Bad tie rods?

[2o6]

About to put the front struts of my car on the end of this week.



I've been driving it around with new rear springs/shocks for about a week now. Steering wheel vibrations are much more then they should be. Is there any way to diagnose this? I think it's tie rod ends; I mean the car does have close to 150K. The tires up front are crappy (no bubbles in the sidewall this time) but the wheel vibrations above 55MPH are too great.


Also, the car has a tendency to pull, but I'm chalking it up to crappy tires. (It didn't pull before I got these tires, and the tread life between the front ones are noticeably different)


New tie rods or tie rod ends? I know I'm going to have to get it fixed before it gets aligned.

[Rupert]

Wheels out of balance.

[FoMoJo]

If the tie rods were worn you'd hear them. 

Sounds like something seriously out of balance/alignment.  Has the car ever been in an accident?

[2o6]

Wheels out of balance.

Could they really have screwed up the balance? It seems like I just have terrible dealings with every automotive technician I go to.

[Secret Chimp]

Tie rods are easy to check. Jack the car up, wiggle. Put some weight back on the wheel (or better yet just lift the car via the lower control arm under the spring mount) and wiggle. You might have bent wheel(s) too.

[Rupert]

Could they really have screwed up the balance? It seems like I just have terrible dealings with every automotive technician I go to.

They? Wheels go out of balance all the time. You have to rebalance them whenever you put a tire (new or the same old one) on the wheel. Alignment issues don't show up as vibration, I don't think. Tie rods, I dunno about. Other suspension issues are anyone's guess. But it's 80% chance it's just the wheels being out of balance.

[S204STi]

Alignment issues can cause major tire wear and a wonky steering wheel, but not vibration.  Worn tie rods will cause an alignment issue, but not vibration.  Out-of-balance wheels/tires, and/or bent wheels will cause a vibration.  Some tires will also balance out normally but still vibrate because of a defect with the belts or construction; sometimes tires vibrate indefinitely after taking a major hit and will need to be replaced.

[2o6]

So it's these craptastic used tires I bought.


Thanks, guys!

[S204STi]

Yep, sorry man.

[MX793]

Alignment issues can cause major tire wear and a wonky steering wheel, but not vibration.  Worn tie rods will cause an alignment issue, but not vibration.  Out-of-balance wheels/tires, and/or bent wheels will cause a vibration.  Some tires will also balance out normally but still vibrate because of a defect with the belts or construction; sometimes tires vibrate indefinitely after taking a major hit and will need to be replaced.

Besides shifted belts, it's possible for a tire to be statically balanced but not dynamically balanced.  If the tire shop only had a static balancer, they may appear balanced on the machine but in fact be dynamically out of balance.

[Rupert]

So it's these craptastic used tires I bought.


Thanks, guys!

Well, kind of. It's the out-of-balance property of those tires on those wheels. Costs $30 at Big-O to have all four wheels spin balanced.

[2o6]

Yep, sorry man.

Meh, they were cheap enough.

[S204STi]

Besides shifted belts, it's possible for a tire to be statically balanced but not dynamically balanced.  If the tire shop only had a static balancer, they may appear balanced on the machine but in fact be dynamically out of balance.

True, thank you for that.

[2o6]

Checked over my front tires today. I just noticed one of my rims are bent.

[Secret Chimp]

Checked over my front tires today. I just noticed one of my rims are bent.

Called it

[2o6]

What are the symptoms of bad bearings or tie rod ends?

[Rupert]

You replaced the rims and tires and the problem is still the same?

[MX793]

What are the symptoms of bad bearings or tie rod ends?

Bearings usually make a loud grumbling sound.  If they're really shot, you'll be able to wiggle the wheel a little bit on the hub if you jack up a wheel.

Loose tie rods generally make the steering kind of sloppy and the car will want to wander (won't track straight).

[2o6]

Well, I got the front of the SVT kit on, and I will need an alignment. I'm guessing the shop will tell me if bearings and tie rods are bad?

[Rupert]

If you ask them, probably. What's the symptom?

[2o6]

Getting some odd noises from the front end, and it has a tendency to bump steer and seek the ditch.



Maybe I should stop jumping to conclusions; I mean I did take off the front struts.


It's odd; I'll get pretty much no vibrations at 25MPH, a whole lot of vibrations at 40MPH, then at 50-60MPH they're gone, and at 75MPH they're back again. Let me get these new rims and see if it fixes the problem.

[Rupert]

Yeah, that's a good call.

[MX793]

Getting some odd noises from the front end, and it has a tendency to bump steer and seek the ditch.



Maybe I should stop jumping to conclusions; I mean I did take off the front struts.


It's odd; I'll get pretty much no vibrations at 25MPH, a whole lot of vibrations at 40MPH, then at 50-60MPH they're gone, and at 75MPH they're back again. Let me get these new rims and see if it fixes the problem.

Vibration, particularly frequency dependent (speed dependent) vibration, is generally a sign of a tire/wheel balance issue.  If the first vibration frequency for an unbalanced wheel occurs at ~40 mph, then the next harmonic would occur at ~80 mph and at speeds in between the vibrations will die down.

[sparkplug]

sounds like a problems with the hormones of the car. Was it previously owned by a woman with PMS.

Ok for a real answer it sounds like something with the tires and wheels but I would get the suspension looked at. Could be a drivetrain issue.

[2o6]

Vibration, particularly frequency dependent (speed dependent) vibration, is generally a sign of a tire/wheel balance issue.  If the first vibration frequency for an unbalanced wheel occurs at ~40 mph, then the next harmonic would occur at ~80 mph and at speeds in between the vibrations will die down.

Wow! Thanks!

[Rupert]

Wow! Thanks!

Wheels out of balance.

That was the first post!

[2o6]

It was the wheels/tires. SVT wheels (for the most part) don't do it; new tires up front with the SVT wheels. However, the rear tires have a bad summer tire, and a crap winter tire on them, so there's a slight vibration/noise issue.



I still think I need bearings, though.

[S204STi]

lol... you either do or you don't.   Are they loose?  If not, don't bother them.

[Rupert]

Did you get the wheels balanced? You should get the wheels balanced. Like I said in the first reply to the thread. All problems would go away.

[2o6]

lol... you either do or you don't.   Are they loose?  If not, don't bother them.

Annoying grinding noise. No more shaking, but the grinding is still there.