STILL SHaaaAAAaaaking...

[kram]

Hi there,

 

I'll try to be as concise as possible with what's going on.

 

About a year ago I hit a nasty pothole on the highway which blew the front, passenger tire. Purchased (4) new Yoko Avid Envigors. Tire shop checked & said wheels are not bent (06 WRX rims).

 

After the tire purchase:

• Car pulls to the right & shakes at 60+.
  
• Had the car aligned, still pulls & shakes.
  
• Returned 3x to have the tires balanced - two different shops. Still shakes, tho tire shop says the wheels balanced fine.
  
• Rotate tires...still shakes.
  

 

Recently had a bunch of work done (At AZPInstalls):

• New rotors/pads
  
• Koni inserts/MSI Springs
  
• Rallitek front endlinks
  
• AVO offset LCA bushings
  

 

That improved A LOT of things BUT....car is still shaking at hwy speeds.

 

Just took the the car in for an alignment after the springs settled & had the fronts 'road force' balanced on the Hunter machine, STILL shaking and pulling to the right, tho the alignment looked good. Tire shop says the rims aren't bent.

 

Funny thing now is, after the road force balance, at 60+ I get moments of complete smoothness in the wheel, no vibration, no shaking...it's wonderful, but it doesn't last. I can't find any consistency to when it does it tho.

 

ANY ideas on what to check?? The car feels great at low speeds...but once I get on the highway, it's like I have Parkinsons.

 

I don't know if the sway bar bushings could be the culprit...I still have to replace the fronts as the stock ones are split.

 

Any help is GREATLY appreciated.

[Drift Motion]

have you try using a different set of wheels?

[king_j]

could it be tie rod/ball joint related?

do you have any "play" in the steering wheel?

[kram]

have you try using a different set of wheels?

 

Not yet, but I want to try & find someone that can switch wheels for a couple hours. I thought rotating fronts to back would rule out the wheels/tires...but didn't work.

 

could it be tie rod/ball joint related?

do you have any "play" in the steering wheel?

 

I thought about that, but none of the shops that have worked on it noticed anything. When I installed the Koni's I didn't notice anything. No play in wheel...w/ the new bushings/endlinks the front end feels pretty tight.

[Blue]

Wheel bearing loose? Some bushing that holds a suspension arm worn/broken?

 

How bad is the shaking?

[kram]

Wheel bearing loose? Some bushing that holds a suspension arm worn/broken?

 

How bad is the shaking?

 

Recently had the fronts off & didn't notice any play to lead me to believe the bearings were bad. LCA's have been replaced with AVOs...the one bushing I need to replace is the front sway bar's....they're split.

 

It's a pretty good shimmy...I need to shoot a video of it, but it's probably 1/4" or more of shimmy.

[Blue]

I kind of doubt the sway bar bushings could be causing the problem you're describing. Worn suspension bushings are almost as unlikely. Really sounds to me like something that's rotating is causing the problem.

 

Wheels

Tires

Brake rotors

Drive shafts

CV joints

CV joint covers

 

Maybe some weird problem with a tire. Misaligned interior belt or some other construction issue? Sounds like you've investigated most of the wheel/tire balance/roundness potential problems. Could you borrow another set of wheels and tires, swap them on and see if the issue vanishes? That would certainly narrow the possibilities......

[Blue]

I just re-read your original post. Since you've had the car aligned and it still pulls right, I really begin to suspect a bad tire. Have you contacted Yokohama?

[kram]

Blue, thanks a ton for your help and ideas!

 

I think the next step is to borrow a set of wheels and rule out it being a suspension issue. To me, it feels like the problem is something rotational...but I'm just a shadetree mechanic...so what do I know. I haven't contacted Yokohama yet, but may have to depending on what happens after borrowing someone's wheels.

 

Thx again.