05 Legacy GT Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 I'm ready to sell the car due to this awful steering wheel shake I have. It only appears at 55mph and gets worse the faster I go. Car has 98k miles and has new tires and wheels which have hubcentric rings. All 4 tires have been balanced perfectly using Hunter road force machine. Brand new brake pads/rotors. New ball joints, inner/outer tie rods and control arm bushings. Brand new OEM Subaru sway bar end links. Alignment is perfect. steering wheel does not shake when braking. Only cruising at speeds above 55 mph. All wheels have no imperfections and tires have zero problems. Both cv joints are new Subaru axles. I do not have a sticking brake caliper. Only thing left to replaces the wheel bearing which are originals. I haven't replaced them yet because I have no bearing noise at all. I jack up the car and there seems to be no movement when i try and move the wheel. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I hate to sell the car as I like it otherwise. But my long commute each day is getting miserable with the shaky steering wheel UPDATE>>>>>>>>> Found my problem!! Ended up being unbalanced tires/excess road force in the right front tire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob-2 Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Have you checked to see if any of your cv joints have play? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05 Legacy GT Posted October 30, 2013 Author Share Posted October 30, 2013 Have you checked to see if any of your cv joints have play? No I haven't. Subaru dealer installed them. I had the shake even before the new cv axles were installed. Also had the shake with the stock wheels and tires. Since I bought the car 3k miles ago, the shake is getting worse and has become more intense since the new inner & outer tie rods, ball joints, and LCA bushings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceCold81 Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Ya know I'm curious where this goes lol... Hate to hear of your issue, but I'm getting annoying wheel shake at highway speeds as well. I mean it's not like OUTRAGIOUS or anything but it's there, while when cruising around town or anything under 55mph for that matter, steering wheel is smooth as silk... and it's a bit frustrating when you have brand new tires/brakes/sway bar end links/LCA bushings etc... aka I feel your pain! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob-2 Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 No I haven't. Subaru dealer installed them. I had the shake even before the new cv axles were installed. Also had the shake with the stock wheels and tires. Since I bought the car 3k miles ago, the shake is getting worse and has become more intense since the new inner & outer tie rods, ball joints, and LCA bushings. Is there play in the wheel bearings? You're quickly running out of options here. Unless tires are deformed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apexi Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 You mention new wheels and tires, was the problem there with your old wheels and tires? What size hubcentric rings do you have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JmP6889928 Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Rack and pinion OR possibly struts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceCold81 Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Hmmmmm.... Now that one mentions struts.... Under normal bumps and road conditions everything seems ok... But I'm at 104k and if I go over an area of pavement that lets say isn't a single bump but more of a patch of little bumps and mangled pavement... I get a very audible "Chatter" in my front suspension... thoughts? Does this description make sense to anyone that may read it? It's a bit tricky to describe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05 Legacy GT Posted October 31, 2013 Author Share Posted October 31, 2013 You mention new wheels and tires, was the problem there with your old wheels and tires? What size hubcentric rings do you have? Yes, I did have the steering wheel shake before the new wheels/tires and not sure the size of the hubcentric rings but I do know they fit. All lug nuts were torqued in a star pattern to 82 lb/ft. All mating surfaces between the brake rotor/hub/wheel are all clean and do not have any rust. If my problem is wheel bearings, what would cause the steering wheel and front seats to vibrate. Almost always with a bad bearing don't you normally hear them as they start to go bad? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crankshift Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Im no expert but I am curious how the car drives?? does it seem to have full power? if all of the supension stuff is in order would engine misfires cause the shaking?? not all misfires cause CEL ...although if it was constant in certain conditions Im sure a CEL would go.. is it a good alignment shop?? the sway bar bushings are all good? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTTuner Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 I think you need to stop and re-think your diagnostic process. Drive a known good vehicle with stock wheels and tires, verify it does not vibrate like yours. Swap the "known good" wheel and tires to your vehicle and see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Yes, I did have the steering wheel shake before the new wheels/tires and not sure the size of the hubcentric rings but I do know they fit. All lug nuts were torqued in a star pattern to 82 lb/ft. All mating surfaces between the brake rotor/hub/wheel are all clean and do not have any rust. If my problem is wheel bearings, what would cause the steering wheel and front seats to vibrate. Almost always with a bad bearing don't you normally hear them as they start to go bad? NO, my first front went during January, other then the steering wheel shimmy on some highway pavement, I had no idea I had a bad hub/bearing until it let go. Later that year I began to have the same issue, I replace the other hub on the front. You need to use OEM hub's on the front so you have no issues with cruise control. I'm surprised the alignment shop didn't pick up the bad hub. 