how do you know its not an alignment problem?I have a 4" superlift and 35" tires. Everytime I get up around 30 or 40 the steering wheel and the shifter level shakes pretty badly. I know it is not an alignment problem.
agreed. I would look at alignment and track bar.how do you know its not an alignment problem?
no. it COULD pull, but doesn't have to.If it was alignment, wouldn't it pull to one side rather than shake at a certain speed?
Not if it was a toe in or out problem.If it was alignment, wouldn't it pull to one side rather than shake at a certain speed?
For those of you who have aftermarket wheels and have a steering wheel shimmy, this may help. A freind of mine mentioned to me today that he has a steering wheel shimmy at 45-50 mph in his JK that he hasn't been able to fix, even after having his wheels/tires balanced 4 times. So, he brings it over and we take a look. After inspecting the front end components, everything checked out so we took off his front wheels. Turns out the tire shop who installed his wheels/tires didn't remove the retaining washers (star washers) on the wheel studs when they installed his aftermarket wheels. I had the same problem on a Silverado I had a few years ago, took me a few trips back for balancing issues before I figured it out. If the back side (mounting surface) of your wheel is flat, and not recessed around the lug hole like the OEM wheels are, the wheel will not seat flush against the rotor when the wheel is mounted causing a slight canter (angle) and give the same symptoms as out of balance wheels. We removed the washers, remounted the wheels, and now it drives like a diferent Jeep. So, if your having balancing/steering issues, take a look behind your aftermarket wheels and see if the washers are installed. Makes a huge difference.
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i am wondering if this is the same issue that i am having. brought it in for balancing twice, and my wheels are good. still get that slight shimmy around that speed. going to pop one of the wheels off on lunch to have a look.A freind of mine mentioned to me today that he has a steering wheel shimmy at 45-50 mph in his JK that he hasn't been able to fix, even after having his wheels/tires balanced 4 times. So, he brings it over and we take a look. After inspecting the front end components, everything checked out so we took off his front wheels. Turns out the tire shop who installed his wheels/tires didn't remove the retaining washers (star washers) on the wheel studs when they installed his aftermarket wheels.
Any half decent tire shop should have removed them for you. But it is worth checking. The other thing to check is regarding lugcentric rims as I mentioned above.i am wondering if this is the same issue that i am having. brought it in for balancing twice, and my wheels are good. still get that slight shimmy around that speed. going to pop one of the wheels off on lunch to have a look.
hmmm... thinking about it, i do have lugcentric wheels. i am willing to bet that this may be the culprit over the washers. the place that did the mounting and balancing is a good place, and i would certainly hope that they know what they are doing. wasn't until i had them rotated that it really came out. not a balance shake, since i had it checked immediately after rotation since it felt odd. i was like .5 oz off on one wheel.Any half decent tire shop should have removed them for you. But it is worth checking. The other thing to check is regarding lugcentric rims as I mentioned above.
When tightening the lug nuts look at the socket compared to the hole in the rim, if it is not dead center then your rim will not be centered. make sure you get them good and snug before putting the wheel back on the ground, otherwise the weight of the vehicle can move it slightly before you torque them up, effectively resulting in an out of round condition.
That was how I first noti9ced it on mine when it happened. I loosened all the lug nuts, and lifted one wheel at a time off the ground and tightened them making sure they were cenetered, snugged them up pretty tight, then torqued them back on the ground and it went away.since i had it checked immediately after rotation since it felt odd. i was like .5 oz off on one wheel.