steering wheel shake

[jrobie79]

Steering wheel in my car shakes like a mofo from 20mph to 65mph, but seems to smooth itself out after that, other times it doesn't shake at all... was thinking maybe CABs but when I brake its not excessive at any speed.

Seems to have started when I put my ssk in, but I dunno, possibly loose caliper? Or frozen one which is sticking to a rotor till it 'pops' free?


Wicked annoying and the front end passed an inspection sticker so I don't know where to go from here.

[jp_slick]

have you checked your ball joints?

[jrobie79]

Well I haven't checked them personally but the guy doing the inspection said everything seemed right, what's the easiest way to check them/how can u tell they are bad?

[ak-]

Lift your wheel off the ground.
Put your hands at 10 & 2, and wiggle. If there is play, it's most likely your balljoints(tie rods?).

Also, do you have wheels installed that aren't E30 hub-centric?

[jp_slick]

Lift your wheel off the ground.
Put your hands at 10 & 2, and wiggle. If there is play, it's most likely your balljoints(tie rods?).

Also, do you have wheels installed that aren't E30 hub-centric?

what he said, also look behind the wheel as youre moving it to spot the bad joint

[jrobie79]

stock weaves on it, when it stops hurricaning out up here ill check the ball joints. What's the cheapest place to get new lemforder arms?

[ak-]

Blunt is my best guess.
Wish it rained in socal for a while or something.

[jlevie]

The way to inspect the front suspension is:

Visually check the control arm bushings for deformation or cracks and replace if present.

With the front of the car in the air:

Spin each wheel to check for bearing roughness. You may have to dismount the caliper to tell if noise is from the pads or bearings.

Grab each wheel at the 3 & 9 o'clock positions and check for movement. Motion along that axis will be wheel bearings or tie rods. Having someone wiggle each wheel while you have your hand on the tie rod will tell if the tie rods are bad.

Grab each wheel at the 6 & 12 o'clock positions and check for movement. Motion along that axis will be bearings or control arms.

Using a large pair of channel locks (24" or more) and a pry bar, pry and squeeze (hard) each control arm ball joint. Any motion at all means the control arms require replacement.

The front struts have to be removed and the springs compressed to check for wear in the upper strut bearings.