Steering wheel shaking driving me nuts...

[Neu5p3ed]

I have this problem, i'm trying to nail down. I have this strange problem when traveling at speeds above 70mph, I'm getting vibration/shaking in the steering wheel like an unbalanced wheel. I have had the wheels balanced twice, at 2 different costco's tire center (tech balanced all 4 wheels, and told me he got them to 0) and the front tires are brand new Michelens.

Also I have changed my outer tie rod ends, lower control arm rear bushing, and performed alignment on the car.

My axles seem ok, no rips in the rubber, and no clicking.
My wheel bearings aren't making any strange noises that are pointing to them going out.

The car has 140,000 miles on it. It's a 1998 Toyota Camry LE
, 4cyl.

It's driving me nuts on long drives.

[Retrospekt]

Your dogbone might be worn out. Look in the engine on the top left and you'll see what I mean by "dogbone" if you don't know already. If the rubber is cracked, it can cause shaking like that.

Dogbone = torque engine mount or something like that.

[Neu5p3ed]

Originally Posted by Retrospekt

Your dogbone might be worn out. Look in the engine on the top left and you'll see what I mean by "dogbone" if you don't know already. If the rubber is cracked, it can cause shaking like that.

Dogbone = torque engine mount or something like that.

I just recently had that replaced.

[Dave's]

I had that problem once. After about the 4 re-balance they told me not to drive that fast. After they regained their hearing, one of the managers offered to replace the tires. Seems that brand was having a problem with belt separation at the time. Solved my problem but with new Michelin's I doubt it's that. Might try lifting a front wheel and with a safe stand under the car, grasp the axle and attempt to shake it. My Gen 3 started having a similar problem (although with a few more miles on it) and despite good boots and no clicking you could twist and move the axles on both sides. No shaking on the road until about 70 and it got worse when coasting but smoothest under acceleration.

[Neu5p3ed]

Originally Posted by Dave's

I had that problem once. After about the 4 re-balance they told me not to drive that fast. After they regained their hearing, one of the managers offered to replace the tires. Seems that brand was having a problem with belt separation at the time. Solved my problem but with new Michelin's I doubt it's that. Might try lifting a front wheel and with a safe stand under the car, grasp the axle and attempt to shake it. My Gen 3 started having a similar problem (although with a few more miles on it) and despite good boots and no clicking you could twist and move the axles on both sides. No shaking on the road until about 70 and it got worse when coasting but smoothest under acceleration.

Which way would I attempt to shake the axle? From inner part of the axle towards the outer?

[BillGeek]

I had a similar problem twice before, and sorted it out both times.

First time was related to engine speed. Around 2800 RPM (at around 100 kph) to 3600 RPM (Around 145'ish) in 5th gear. What happened was I got the car back from the Toyota dealer after a Service. They told me it was the engine mounts and a bent steering rack. I told them to PO, went to a tyre dealer and asked him to jack up the car. Turned out that the exhaust was pushed against the body.

Second time was related to true speed. Had to get new tyres and it eventually turned out to be crap tyres. They had to replace one tyre completely and the other had to be rotated on the rim by 180 degrees. (They couldn't even fix it with normal balancing!)

Just my 2c worth... :-)

[Mike Gerber]

If you know anybody else with a 97-99 Camry 4 cylinder, you can try swaping the tires and wheels on to your car as a test. If you do it one tire and wheel at a time, you might even be able to isolate it to one tire or wheel that is the problem. I know this is a long shot and a pain to do, but it might be the best way to track down the problem.

Mike

[Neu5p3ed]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far, but would a tire that has a bulge or not perfectly round or even a bent rim be able to be balanced to 0? My rims look fine as well as the tires, but maybe its something I can't see with my own eyes, but can only be detected by a balancing machine.

The front mount I removed and it was actually still fine, so I did not replace it.

[Dave's]

You could drive mine up on ramps, grab the axle and actually twist and move it back and forth some. It was obviously loose but there was no clicking even during low speed turns.

[kento16us]

Did you check the ball joints? Caused my vibration from 65 to 75mph.

[Mike Gerber]

"but would a tire that has a bulge or not perfectly round or even a bent rim be able to be balanced to 0?"

Not sure, but my guess would be yes. The machine is balancing the weight of the tire and wheel combination. It wouldn't know if the tire is out of round or the rim is bent. Maybe someone who has worked a balancing machine for years can give us a more definitive answer.

Another thing you can try is to jack up the front end of the car. Then support it safely on jackstands. Have someone get ins the car, start it up, and rev it to the speeds where you feel the vibrartion. You will be on the ground in front of the car watching both wheels and axles for any out of round movements.

Mike

[CJCride]

Can't that cause damage , due to no load?

[Neu5p3ed]

I will have to take a look at the axles when I get back home sometime.

Hopefully its not the axles, as I heard its tough to replace.

[Neu5p3ed]

Originally Posted by kento16us

Did you check the ball joints? Caused my vibration from 65 to 75mph.

Which ball joint did you replace that was causing your vibration?

[Dave's]

Axles are just one possibility and I mention them because it happened to me. It's been awhile since I checked but aftermarket places may do it for <$100 per axle.