1991 AE92 GTS - Wheel Shake - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

stancati · 08-12-2009, 03:02 PM

hey guys,

im wondering what this could be ... when i travel on the highway i get a wheel shake as soon as i go over 100kph (60mph), its not constant ... ie. it comes and goes, and it shakes no matter what is happening with the pedals, ie. gas or brake or clutch on or off ... by "wheel shake" i mean that the wheel vibrates in my hands (enough that when i get out of the car, my hands still feel like their vibrating).

i just finished my engine swap about a month ago, i've replaced the front wheel bearings, the front ball joints, and the front outer tie rod ends.

i do need some new tires and rotors but i dont think that could be giving me wheel shake, would it?

Please, any help is appreciated.

SuperRA · 08-12-2009, 03:49 PM

I would switch the fronts wheels for the back and see if the vibrating moves away from the steering or not. If it does then the wheels are to blame, if not then problem lies deeper.

I think it still could be a warped brake rotor also, I'd check the runout on those too.

retiredat44 · 08-12-2009, 04:21 PM

bad tires on a corolla will shake the hell out of it.. especially with the cement freeways and the rain ridges cut into the cement...

toyotaspeed90 · 08-12-2009, 04:22 PM

if the rotor was that warped, then it would be rediculously excessive shaking when stopping....

More than likely a bent/out of round or misbalanced wheel.... probably certain pavement types just set the harmoics off enough for you to notice.

SuperRA · 08-12-2009, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toyotaspeed90

if the rotor that warped, then it would be rediculously excessive shaking when stopping....

Still doesn't hurt to check something like that...

My sedan did have a bent rim that would shake at over 50mph. I had to change out one wheel at a time to determine which one it was. It turned out to be the last one I changed... man!

Donald · 08-12-2009, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuperRA

I would switch the fronts wheels for the back and see if the vibrating moves away from the steering or not. If it does then the wheels are to blame, if not then problem lies deeper.

+1

A tire mignt be cupped. If that is so, you might want to check your shocks too.

RobMilkshakes · 08-12-2009, 09:54 PM

I had a rear wheel that lost a weight on my old corolla and it was slightly out of balance and would only manifest itself at about 30mph or a little over 60.

have you had your alightment checked? my friends alero had some bad shakes because of bad alignment.

stancati · 08-13-2009, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donald

+1

A tire mignt be cupped. If that is so, you might want to check your shocks too.

im sorry but im not familiar with that term "cupped", what does that mean? and why check the struts? the struts are fine.

stancati · 08-13-2009, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobMilkshakes

I had a rear wheel that lost a weight on my old corolla and it was slightly out of balance and would only manifest itself at about 30mph or a little over 60.

have you had your alightment checked? my friends alero had some bad shakes because of bad alignment.

i can not get the alignment done because the vehicle is lowered, has anyone else had issues with that?

i will check the tire weights ...

stancati · 08-13-2009, 08:04 AM

thanks to everyone for the replies ...

im going to go buy the front brake stuff today ... it needs it anyways and its fairly cheap.

The tires i will also price out, i think i will just remove the 17's for now and put some stock rims back on ... i should be getting it painted within the next week anyway, and it would probably be better that i have crappier rims on it at the time.

i will update when i figure out what it is ...

thanks again

j2b4osan · 08-13-2009, 08:07 AM

sounds like one of the wheels is out of balance to me. had the same thing happen to me with my ae, took it in to have timing chain, water pump and most other stuff because I didnt have time and it was winter. mechanic told me I needed new tires ( diddnt really need them but figured what the hay, couldn't hurt) when I got the car back i took it on the highway and BAM at 60mph the steering wheel shook like crazy. really ticked me off because all I could think was damn this guy couldn't even remember to balance the tires and I let him do the timing chain. got them balanced and the shake has been gone ever since. sometimes the weights fly off while driving (especially if they are the sticky inside the rim type)

p.s. I really dig the sleepy eyes, been contemplating doing it to mine for some time. probably wait for the swap though(or an ae86)

eage8 · 08-13-2009, 09:18 AM

either your wheel is out of balance, or your tire is messed up.

sometimes they start to deteriorate on the inside and mess the balance all up.

rwalsh.ae92 · 08-13-2009, 12:51 PM

when my ae92 did that it was because the shaft on the steering rack had play in it. pull that wheel and see if you can pull that shaft with the tie rod in and out. if so you needa repair/replace the rack

toyotaspeed90 · 08-13-2009, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuperRA

Still doesn't hurt to check something like that...

My sedan did have a bent rim that would shake at over 50mph. I had to change out one wheel at a time to determine which one it was. It turned out to be the last one I changed... man!

the way brakes work.....

the rotor, when straight, just slides right past the caliper & pads... the caliper is 2 pieces with one side being on sliders attached to the main bracket.... the bracket is static....

when you press on the brakes the piston pushes one side of the pad in and, since it's a sliding rotation, equal force is applied on the other side... when you take your foot off the break there is no longer pressure on the piston and the brakes retract from the "keeper" springs on the pads and from general physics.....

when a rotor is warped, when you press the brakes the shaking you are feeling is either the caliper moving back and forth causing a very bad shake or it is a stuck caliper and the rotor is moving and shaking on the studs... either way, the shake is transferred through the steering.

if you were to feel the same thing when you are not on the brakes either 1) you have a stuck caliper (and your braking power would be horrible since it would pretty much be fading all the time... futher if it's stuck that bad it will smoke from overheating and/or catch fire)... or the rotor is SO warped that it's hitting the pads as the warped part passes the pads/calipers.... either way, when you hit the brakes you'll feel it.

It's ALWAYS a good idea to check your brakes.... but I don't think the problem is here

stancati · 08-13-2009, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toyotaspeed90

It's ALWAYS a good idea to check your brakes.... but I don't think the problem is here

i dont think the problem is my brakes or else when i brake it would vibrate or i would atleast feel something via the brake pedal. I have new calipers on the front, i will be doing the rotors and pads tonight when i get home, i priced out the tires at $89 each for 205/40ZR17's i will probably pick those up tomorrow. The rims are 17's and the tires have barely any tread left on them (worn unevenly from the bad wheel bearings, inside of tire is bald and outside of tire still has decent tread), i have a feeling its the tires.

im hoping the problem is not in the power steering rack, that would be a pain in my ass, although the wheels are very tight, i just replaced the ball joints last week, and i made sure everything was tight and nothing had play in it. ill double check that tonight when i do the brakes.

thanks for all your input guys