[KMD]

I have a 2010 OR, 6MT with 120k on it. I don't use it a lot, hence the relatively low miles. I installed 4 new Cooper Discovery AT3 tires about 5 years and 5k miles ago, and ever since I've had a vibrating steering wheel, even after multiple re-balances. They say it's out of balance, and supposedly correct it, but it never gets any better on the road. The shimmy is barely noticeable at 55 - 60, but soon after hitting 60 - 65 it comes in with a vengeance, shaking the steering wheel about 1-1/2" so that I either have to speed up to above 75 or so, or drop down around 60 to mostly eliminate it. I don't really notice or feel it in my seat or the rest of the truck, just the vibrating steering wheel at certain speeds. It did it before I installed new tires, but I thought that it was a tire issue since they were pretty worn and mismatched (I had just purchased it).

So the question is, what do I look for? I've checked calipers (brakes don't drag and it stops straight and true), the ball joints and tie rods are good without any play, the wheels turn smoothly and freely without play so I don't think there are any bearing issues, so I'm at a loss. I've read a lot about drive shaft u-joints, and I'm close to going ahead and replacing all 3 of them, all though they all look good and don't have any play and aren't squeaking. However, in reading the various threads, it seems that most u-joint issues cause the entire truck to shake, not just the steering wheel, so wondering if I should try checking something else first?

I should add that while the tires aren't wearing unevenly, I probably need an alignment, or at least getting the steering angle sensor reset/recalibrated since the VDC and Slip lights are always on and never go out. Reading elsewhere that means getting the alignment checked and having these sensors reset and the faults cleared (or something like that, going from memory). Is it possible that this could be causing an issue?

Or did I possibly get a bad tire or something? Maybe I should take it somewhere else to try to get the tires balanced. I have a Big-O, Discount Tire, Pep Boys and a Firestone store near me for balancing. Are any of these any good for alignments or am I better off taking it to the stealership, which is a lot further for the alignment? Big O says that they can reset the sensors, but I'm not sure if their systems are trustworthy, for alignments.

I should have dealt with it a long time ago, but due to limited usage, mostly at lower speeds, I've just let it go, so too late to take them back and ask for other tires. I'm an experienced mechanic, so changing the u-joints isn't an issue, just not sure that'll even fix it.

 

[Jard]

Take it to a different shop.
Have them balance the tires.

 

[Brian086]

Have you tried swapping the wheels front to back to isolate the issue to a particular tire?

But yes, first thing is tire balance. Defective or damaged tires are a thing that happens occasionally. Bent wheels are also a thing that happens )not often on X's with tall gnarly sidewalls). It's also possible to have a bent or damaged hub/wheel bearing. There are also a bunch of ball joints and bushings up there that can be magnifying/resonating with a balance problem.

 

[KMD]

Yes, I had them switch tires front to back and it didn't make any difference at all, so while it certainly seems like a tire balance issue, given the steering wheel shimmy, the fact that rotating the tires didn't make any difference seems to point to something else. Getting them balanced by another shop seems to be the best first step just to see what they come up with, though given that they've been balanced 3 times (4 with the initial balance) I'm not optimistic that it'll help.

I will note that I haven't run it on a nice, smooth road, so given the generally rough surface condition of most paved roads around here it's possible that the truck is also vibrating but it isn't all that noticeable due to generally rather rough roads in a truck. What is very noticeable is the shaking steering wheel, which points to front wheels or front suspension, though I find it interesting that it's very speed specific.

 

[RamTest]

I installed 4 new Cooper Discovery AT3 tires about 5 years and 5k miles ago, and ever since I've had a vibrating steering wheel...

Have a helper turn the steering back and forth with front wheels on the ground, while you are underneath looking for something loose.
Tie rods, steering rack mount bushings, control arm bushings, ball joints, hubs... NO freeplay allowed.

 

[Brian086]

I'd be looking for loose rubber or loose bolts.

Is the rack itself moving? Rubber bushings on the control rods? Blown shock mounts?

 

[bluez]

Also have a shop road force it

 

[KMD]

What does "road force it" mean? I've not heard that term before. Or maybe you mean taking it for a test drive? If so, I definitely agree, as most places just balance and throw them back on and release the vehicle.

 

[Just a Hunter]

Factory rims or aftermarket?

 

[KMD]

Factory 17" 6 spoke wheels.

 

[Pointboy]

Last year I chased a shaking steering wheel problem for at least six months. During that time I had the tires balanced and rotated, alignment checked, all suspension items checked, etc... but never found a problem. I always noticed that the shaking was worse the hotter it was outside, we had a hot summer and on 100 degree days it was pretty bad but in the morning almost non existent. It also never rained during the summer and I mention this because this is what led me to figuring my problem out. When it finally rained i noticed that my truck would pull to the left when applying the brakes. Turned out that the LF brake caliper was sticking and dragging on the wheel, it wasn't bad but enough to cause the steering wheel to shake. I replaced the caliper and the shaking was gone!! Maybe not what is going on with you but wanted to post incase someone runs into the same issue.

 

[KMD]

I'd be looking for loose rubber or loose bolts.

Is the rack itself moving? Rubber bushings on the control rods? Blown shock mounts?

I jacked up the front end and there isn't any play in the ball joints, tie rods, steering rack, shock mounts, etc, and both wheels spin freely and smoothly. I used a crow bar to try to force movement in the ball joints and they're all tight. The shocks mounts are all good too, and as far as I know, the shocks are good. They certainly don't bounce at all (Bilstein's, which I think may be the original ones, they're painted yellow). Even bad shocks shouldn't cause that.

