What to check for: shaking steering wheel.

[DM616]

I just noticed today on the expressway that at about 65 - 70, the steering wheel vibrates. Below 60 it stops, and I have no clue above 70.

I drive 4cyl auto 97 Camry. I'm at about 82XXX miles

I will be replacing brakes/rotors soon (if anyone has suggestions on what brands are great for our camrys...much appreciated).

But besides that, what else? Dogbone, ball joints, the tires (maybe I just need a rotation lol)?

I'm just trying to gather up a list to see what I should check for or what are the most likely suspects.

There are no sounds or clicking or anything like that.

Thanks!

[Brit101]

The first thing I would check would be your rear tires that they are balanced, then do the front ones.

May I suggest you start another thread for your brake question, more eyes will see it.

Good luck.

[DM616]

I'll probably just search threads here about what brakes to get etc. since I'm sure that one has been answered more often then not lol. The shaking though, from what I've found, has multiple suspects.

I will be checking tires, I'm going to probably get them aligned and rotated soon.

[dc_98_cam]

Rotate back tires to front, front to back ... a real possibility.
Tires can get damaged internally ... cords, belts.
Fixed a severe steering drift on my '98... may be something like this is causing your vibration

[DM616]

I should mention that my steering wheel is not perfectly aligned, it has to be a little off center for it to go straight. This has been happening for a while though, before the shaking started.

Maybe switching the tires around like you said would fix it, having them aligned too.

Anything else?

[dc_98_cam]

... If it works ....probably put a new set of tires on the grocery list.

[Silent Runner]

Nobody has said anything about just plain old tire balancing yet? The FIRST thing you should do is simply get your tires re-balanced. If you just noticed this starting to happen, suddenly, then you probably just lost a balancing weight off a tire somewhere. Most likely one of the front tires, if your are getting streering wheel shake. With a rear tire you will feel vibration, but not as often steering shake. Every once in a while a tire balancing weight will find a reason to pop-off, maybe a slight scrub with a curb in parking, sometimes corossion will loosen them. No big deal, just check this first, its the most likely and easiest thing to fix.

[Brit101]

Originally Posted by Silent Runner

Nobody has said anything about just plain old tire balancing yet? The FIRST thing you should do is simply get your tires re-balanced. If you just noticed this starting to happen, suddenly, then you probably just lost a balancing weight off a tire somewhere. Most likely one of the front tires, if your are getting streering wheel shake. With a rear tire you will feel vibration, but not as often steering shake. Every once in a while a tire balancing weight will find a reason to pop-off, maybe a slight scrub with a curb in parking, sometimes corossion will loosen them. No big deal, just check this first, its the most likely and easiest thing to fix.

Check post # 2, a wise soul posted just that possibility.

[fenixus]

on top of checking all 4 wheel balance (really a must in your case) I would also re-do the 4-wheel alignment (e.g. in local Firestone, they are good at it), since you mentioned having the steering wheel off center.

I have to warn you though, that at least in NJ, most of roads have a crown in middle center at the divider (famous NJ walls) in 2-way local roads or in center lane (for divided highways with multiple lanes for same direction). it may fake the feeling the steering wheel is off center, you need to check it on fairly flat and straight road, maybe some large parking lot at Walmart's or so?
I would expect there is no old dead air port strips nearby (all are in use here haha)...

[DM616]

Well I think it's off center because everytime I try to go straight with the wheel I seem to drift to the right <_<.

Okay so tomorrow (if anything is open) or tuesday I'll get my tires rotated/balanced.

And if that does not fix the problem, what else could it be?

[Dave's]

I'll warn you that occasionally I've had places which just couldn't balance the tires correctly. But it usually at least changes the speed at which the shaking occurs. Internal tire damage (broken cords) can cause balancing not to work as well. That's why rotating front to back can sometimes help track down the problem. As for the steering wheel not being straight, that usually shouldn't affect how it handles. This most often happens when an alignment is done and they don't center the steering wheel correctly. Of course I suppose hitting something hard enough to throw off the alignment might show up with the wheel not being straight. But I imagine you would notice a definite 'pull'. An unbalanced tire condition usually results in shaking in about a 10 MPH range. It may be any range but if it isn't present above or below the range my advice is to check tire balance first.
BTW, I'm not a professional, just years of experience so FWIW.

[DM616]

You think I'm better off with a local chain (firestone etc.) or a mechanic?

So I'll end up rotating them and then have them balance if it doesn't go away...hopefully this works.

[Dave's]

I can't recommend who to see. It all depends on the skills of the person they assign to do the job. As for rotating the tires, that's something I've done to test for the problem. Recently I had two new tires installed on the front. Had vibration. Returned and the same guy checked and confirmed they were off. He redid it and I still had vibration. Swapped with rear tires and problem was gone. Went to another shop which cost more money but they balanced them correctly. I once had a similar problem but repeated balancing only changed the speed. Finally one of the guys admitted there was a known problem with those tires losing inner cords about half way thru their life. They were a brand name usually recommended for Toyota but it was years ago so the brand's not relevant. Either rotate the tires yourself to see if that helps and if it does you probably need them balanced or have them all balanced to start. Those should be the cheapest and most likely options to solve your problem. But it could always wind up being something serious like a bearing or whatnot. Again, I'm not a tire guy, or a pro. Just speaking from years of driving and helping friends.

[DM616]

Alright, so it seems to be fixed.

I went to some tire place that had one of those gsp 9700 roadster machines (which are apparently the best). The balancing itself cost $15/tire + tax. The machine found that one of the tires (front right) had a problem inside it, I believe the error was excessive loadout or something. He opened the tire and fixed it for about $20...apparently when the tire was originally mounted on the rim it was done wrong (at another shop...should go after them)

End up costing $85ish but its fixed now....

[fenixus]

^+1 on Hunter GSP 9700 balancing machine!

I only use a local shop equipped with that, results have always been astonishing when compared to any other place using older/weaker equipment.