Front end shaking

[Chetzki]

This '96 LT4 had a little steering wheel shake since I got it that was worse on certain roads and it pulled to the right. I had it aligned and rotated the tires on the front and it stopped pulling and the shake was almost gone. Just put new tires on the back because they were worn and I was hoping that would help but now the shake is worse than ever. It's bad! The new tires were balanced and the shake is coming from the front. I haven't found anything loose and the tires are worn evenly on both sides. Thought about having it aligned again since that worked last time.

Any other ideas or things to look for?

Thanks - Chetzki

 

[Vettefan87]

Did you replace all four tires? If not the different tread patterns might be making this happen.


Justin

 

[JEFNLSA]

Bent rim maybe....?

 

[1stiff84]

Hi Chetzki

This '96 LT4 had a little steering wheel shake since I got it that was worse on certain roads and it pulled to the right. I had it aligned and rotated the tires on the front and it stopped pulling and the shake was almost gone. Just put new tires on the back because they were worn and I was hoping that would help but now the shake is worse than ever. It's bad! The new tires were balanced and the shake is coming from the front. I haven't found anything loose and the tires are worn evenly on both sides. Thought about having it aligned again since that worked last time.

Any other ideas or things to look for?

Thanks - Chetzki

I would balance the front wheels before paying for another alignment.

Happy Motoring,
1

 

[Chetzki]

Did you replace all four tires?

I changed the rear tires only. It was happening before changing rear tires, but got better after re-alignment with the old tires. Now that I think about it, it got bad again before I changed the rear tires.

It starts at 50MPH and gets really bad at 60-65 and not bad at 75+. I had a tire on another vehicle that was separating on the inside that was caused the same thing. This showed up on the outside as cracks along the sidewall near the tread.

I jacked the front end this morning and nothing is loose. Maybe I just have bad front tires? I believe they are original with 50,000 miles on them, but they still look good on the outside. The only cracks are very small and at the bottom of the tread grooves. I hate the thought of spending another $545 for new fronts.

Any other ideas?
Chetzki

 

[Chetzki]

Bent rim maybe....?

I spun the wheels while I had the front end up and they look perfect (at low speed). I also noticed both had tire weights and I could see they were moved (makes since because I had the tires swapped). The rims look really good, hardly any tool marks and no dents. I also don't have a lot of build up on the inside of the wheels that can cause and imbalance.

I think I will try a re-balance first.
Chetzki

 

[Skyguy007]

I'm still not clear on whether you switched the front tires to the opposite sides. If so, the tires will be rotating in the opposite direction of the tread pattern. This can cause all sorts of strange ride and handling issues.

Also, if the car's shaking "really bad" at any speed, please don't drive faster unless you're sure it's a wheel balancing problem - even then it can be risky. The shake could be something that's about to let go, such as a "U" joint on a half-shaft. Driving faster under these circumstances greatly increases the chances that something really bad could happen to you, the Vette, and surrounding cars, people, etc.

 

[Chetzki]

The front tires don't have a rotation direction (the new F1's on the back do) and it shook some before the swap. It's definitely something in the front end or the front tires.
Chetzki

 

[Skyguy007]

If the tires don't have a directional tread they may not be the right ones for the car's suspension. I thought all C-4 original equipment tires had directional tread.

When I first got my '96 there was a vibration in the rear. As it turned out, whoever had "balanced" the wheels didn't know that - on wide wheels at least - the weights don't always get attached to the inner rim. These rims really need to be dynamically balanced. When my wheels were balanced correctly, some of the weights were stick-on's that were installed right behind the wheel spokes with extra adhesive to keep them in place.

 

[taegdh]

I would rotate the newer ones from the back on the front (if you have the same size rims and tires) or else bite the bullet and buy two new ones for the front.

I had a similar problem on a Station Wagon some 10 to 12 years ago, and it left me semi stranded down on I10 in near Biloxi at midnight. (That is when I found out about steel belts seperating in the tire. (Luckily a friend came to my assistance.) I had never heard of it before.

Don't be penny wize and pound foolish!