I have an appointment next week at a completely different local independent repair shop, who says he has a recently calibrated dynamic balancing machine that can do wheels up to 17", but not larger. Tire's aren't his main business, but I've not been too impressed with the quality of the people working at the big chains like Big-O or Discount Tire. Quality help is really hard to find, so I figure an independent guy that actually owns the business will probably do a much better job, hopefully, and take the time to make sure it's done properly, plus test driving it to make sure it's been fixed rather than just depending solely on the machine and slapping the wheels back on the truck.

 

[KMD]

Last year I chased a shaking steering wheel problem for at least six months. During that time I had the tires balanced and rotated, alignment checked, all suspension items checked, etc... but never found a problem. I always noticed that the shaking was worse the hotter it was outside, we had a hot summer and on 100 degree days it was pretty bad but in the morning almost non existent. It also never rained during the summer and I mention this because this is what led me to figuring my problem out. When it finally rained i noticed that my truck would pull to the left when applying the brakes. Turned out that the LF brake caliper was sticking and dragging on the wheel, it wasn't bad but enough to cause the steering wheel to shake. I replaced the caliper and the shaking was gone!! Maybe not what is going on with you but wanted to post incase someone runs into the same issue.

Interesting... I don't think that's an issue, but I suppose that it's possible. There isn't any unusual drag when things are cold, but I suppose the better option would be to drive it to heat the brakes up, and immediately jack it up and see if either side is dragging. Also, at that point if one rotor is a lot hotter than the other, it would definitely point to excessive drag on that side. I'll try that sometime this week, so thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Discount Tire]

I jacked up the front end and there isn't any play in the ball joints, tie rods, steering rack, shock mounts, etc, and both wheels spin freely and smoothly. I used a crow bar to try to force movement in the ball joints and they're all tight. The shocks mounts are all good too, and as far as I know, the shocks are good. They certainly don't bounce at all (Bilstein's, which I think may be the original ones, they're painted yellow). Even bad shocks shouldn't cause that.

I have an appointment next week at a completely different local independent repair shop, who says he has a recently calibrated dynamic balancing machine that can do wheels up to 17", but not larger. Tire's aren't his main business, but I've not been too impressed with the quality of the people working at the big chains like Big-O or Discount Tire. Quality help is really hard to find, so I figure an independent guy that actually owns the business will probably do a much better job, hopefully, and take the time to make sure it's done properly, plus test driving it to make sure it's been fixed rather than just depending solely on the machine and slapping the wheels back on the truck.

Our hope is that the local Independent Repair Shop is able to fix your vibration. Discount Tire has the Coats, Road Force balancers, and if requested, will utilize that feature on the machine to detect any abnormalities in the tire. Some tires can be rotated on the wheel to reduce road force, and others could potentially fail with excessive road force and need to be replaced all together. Either way, if its a tire issue, we can find it.

 

[KMD]

Our hope is that the local Independent Repair Shop is able to fix your vibration. Discount Tire has the Coats, Road Force balancers, and if requested, will utilize that feature on the machine to detect any abnormalities in the tire. Some tires can be rotated on the wheel to reduce road force, and others could potentially fail with excessive road force and need to be replaced all together. Either way, if its a tire issue, they can find it.

Oh, that's interesting. So what exactly is "road force"? I take it that's a type of balancing that's only available on specific balancing machines? Does it simulate actual weight on the tire as if driving down the road, such as by spinning the wheel against a rotating cylinder?

 

[RamTest]

It did it before I installed new tires ... I have an appointment next week at a completely different local independent repair shop, who says he has a recently calibrated dynamic balancing machine that can do wheels up to 17", but not larger.

I think you're wasting your time and money with more balancing.
The old tires did it, the new ones also do it, and have been balanced, then rotated front to rear, so if there was a defective or out of balance tire or wheel, it would have been obvious. The steering wheel moving 1-1/2 inches is significant. Have him first recheck steering and suspension components.
This is a mechanical issue in the front steering/suspension/hubs, 99.999%.

 

[Discount Tire]

Oh, that's interesting. So what exactly is "road force"? I take it that's a type of balancing that's only available on specific balancing machines? Does it simulate actual weight on the tire as if driving down the road, such as by spinning the wheel against a rotating cylinder?

Absolutely, there is a drum that simulates the road and presses against the tire to measure the amount of force the tire is exerting. But I do believe what @RamTest is saying. I was simply offering a tire solution for any future issues that may occur.

 

[KMD]

Absolutely, there is a drum that simulates the road and presses against the tire to measure the amount of force the tire is exerting. But I do believe what @RamTest is saying. I was simply offering a tire solution for any future issues that may occur.

Thanks, that's greatly appreciated. I have not seen or used this balancing method before, and wasn't familiar with it. I can see that this could potentially change things, in particular, providing data on more real life type conditions and what actually happens when driving down the road.

How fast (MPH) do tire balancers actually spin tires? To me it always seems like the speeds are pretty low, say around 20 MPH, rather than spinning them at actual common road speeds.

 

[RamTest]

To me it always seems like the speeds are pretty low, say around 20 MPH, rather than spinning them at actual common road speeds.

If your tire is out of balance, it's out of balance just as much at 20 mph as it is at 60 mph.

 

[KMD]

If your tire is out of balance, it's out of balance just as much at 20 mph as it is at 60 mph.

True, though out of balance wheels are often not very obvious at low speeds. Vibrations are greatly magnified at higher rotational speeds, generally (possibly squared as a function of speed (hey, I'm no math expert!)), so depending on the sensitivity of the machine (which I don't know anything about), higher rotational speeds would seem to do a better job of verifying that the tires are in fact properly balanced. Of course, that takes more time, both to ramp up and slow down, plus probably more danger in case something flies off the wheel.