steering shakes - balance or align?

ITs a balance issue. You should find a shop in you area with a Hunter
GSP9700 series Roadforce wheel balancer. Go to Hunterengineering.com to
locate a shop near you that has one. The machines are awesome, and have
the ability to differentiate between wheel and tire balance issues.

In article
<4f972a311557382640c2bf1c2d479f96@localhost.talkaboutautos.com>,
"qslim" <Suckers@suckersdotcom> wrote:
[color=blue]
> ITs a balance issue. You should find a shop in you area with a Hunter
> GSP9700 series Roadforce wheel balancer. Go to Hunterengineering.com to
> locate a shop near you that has one. The machines are awesome, and have
> the ability to differentiate between wheel and tire balance issues.[/color]

Works for me. Spent about 25,000 miles with my Avalon XLS trying to get
NTB to balance the tires right. One trip to the Toyota dealer, who has
the Hunter, cured the problem.

Then bought new tires last week. Sadly again from NTB, and had the exact
same problem. Michelin MXV4 Energy Plus both times. And once again the
Toyota dealer cured the problem.

Balance first. If problem is not solved, then align.

I'm assuming that your tie rods, ball joints, and wheel bearings are
all good though.

Thanks, everyone.

- John

Yeah, I love that machine. I can't think of one time it has ever flubbed a
balance on a set of wheels.

A bent wheel rim (you got them used) COULD cause a vibration at highway
speed. I had a slightly bent wheel rim that annoyed me for years (
intermittent shaking between 60 and 65 mph) before I finally figured
it out, and replaced the rim.

"john" <johnbkim@myfastELEPHANTmail.com> wrote in message
news:d03svg$m1r$1@gondor.sdsu.edu...[color=blue]
> I replaced the wheels & tires on my '03 Toyota Matrix with another set of
> alloy wheels & tires. I bought the wheels used from someone, and bought[/color]
the[color=blue]
> tires new and had them put on the wheels at a garage. The steering wheel
> sometimes shakes/vibrates when I drive over 65 mph. It shakes enough that
> it's annoying to my hands, but you don't feel/hear it in the rest of the
> car. Sometimes it shakes and then goes away after a little while (esp if I
> slow down below 65 mph). What causes this? Did the garage not balance the
> tires right? Or is something else a problem?
>
> Thx.
>
> -John
> (remove the pachyderm)[/color]

Did you get answers? I don't see any on this newsgroup.

The shop that mounted the tires on the rims did not necessarily balance them
unless you told them to do so. You would have paid for it, so it should be
on your bill.

If they were not balanced, start there. The wheels should be checked for
trueness.

If your shaking only happens at certain speed ranges, that sounds
suspiciously
like some other suspension element may be faulty. I have seen bad ball
joints do this, but other looseness can be a factor.

I replaced the wheels & tires on my '03 Toyota Matrix with another set of
alloy wheels & tires. I bought the wheels used from someone, and bought the
tires new and had them put on the wheels at a garage. The steering wheel
sometimes shakes/vibrates when I drive over 65 mph. It shakes enough that
it's annoying to my hands, but you don't feel/hear it in the rest of the
car. Sometimes it shakes and then goes away after a little while (esp if I
slow down below 65 mph). What causes this? Did the garage not balance the
tires right? Or is something else a problem?

Thx.

-John
(remove the pachyderm)

ITs a balance issue. You should find a shop in you area with a Hunter
GSP9700 series Roadforce wheel balancer. Go to Hunterengineering.com to
locate a shop near you that has one. The machines are awesome, and have
the ability to differentiate between wheel and tire balance issues.

In article
<4f972a311557382640c2bf1c2d479f96@localhost.talkaboutautos.com>,
"qslim" <Suckers@suckersdotcom> wrote:
[color=blue]
> ITs a balance issue. You should find a shop in you area with a Hunter
> GSP9700 series Roadforce wheel balancer. Go to Hunterengineering.com to
> locate a shop near you that has one. The machines are awesome, and have
> the ability to differentiate between wheel and tire balance issues.[/color]

Works for me. Spent about 25,000 miles with my Avalon XLS trying to get
NTB to balance the tires right. One trip to the Toyota dealer, who has
the Hunter, cured the problem.

Then bought new tires last week. Sadly again from NTB, and had the exact
same problem. Michelin MXV4 Energy Plus both times. And once again the
Toyota dealer cured the problem.

Balance first. If problem is not solved, then align.

I'm assuming that your tie rods, ball joints, and wheel bearings are
all good though.

Thanks, everyone.

- John

Yeah, I love that machine. I can't think of one time it has ever flubbed a
balance on a set of wheels.

A bent wheel rim (you got them used) COULD cause a vibration at highway
speed. I had a slightly bent wheel rim that annoyed me for years (
intermittent shaking between 60 and 65 mph) before I finally figured
it out, and replaced the rim.

"john" <johnbkim@myfastELEPHANTmail.com> wrote in message
news:d03svg$m1r$1@gondor.sdsu.edu...[color=blue]
> I replaced the wheels & tires on my '03 Toyota Matrix with another set of
> alloy wheels & tires. I bought the wheels used from someone, and bought[/color]
the[color=blue]
> tires new and had them put on the wheels at a garage. The steering wheel
> sometimes shakes/vibrates when I drive over 65 mph. It shakes enough that
> it's annoying to my hands, but you don't feel/hear it in the rest of the
> car. Sometimes it shakes and then goes away after a little while (esp if I
> slow down below 65 mph). What causes this? Did the garage not balance the
> tires right? Or is something else a problem?
>
> Thx.
>
> -John
> (remove the pachyderm)[/color]

Did you get answers? I don't see any on this newsgroup.

The shop that mounted the tires on the rims did not necessarily balance them
unless you told them to do so. You would have paid for it, so it should be
on your bill.

If they were not balanced, start there. The wheels should be checked for
trueness.

If your shaking only happens at certain speed ranges, that sounds
suspiciously
like some other suspension element may be faulty. I have seen bad ball
joints do this, but other looseness can be a factor.