Rear tire does figure-eights! WTF?
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Staging Lane
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 87
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Rear tire does figure-eights! WTF? So basically like the title says. When driving the car my rear wheel on the driver side does figure-eights (i.e. it doesn't rotate on a straight track). As a visual if you have ever had a bicycle on which the wheel was bent, picture riding that bike and looking straight down at the front wheel as you do, the wheel has some side to side motion to go along with its natural forward motion making it appear as if its doing a figure-eight.This is what my car tire is doing, really bad. At first I thought it wasn't tightened well enough and the lugs were coming off, but after checking the tire was on tight. So what is the problem? Is it an axle issue or is it something else? Thanks in advance for your help.
Is it the tire or rim or both ? The tire can have a broke belt and cause a wobble , But to have a bent rim or axle, it would have had to been hit by some thing. Take the tire & rim to a tire shop and put it on a balance machine and see witch one is out , if there not warped ,then you have a bent axle. With a bent axle it can cause premature brake wear also. Also tighting the lug bolt to tight can warp a rim. I think on a aluminum rim the torque is a 100ft lbs.
Last edited by Randy WS6; Dec 22, 2008 at 08:49 AM.
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 87
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Thanks guys, kinda what I was thinking too. I don't think its the wheel that's bent, but who knows. I will take it by a shop and figure out what it is exactly. How how hard is it to change an axle?
Randy: It is definitely the whole wheel!
Randy: It is definitely the whole wheel!
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TECH Regular
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From: Joliet, IL / Virginia Beach, VA
BTW, axles are not that hard to change. Basic hand tools and supplies, probably about 2 hours while taking your time.
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Dumb question, did this happen after you removed and reinstalled the wheel for something? Maybe changed a rotor or something?
Reason i ask is sometimes you can get some crap on either side of you rotor hat that will prevent it from flushly fitting back on the axle. Also crud between where the wheel and the rotor mesh up could also do this.
But overall i have to agree with the guys above. Bent rim or broken belt...
Reason i ask is sometimes you can get some crap on either side of you rotor hat that will prevent it from flushly fitting back on the axle. Also crud between where the wheel and the rotor mesh up could also do this.
But overall i have to agree with the guys above. Bent rim or broken belt...
You can also take it to a tire shop and have them put that wheel on a balancer, spin it and watch it roll. If it rolls smooth, you have a bent axle or other issues. Pretty sure you would know if you have a bent axle (because you hit something).
