Violent steering wheel shake at 60mph +

[m2d2]

Hello,

I've done some reading on the forums and online trying to determine where exactly to start in diagnosing this steering wheel shake at 60mph +. From what I've gathered thus far, it sounds like it could be control arm bushings. I do not feel any seat vibrations. I'm installing new wheels and tires but suspect this to be suspension related and not wheel/tire related.

video: https://photos.app.goo.gl/WHHTv2Nxspuxi8gWA

Does it make sense to do an entire front suspension refresh? Any kits the suspension gurus would suggest?

Thanks in advance!
J

[It's Soda Not Pop]

If your suspension, bushings, and ball joints are old then i would refresh everything. Unbalanced wheels will cause vibrations as well

[Guest]

If anything in the front end is starting to fail, you might have a slight noticeable shake. If it’s violent, it probably means everything needs a refresh. It should be obvious: dry, cracked rubber components and lots of slop at the interfaces between components.

[cory58]

Are you saying you just installed new wheels/tires? If so, is that when the shake started?

[packratbimmer]

Mine was doing that recently and it turned out to be the left outer ball joint. After replacement and an alignment - back to normal.

[m2d2]

Thank you for all of the suggestions. I inspected the suspension and nothing seems to be terrible... perhaps a few worn balljoints. It seems everything has been refreshed by previous owner(s) realtively recently, but I'll still proceed with refreshing everything. I am seeing some FCP kits in the $300-$400 range and I already have new struts ready to install....

That all being said, I took a test drive with the new wheels and tires and I'm kind of in disbelief because the steering/shake vibration is totally gone. I've never seen this violent of steering wheel shake be a result of bad wheels/tires, but apparently that was the case. Here is the video from today: https://photos.app.goo.gl/aNPn3pTQJNpBUj9N7

Now it just feels like the suspension has a little bit of play and needs refreshed, but nothing urgent like it was before. I'm blown away.

[82eye]

what did you get for wheels ? make sure they are proper hub centric wheels and you are not just aligned on a lug centric install. i've had the same vibration occur on different cars when cheap hub centric adapters failed.

[m2d2]

The previous wheels required hub centric rings and I'm wondering if that may have been the problem. The new wheels are ESM and fit snugly on the hub! I've never been a fan of needing those rings.

[packratbimmer]

Also check out for slop in your steering rack bushings (the bushings that the rack slides in). When they are bad they almost feel like the inner tie rods are loose. In addition, Make sure you are not scooping up sand, mud, debris or anything inside your wheels that would throw off balance. My tires feel out of balance every time we get a big rain because I have so much sand in my driveway.