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Steering Wheel Wobble

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Old Feb 5, 2014 | 09:15 PM
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Default Steering Wheel Wobble

I have a 1995 camaro z28 A4. When I get up to about 45-50 mph, my steering wheel starts to shake. It seems like it goes away after I'm at about 65mph. Also, when I turn the wheel sharply and back out of a parking spot, there is some sort of popping in my front end somewhere. Any ideas on what could be causing this?
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Old Feb 5, 2014 | 09:23 PM
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Sounds like you're due for a front end steering rebuild. The popping sounds like it could be a ball joint, but it really could be a number of components. If you haven't replaced anything in that area, now would be a good time to do the whole thing at once.

There is some economy of scale to be had from doing it this way. One shipping bill if you're ordering online, one alignment, and one set downtime.

Inner and outer tie rods, ball joints, sway bar bushings and linkages (if they're the spherical joint type), control arm bushings (optional).

It will feel like a new car and you won't have to worry about those parts for the rest of the time you own it--most likely.
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Old Feb 7, 2014 | 07:16 AM
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Originally Posted by BudRacing
Sounds like you're due for a front end steering rebuild. The popping sounds like it could be a ball joint, but it really could be a number of components. If you haven't replaced anything in that area, now would be a good time to do the whole thing at once.

There is some economy of scale to be had from doing it this way. One shipping bill if you're ordering online, one alignment, and one set downtime.

Inner and outer tie rods, ball joints, sway bar bushings and linkages (if they're the spherical joint type), control arm bushings (optional).

It will feel like a new car and you won't have to worry about those parts for the rest of the time you own it--most likely.

I agree....

The OP is dealing with a car that's almost 20 years old, and he didn't mention the mileage, but it's probably getting up there, and parts are wearing out.
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Old Feb 13, 2014 | 10:00 PM
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Thanks for the replies! About how much might a front end steering rebuild cost? Is it something difficult to do, or something that should be professionally done? If I were to do it myself, where would be a good place to get the parts, what brands, etc... And the car has 110,000 miles.
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Old Feb 13, 2014 | 11:28 PM
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Originally Posted by 1995_maro_z
Thanks for the replies! About how much might a front end steering rebuild cost? Is it something difficult to do, or something that should be professionally done? If I were to do it myself, where would be a good place to get the parts, what brands, etc... And the car has 110,000 miles.
Moog parts for ball joints, bushings and hub assemblies.
you could easily be at 5-600 bucks in a full rebuild if you do Steering Rack ($100 for lt1 rack with coupon code at Advance Auto after Core charge)(which comes with new inner tie rods), outer tie rods ($62 for the pair on Rock Auto), wheel hubs (84 each with coupon code at Advance), Upper and Lower Ball joints ($120 for all 4 from Rock Auto) and upper and lower control arm bushings ($70 for all from RockAuto) then after all is put together an alignment (70-100 most likely).

Ball joints, Tie Rods and Steering rack can be done easily if you have the right tools and maybe even the control arm bushings (I haven't seen how hard they are on this car) but you will need a professional alignment after. and you might as well do the rag joint eliminator on the steering column while you have everything apart and thats like another 50 bucks.

You could use cheaper parts but you'll probably have to change them out before long.
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Old Feb 15, 2014 | 11:15 AM
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Thanks! And I probably should have mentioned this at the beginning, but this didnt start happening until I slid into a curb one day. It bent my drivers side front wheel up and replaced the front two wheels with ones from a 1996 trans am that I found cheap with tires. Could this have anything to do with my problem?
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Old Feb 15, 2014 | 01:11 PM
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Originally Posted by 1995_maro_z
Thanks! And I probably should have mentioned this at the beginning, but this didn't start happening until I slid into a curb one day. It bent my drivers side front wheel up and replaced the front two wheels with ones from a 1996 trans am that I found cheap with tires. Could this have anything to do with my problem?
OK, now the truth comes out.....



I'll try not to sound like an old curmudgeon, but if you want accurate help with a problem, you have to provide ALL the details up front. This applies to EVERYONE!

In your particular case, it might be as simple as the two Trans Am wheels having two crappy tires....
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Old Feb 15, 2014 | 01:38 PM
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Originally Posted by 1995_maro_z
Thanks! And I probably should have mentioned this at the beginning, but this didnt start happening until I slid into a curb one day. It bent my drivers side front wheel up and replaced the front two wheels with ones from a 1996 trans am that I found cheap with tires. Could this have anything to do with my problem?
Then, I would start with the hub assemblies first before diving into everything else, they are the one thing that can be done without requiring an alignment. and are the most likely to be damaged in that situation, also just check for bent parts.

and take the wheels to a good tire shop and them check the balance and see if the tire is "out of round".
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Old Feb 16, 2014 | 08:41 PM
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Alright! Thanks!
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