51]

if your shocks are shot, your tires will shake, and scallop the inside fronts. only took mine a thousand miles to put a very noticeable cup on the inside (which now sing to me on the road)

If it shakes, and you do not fix it. the tires will tell you.

of course you will want to fix this before putting new tires on.

Well I do know that the inside tread has worn more then the outside tread

 

[MAY03LT]

You can always pop the spare on and figure out which tire is the bad one or if there isn't a bad one and it is something else.

wouldn't the shop have known it was a bad tire when they were balancing it?

Not necessarily. The antique balancers do only that - balance the wheel/tire assemblies. They can't detect flat spots or broken/shifted belts. My work has a hunter gsp9700 which also measures road force, wheel runout, etc. If something is out of whack, it even narrows the problem down to the wheel or tire.

 

[meerschm]

Is scalloped the same as cupped? Cause there is a ton of info out there about how cupped tires are the result of bad shocks

cupped is probably the word I wanted, must have been hungry when I posted.

the point is, if the shocks are shot, the tires will be eaten for dinner.

this summer my original 2003 shocks gave up the ghost, (with only 140,000 miles on them) i drove from VA to Cape Cod then to see my son in Scotia NY, and stopped at the local firestone. ( I have a lifetime balance rotate and allignment) they balanced and rotated the tires, said the alignment was fine, and said the ride problem was out of balance tires. on the ride from Scotia NY back to VA, the ride was ok at first, but was back to the vibration well before I got home. now I have four tires which hum at me, with the inside edges which have the first row of tread sculpted into wedges.

the firestone place did say I needed shocks, but I did not want to pay the the grand or so they estimated. ( included sway bar links too) If they had leveled with me that the shocks were eating the tires, i at least would have had them not rotate, so I would have two nasty tires, instead of four. if the salesperson/service writer was on the ball, I might have let them do the install, but now I just know they are incompetent.

I did change the shocks, struts, and a few other items (having had lots of fun in the process) now the ride is ok, but the tires still sing. they have lots of tread, so it is hard for me to change them just for the noise. perhaps next year.

 

[meerschm]

Well I do know that the inside tread has worn more then the outside tread

if it is even wear, you could have an alignment issue to deal with too.

 

[blackout51]

cupped is probably the word I wanted, must have been hungry when I posted.

the point is, if the shocks are shot, the tires will be eaten for dinner.

this summer my original 2003 shocks gave up the ghost, (with only 140,000 miles on them) i drove from VA to Cape Cod then to see my son in Scotia NY, and stopped at the local firestone. ( I have a lifetime balance rotate and allignment) they balanced and rotated the tires, said the alignment was fine, and said the ride problem was out of balance tires. on the ride from Scotia NY back to VA, the ride was ok at first, but was back to the vibration well before I got home. now I have four tires which hum at me, with the inside edges which have the first row of tread sculpted into wedges.

the firestone place did say I needed shocks, but I did not want to pay the the grand or so they estimated. ( included sway bar links too) If they had leveled with me that the shocks were eating the tires, i at least would have had them not rotate, so I would have two nasty tires, instead of four. if the salesperson/service writer was on the ball, I might have let them do the install, but now I just know they are incompetent.

I did change the shocks, struts, and a few other items (having had lots of fun in the process) now the ride is ok, but the tires still sing. they have lots of tread, so it is hard for me to change them just for the noise. perhaps next year.

Well they aren't making noise yet, since I know I need ball joints and shocks ill be doing a whole big job this weekend, hopefully this will keep me from ruining a still good set of tires. Since it doesn't shake at 60 guess I'll be taking it slow for a few days

 

[meerschm]

Well they aren't making noise yet, since I know I need ball joints and shocks ill be doing a whole big job this weekend, hopefully this will keep me from ruining a still good set of tires. Since it doesn't shake at 60 guess I'll be taking it slow for a few days

Good Idea to fix what is wrong. make sure you get an alignment after the suspension work.

My sound is a little like running snow tires.

 

[blackout51]

Well I changed the shocks and ball joints and it is still there, and it feels almost like its gotten worse, it's a deffinite shaking in only the steering wheel. As soon as I drop below 70 it completely goes away

 

[JB100]

Possible bad CV shaft? My Kia had a bad vibration at 60+ MPH. Turns out it was bad CV shafts. Now its smooth as silk on the highway. Just a thought.

 

[blackout51]

Possible bad CV shaft? My Kia had a bad vibration at 60+ MPH. Turns out it was bad CV shafts. Now its smooth as silk on the highway. Just a thought.

How would I check that? The last time I was down there, which was like 2 weeks ago, the boots were good and there wasn't any grease anywhere it shouldn't be

 

[blackout51]

The thing I'm concerned about is either tires or hub bearings, the tires are probably 5 outer tread and 30 inner tread by now

 

[blackout51]

Could the shaking be due to my upper control arm bushings being highly deteriorated? I'd think that would show more of the time than just over 70 though.