bj2ee Posted March 31, 2005 Share Posted March 31, 2005 My wife has a 98 Legacy sedan and over the weekend the steering wheel started shaking from side to side when driving at any speed. It isn't as bad at highway speeds but city speeds are terrible. The only time it feels ok is when turning I've checked the tires and all four are evenly worn and full. I'd like to fix it this weekend but I'm not sure what else it could be that I MIGHT be able to fix. I had a bearing problem in my old Legacy but it happened all the time even in turns. My wife hasn't hit any massive pot holes or curbed the car so I'm running out of ideas. Any help would be much appreciated. Brian Sorry if this is the wrong thread, seemed like the best choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-2.5-GT Posted March 31, 2005 Share Posted March 31, 2005 tires could be off balance.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtguy Posted March 31, 2005 Share Posted March 31, 2005 Moved to Warranty Issues and Problems. Thanks, Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bj2ee Posted March 31, 2005 Author Share Posted March 31, 2005 tires could be off balance.... Possible but wouldn't that cause uneven wear? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-2.5-GT Posted March 31, 2005 Share Posted March 31, 2005 Chances are there would be some wearing on the tires. Is this something which has just started happening. If thats the case, it might not have done enough to notice it. Is there a speed where it seems worst? I know i have had cars which were out of balance and usually there was a speed where everything just shook like crazy. A little faster / slower, it wasn't as bad, but certainly still noticable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parousia Posted March 31, 2005 Share Posted March 31, 2005 most likely a wheel bearing is gone. Parousia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWortham Posted March 31, 2005 Share Posted March 31, 2005 First I'd check tire pressures and that the wheels are torqued properly. Uneven tire wear can accentuate the vibration from an out of balance/out of round tire. And of course a loose lug nut can cause problems too. It could be the wheel bearings. In which case you can figure that out yourself by jacking up the front of the car and spinning the wheels by hand listening for noise coming from the bearings. Also, try and grab the wheel and rock it back & forth to see if it's loose while the car is jacked up. If it is, then you're bearings are probably shot. But if the bearings are good then I'd check wheel balance next. Wheel balance wouldn't necessarily affect tire wear. Have you rotated the tires recently? Sometimes your rear tires can be out of balance without you realizing it. And then when you swap them to the front you'll feel the vibration in the steering wheel. Discount Tire will balance your wheels @ $10 per wheel. You could probably just get the fronts done to solve the steering wheel vibration. If you really wanted it to be smooth then get all 4 done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. CentralOhioSubarus Posted April 4, 2005 Share Posted April 4, 2005 Ditto all above. Good advice. Please considered that if your tires are worn unevenly, since your last balance, then that would cause them to be out of balance. It's the chicken or egg thing. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eamiller Posted April 4, 2005 Share Posted April 4, 2005 could be a stuck caliper as well, although generally the shaking would get worse when the brakes are applied.. I've seen this before. Also, I would check tie rod ends to make sure the joint is good and the rubber cover is in-tact.. Have you hit any nasty potholes lately? You may have bent something and the wear due to the misalignment isn't showing up on the tires yet? How does it track on the road? Does it pull? Try rotating your tires too, does it get worse, or better? That would generally indicate something in the alignment/tire area.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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