 

[vee93]

This '96 LT4 had a little steering wheel shake since I got it that was worse on certain roads and it pulled to the right. I had it aligned and rotated the tires on the front and it stopped pulling and the shake was almost gone. Just put new tires on the back because they were worn and I was hoping that would help but now the shake is worse than ever. It's bad! The new tires were balanced and the shake is coming from the front. I haven't found anything loose and the tires are worn evenly on both sides. Thought about having it aligned again since that worked last time.

Any other ideas or things to look for?

Thanks - Chetzki

1) Check you tire pressure.
2) Check the rack-n-pinion, wheel bearings, tie-rod ends, ball-joints and springs.
3) Is everthing lubed properly?
4) Check front brakes. Warped rotors? Suspenison bolts loose? Shock absorbers ok?
5) Are your new tires defective?

Truth be told, it sounds like the alignment you paid for wasn't done correctly.

 

[redc4corvette]

Mine did that and the wheel was cracked a factory wheel and not a dent on the wheel ,it was cracked on the inside right at the tire bead.

Then when the new tires were put on a week later the rtws band broke then talk about a shake.
Got that fixed and the wheels still had a little shake replaced the tie rod ends because it would wander around the road.
Still shook and I looked at the weights and the wheels had pound on weights instead of stick on weights.
I took it back and told the tire shop Good Year it has been against the law to put pound on weights on mag wheels since the 70's.they looked at me funny and installed the stick weight's.
Just so you know when you align a vett the front and rear have to be done at the same time or the car will not track right.

 

[Chetzki]

I don't have stick on weights and I will look for cracks. May be something there. The front and rears are different sizes.

Thanks,
Chetzki

 

[markone]

The vibration or shaking, at the speeds you are talking about, are a classic high speed balance problem. This can also occur if the tire is experiencing any kind of internal tread seperation.

markone

 

[Chetzki]

Thanks Markone.

This has happened in my minivan twice. The first time was tire separation and the second was balancing. Drove great before, in-between and since those two incidents. I'll try the balancing first. Now I got to find someone who will do it right.

Anyone know anyone around Houston/Lake Jackson, TX area?

Chetzki

 

[Rogue]

You need to find a good tire/wheel shop that has the right equipment to do a couple of things:

Check each wheel if any has damage or dents.
Check each tire if any is "out of round".

Finally, tell them at what speed the shaking occurs, then have them balance the wheel/tire combo while they are ON THE CAR. Don't balance the wheel/tire OFF the car, balance them when they are mounted on the car and spin the wheel/tire at the speed at which the shaking occurs. Some shops can do this with a special device that can spin the wheel/tire while mounted on the car. Some shops can't and will go "Huh?" at your request.

I had this same problem on my other sports car years ago. I ended up replacing the wheels AND tires (all four) and the shimmy just never went away completely, they just changed frequency and speeds. Then, I read an article in Road & Track magazine about someone complaining about the same problem. Solution: Balance wheel/tire while mounted on the car. It fixed the problem and car got back to smoothness again.

 

[Chetzki]

Problem Solved!

Thank you all for your inputs. I took a list of things to check to the tire shop and they used sticky back weights and I drove down the road that has always given me the worst problems and it was PERFECT through all speeds up to 80 mph!!

Excellent feedback. Cost me only $30!

:dance

 

[G Winter]

Thank you all for your inputs. I took a list of things to check to the tire shop and they used sticky back weights and I drove down the road that has always given me the worst problems and it was PERFECT through all speeds up to 80 mph!!

Excellent feedback. Cost me only $30!

:dance

Only 80 !????

being able to locate the weights in the proper places is the key and can only be done with the sticky weights.

 

[Chetzki]

Only 80 !????

Yes 80, but I've had it up to a whole 95 since then! :L

Thanks for the reminder - It's been awhile since I've made a high speed run.

Chetzki

 

[74bigblock]

4) Check front brakes. Warped rotors?

My bet is on this issue. I had the same symptoms on my Trans Am. I balanced and re balanced, alligned... nothing helped. Finally found the rotors had warped so bad that the unevenness was hitting the brake pads. I felt this through the sterring parts up into the steering wheel. replaced the rotors and pads. Good as new. Didn't have the prob again til 20K later when the rotors warpped again. After that I replaced them with Baer rotors .