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The infamous shake

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Old Oct 5, 2012 | 03:38 PM
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Default The infamous shake

So i have just recently replaced both driver/passenger wheel hub assembly and now any time i get above 50mph i notice a shake in the steering wheel. just a week before i got the hubs i had two new tires placed on the front along with a new rim for the driver *got ran off the road *

Anyways, Could this be a balance issue, its most predominant at highway speeds.

or could it be a tie rod?

at this point im at a complete lost of what to be looking for or how to diagnose. now to get the hubs off i had to use the steering as a "hydraulic press" i saw some where where someone had recommended it. could this have caused an issue?? any help would be awesome. thanks


-Blazer
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Old Oct 5, 2012 | 08:05 PM
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To eliminate your tie rods and ball joints, do the following.

1. Put the car up on jackstands so the front tires hang freely.
2. Grab the 12 and 6 o'clock position on your tires and try to pull both ends back and forth in opposite directions (as you pull out on the 12, push in on the 6 and vise versa).
3. Grab the 3 and 9 position and do the same.

Everything should feel solid. If you have any movement in these areas then you will need to replace parts.

I noticed that you didn't mention anything about your brake rotors. What kind of shape are they in? Depending on how badly they are warped, the rotors can give your steering wheel a shake even if you're not on the brakes.

If you step on the brakes, does the shaking get better/worst/stay the same?
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Old Oct 5, 2012 | 08:38 PM
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Originally Posted by Mista Blazer
...
now to get the hubs off i had to use the steering as a "hydraulic press"
...
Can you explain in more detail how/what you did here...?
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Old Oct 5, 2012 | 08:52 PM
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A hub can be changed in less than 10 minutes and should come off easily. At least mine did. You also could have lost a wheel weight. Did they do a road force balance? It could be a bad tire. I agree with darkblueta as well. I would have the balance checked too.
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Old Oct 5, 2012 | 11:04 PM
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@DarkblueTA Everything seems tight to me, One thing im going to do is go back to the rear shocks and soften them up again, they where fully loose before then just the other day i wanted to stiffen it up so i changed it up to full firm. I think they maybe to firm lol

@joecar Well as i was making a fool of myself in my drive way pounding away at that damn hub assembly for about 2 hours on the passenger side i gave up and started to look around online, and i found out that the back corrodes and rusts really badly. A video online recommend threading one bolt slightly in, then using a socket with an extension to reach the frame, and then have a friend turn the wheel to simulate a hydraulic press to push the hub off. Clever idea didnt see any damage other then a scuff mark on the frame lol. Pretty sure this wouldnt effect it because its only at high speeds.

@MFJ Just replaced both passenger and driver side on the 10/3/12 took me a total of 4 hours. The amount of corrosion and rust basically welded it on haha

I took the car by to have the wheels balanced again, all check out good.
Alignment was near perfect everything in the front was ok..
I have my adjustments for the rear shocks exposed so i can change them more easily. I honestly think the rear is way to stiff. its like riding a bronco lol it feels like its bucking at the slightest thing.
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Old Oct 6, 2012 | 06:58 AM
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Wow. Rusted on hubs haha. I did mine in August. They both came right off. Normally anything I do turns out to be a pain in the ***.
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Old Oct 6, 2012 | 10:39 AM
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the first thing I would do is rotate your tires to see if the problem goes away(after checking each front wheel for play up and down, or side to side) If it goes away, you have either a balance issue, bent wheel, or tire out of round. I have never seen a brake rotor warp and cause balance issues, especially since they're so close to the center of rotation. When brake rotors pulsate, it is due to hot-spotting which will cause pedal feedback.

If you rotate and still have the issue, it sounds like maybe one of the bearings isn't sitting flush, or maybe the hub is bent/warped. Are these OEM assemblies or aftermarket? I would strongly recommend OEM hub assemblies.
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Old Oct 6, 2012 | 01:19 PM
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Originally Posted by MFJ
Wow. Rusted on hubs haha. I did mine in August. They both came right off. Normally anything I do turns out to be a pain in the ***.
oh it was ungodly, first spry with WD40 and the run off from it was nothing but rust.. Oklahoma Winters are hell on these cars from what i have heard.


Originally Posted by ec_nova
the first thing I would do is rotate your tires to see if the problem goes away(after checking each front wheel for play up and down, or side to side) If it goes away, you have either a balance issue, bent wheel, or tire out of round. I have never seen a brake rotor warp and cause balance issues, especially since they're so close to the center of rotation. When brake rotors pulsate, it is due to hot-spotting which will cause pedal feedback.

If you rotate and still have the issue, it sounds like maybe one of the bearings isn't sitting flush, or maybe the hub is bent/warped. Are these OEM assemblies or aftermarket? I would strongly recommend OEM hub assemblies.
I checked all that i could i loosened up the rear suspension and it seems to have gone away, doesnt feel like im riding a bunking bronco lol all that Orillys offered was their Master brand and a Precision which was like 10-20 bucks more so i went with them, i am a firm believe that you get what you pay for, plus they have a 3 year warranty Rotors were changed before i replaced the Hubs with brand knew OEM ones, my old ones had a heat/stress crack in the middle on the driver side.
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Old Jan 13, 2013 | 09:19 PM
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Originally Posted by DarkblueTA
To eliminate your tie rods and ball joints, do the following.

1. Put the car up on jackstands so the front tires hang freely.
2. Grab the 12 and 6 o'clock position on your tires and try to pull both ends back and forth in opposite directions (as you pull out on the 12, push in on the 6 and vise versa).
3. Grab the 3 and 9 position and do the same.

Everything should feel solid. If you have any movement in these areas then you will need to replace parts.
Not to hijack the thread, but I noticed my rear wheels have zero play when I do 12&6 or 3&9 shakes, but both my fronts do.
I just replaced the hub on one side (the other will come soon, but it's cold!) It didn't really make a difference. Is something out of whack, or is it supposed to give just a little? It's like the smallest amount, but definitely not as solid as the rear.
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Old Jan 13, 2013 | 09:28 PM
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Tire out of round is a good way to get steering shake. The
idea of rotating is a good one for diagnostics. You can have
a tire with good balance (with enough weights) and still be
out of round.

I've also been losing wheel weights before I change tires,
damn adhesive weights just don't stay put on chrome.
That imbalance can make the tire hop at higher speeds.
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