Steering Wobble

Newbi · September 4, 2007

Well my problem is just as the topic says. My car has a steering wobble. The funny thing is it only comes at 80 kmph.. not at 10kmph not at 70 not even at 150kmph. It comes at 80 and as soon as I get out of 80 kmph the wobble is gone. The car is a rear wheel drive and is currently at Toyota trying again to figure what the problem MIGHT be. I have had the wheels balanced and aligned ...at several places...Nawala Junction.. Toyota. and at a place near Hunupitya cross road; nothing and no one fixed it. So guys any ideas or any one whos’' had the same problem please enlighten me.

Cheers

Edited September 4, 2007 by Newbi

oshad · September 4, 2007

Yep I have the same problem and on most occations the culprit is worn tie rods or steering rack ends. Mostly the wobble is felt when going on higher speeds and as it gets worse the speed you start feeling reduces and mostly felt when braking when driving around 70 - 80 kmh's. Worn ball joints also could add up as a factor and could be checked when the vehicle is serviced. Could identify by looking for a vertical movement of the wheels once the vehicle is jacked up.

gunat · September 4, 2007

Once (or if) you eliminate joints, bushes, rack ends as the problem, the only other thing i can suggest is looking for accident damage (if the car is not brand new, and you're not the first owner). Its very common for most second-hand imports to be vehicles that have been in an accident... If this is the case, there's very little else you can do to fix it...

Mani · September 4, 2007

I'm pretty sure your problem is tire wheel balance. Have you wheels, especially the front, checked for proper balance. Often times you will hit a wheel speed where the out of balance wheel have the most resonance at a certain speed, mainly between 50-90.

Newbi · September 6, 2007

Thanks Guys.. Well the car is at the agents and they wat to start off by replacing the following parts

1. Front (RH) Lower arm assy

2. ARM Ass Lower no2

3. Gromet Assy Steering.

4. Steering Rack Bush

I dont know what the hell they are but if its gona fix the wobble I will replace it. And if it does not the I guess the guys at Toyota might wana replace more parts and I will have to agree to it and pay for it.

Anyway Thanks guys for you feed back and advice

Cheers

Edited September 6, 2007 by Newbi

Silver · September 6, 2007

Hey please get a second opinion before you replace all thoes parts. They won't come cheap, and for all we know it MIGHT be unbalanced tyres...

The Don · September 6, 2007

Newbi said:
Thanks Guys.. Well the car is at the agents and they wat to start off by replacing the following parts
1. Front (RH) Lower arm assy

2. ARM Ass Lower no2

3. Gromet Assy Steering.

4. Steering Rack Bush

I dont know what the hell they are but if its gona fix the wobble I will replace it. And if it does not the I guess the guys at Toyota might wana replace more parts and I will have to agree to it and pay for it.

Anyway Thanks guys for you feed back and advice

Cheers

That is a very expensive list me thinks considering all parts will be brand new, it could still be as a lot of people have suggested unbalanced wheels, or even your tyres etc. I think a quick and easy way to eliminate the problem is if possible to swap your wheels with a set of new wheels from a friend which you know are balanced etc and see if you still have the wobble, if its still there I think you can virtually eliminate the wheels cos 2 sets are unlikely to have exactly the same problem !!! I hope you have a friend with the same or similar vehicle though ! wont take long if you go to a tyre shop and try it out cos you only need to swap the front wheels

as a preliminary test try swapping wheels on a cross front to back and back to front and see if there are any change in the situation

also the lower arms etc can be obtained used, and you can change the bushes only (if that is possible in some cars the whole thing is sealed up I have heard) there is a slight risk you might get a damaged lower arm so close inspection is important when buying used. also only buy used if there is a significant price difference from brand new, cos else no point !

Edited September 6, 2007 by The Don