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FJuan Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Have you have the same issues with the stock wheels? My wife's balls are delicious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTEASER Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 I'm gonna bet it's the only part of the front suspension that you have NOT replaced, the struts. Get some KYB GR-2 OEM replacements and throw them in there. Probably only cost you $150 if you install yourself, get it re-aligned, see if it still happens. GTEASER's 2012 Legacy GT - Sold GTEASER's 2009 XTeaser - Sold GTEASER's 1992 Legacy SS - Sold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 05's are known for bad hub's I'd replace them before I did struts. There are DIY on here. They are easy to replace. 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FJuan Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 05's are know to have a lot of bad issues. I've experience at least 50% of them. My wife's balls are delicious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05 Legacy GT Posted October 31, 2013 Author Share Posted October 31, 2013 Yes i had the same exact steering shake with the stock wheels/tires. Right after I put the new wheels/tires on everything was the same. month or so ago, the shimmy would come and go. It would even do it on braking which made me think warped rotors. So, I replaced the pads and rotors and lca bushings. I have no shaking on braking at all since. couple weeks later I still had the shake at cruising highway speeds so I thought it was tie rods/ball joints. Replaced inner and outer tie rods and new ball joints and the problem is still there. if anything it is a little worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05 Legacy GT Posted October 31, 2013 Author Share Posted October 31, 2013 Im no expert but I am curious how the car drives?? does it seem to have full power? car has what id consider full power. engine runs very well. if all of the supension stuff is in order would engine misfires cause the shaking?? not all misfires cause CEL ...although if it was constant in certain conditions Im sure a CEL would go.. is it a good alignment shop?? the sway bar bushings are all good? yes, tire discounters which uses hunter road force machine to balance and hunter machine to align. sway bar bushings are brand new Subaru OEM I'm gonna bet it's the only part of the front suspension that you have NOT replaced, the struts. Get some KYB GR-2 OEM replacements and throw them in there. Probably only cost you $150 if you install yourself, get it re-aligned, see if it still happens. I have not replaced the struts. wouldnt bad struts be evident on rough roads. shake i have is dependent on speed. soon as i drive less then 55mph the shake is gone. 80mph its also smooth 05's are known for bad hub's I'd replace them before I did struts. There are DIY on here. They are easy to replace. I'm leaning towards this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Find a better mechanic....sorry Jack up the front, try and move the tires side to side, in/out by hand, you may not feel anything. 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05 Legacy GT Posted October 31, 2013 Author Share Posted October 31, 2013 I will say when driving anywhere, at any speed, hitting train tracks or any decent imperfection in the road the steering wheel moves/jerks more then it should. Also, at low turn around speed, the wheel feels very sloppy and not smooth. This is weird but driving in rain, the shake isn't as bad and also after jacking up either or both sides of the car and then going out for a drive, it is smooth for the first few miles. I do have the original struts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JmP6889928 Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Have someone drive next to you at the speeds the shake comes on and look at both sides-all 4 wheels closely. Have them look for bouncing right at where the tread contacts the road. If it does have bad struts, it could be a valve sticking in one of them and causing the wheels to bounce, causing your shake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceCold81 Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 I will say when driving anywhere, at any speed, hitting train tracks or any decent imperfection in the road the steering wheel moves/jerks more then it should. Also, at low turn around speed, the wheel feels very sloppy and not smooth. This is weird but driving in rain, the shake isn't as bad and also after jacking up either or both sides of the car and then going out for a drive, it is smooth for the first few miles. I do have the original struts. All the same stuff here man Have also replaced a bunch of parts to no avail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05 Legacy GT Posted November 1, 2013 Author Share Posted November 1, 2013 Would anyone think my problem could be the top strut bearing mount? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Do you hear a knock sound when going slow over bumps, cracks in the driveway ? 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05 Legacy GT Posted November 1, 2013 Author Share Posted November 1, 2013 Do you hear a knock sound when going slow over bumps, cracks in the driveway ? no sounds at all from anything in the front. Going over imperfections in the road you can see the steering wheel move. going slow pulling into a driveway, I can watch the wheel move as i pull onto the driveway. I wish whatever this was it would make a noise so I could locate it but I hear absolutely nothing. when i do any type of turning, slow or cruising, the steering wheel feels rough and like it wants to bind. not bad but its no where near smooth turning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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