Justin Browning

Hey folks,
It's been a long time, but I have a delima. I got the wheels balanced and she did fine for a little bit, but the front was shaking from 55-80mph. It was acting like an out of balance wheel(s). I had the front's rebalanced because you could really feel it through the steering wheel. Still happening. The guy that rebalanced, said it felt like a tie rod on the passenger wheel. He said it felt like there was some slack in the steering rack itself. I am running the ps rack unbelted right now due to the belt cutting the hose, but I don't recall it causing a problem before. The funny thing is, above 80, the car is smooth. Also, when the car warms up, it seems to go away a bit, but that could be just me. So, where should I start looking. Vertex Auto has a tie rod assembly for 59 bucks. Guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Justin

BRB_85.5_NA

1. Did you have an on-car balance done? If not, you will never get 100% smoothness in the 55-80 mph range. At least I never did, and I believe others would agree.

2. Have the on-car balance done. If it still shimmies and you suspect tie rods etc., you should know that Paragon has rod ends for $14 each. Get steering rack boots at the same time and replace them. It's such a cheap and easy repair to do all at once. I had a torn boot on passenger side, so did the boots and ends in less than 2 hrs., had an alignment, and the handling is unbelievably tight now. Amazing difference. But I did not have a shimmy problem (just the torn boot), because I have an on-car balance.

3. Pray it is not your rack.

B

Justin Browning

I switched the locking lug nuts to the opposite side of the valve stem as described per a previous thread. I will see how she does on the way home. Hopefully this fixes it.

Dave951M

How are your ball joints?

Justin Browning

Haven't checked the ball joints actually, but switched the nuts and the car is 100 million times better. Amazing what an ounce and a half in the wrong spot will do.

Rock

I have this same exact thing. Passenger side is what shakes (whenever im turning right on the highway mostly). My PS is also unbelted due to rack leaks.

Justin Browning

Ok, tested the car some more to eliminate the "in the pants" feeling. The car is still shaky, but it feels like that the wheels are balanced, it is just the steering wheel that shakes. If that makes sense. Almost like the rack has too much play. I don't know how much fluid is in the rack, but I did get a second job and should be able to r&r the pwr steering system this month. If anyone has a good condition line that goes from the res. to the cooler that would be great, Or I might just by one.

tifosiman

Check the following:

Inner and outer tie rods
balljoints
upper strut bearings


All of that is not too hard to DIY yourself.

Legoland951

Tie rod ends, control arm ball joint, and STRUTS. When these struts are worn out, the tires bounce up and down continuously after the tires hit a bump and makes it scary to drive the car. Check for wet strut housing from leaks but before that, jack up the car and wiggle the tire to see if the tie rod ends or the ball joints are bad.

RMills944

some places will "road force" tires (usually free) and that will tell you if the tires are the problem. You may have worn balljoints or tierod ends though.

BRB_85.5_NA

I just want to reiterate that the 'shimmy' in the steering wheel you feel is exactly what I felt and the on-car balance cured it. Play in steering is more likely from all these things everybody else is talking about--rod ends, ball joints, struts, strut bearings--than it is from the rack or especially fluid level...? Don't go after the big $$$ to start, and you can see very easily if your ball joints or struts are gone for diagnosing. What happens if you go after the rack for $$$ and still have the shimmy?

B

Granite 944

Just curious, I'm experiencing almost exactly what your describing. Is there any excessive wear on the inside or outside edges of your tires? I have had them wearing more than normal on the inside edge. I'm almost sure I'm in need of a good 4 point alignment. Though I'm changing out bushings/balljoints first anyway (age issue, and much cheaper/easier than yours would be). Good luck!

BRB_85.5_NA

Did you put shorter (e.g. Weltmeister) springs on the front? That will through off your camber and cause inner tire wear. It kinda looks like the front of the 944 in your Avatar picture is lowered.

B

Granite 944

I was really refering to my '83, but neither of my cars has been altered/modified/updated from the factory, as far as I can tell. Just worn....kinda like me.