Steering wheel shakes, what's up?

Shop deals on ebay
Advertise with us
shop deals on amazon
Ford SportTrac Forum

Help Support Ford SportTrac Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
D

Denise Hayes 2

Active Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2006
Messages
207
Reaction score
0
Location
Stonewall, LA
I had a vibration in my 2007 steering wheel. Was told the oringinal tires were cupping, so put new tires on and I still have a bit of vibration in the steering wheel. Rotated the tires and it did get better, but not like I think it should be.It is happening at any speed,but I have noticed it seems to shake in the steering wheel even when I start slowing down, without braking. If I brake, it will shake a little worse. Does anyone have any ideas where to look? The tires have been rebalanced 3 times. Could it be the tires? Firestone , Destinations. I am so frustrated.
 
The fact that you rotated the tires and you got a change does say for SURE that there is something with the tires, the rims, or the balancing of the tires.



Further, sounds like your front brake rotors may need turned as you get a different shake when you apply the brakes.



I would go to a different shop altogether and have them spin balance the front tires and see what that does.



The machine could be off at the shop you are presently using.



This will help isolate out the issue.
 
I suspect that you have a badly warped brake rotor which is throwing the wheel off balance or dragging during some part of it's rotation.



It is also possible that your tires were not properly balanced. If you see a lot of wheel weights on any of your front tires, it may mean tha tthe heaviest part of the tire has been mounted next to the heaviest part of the wheel. If that is a significant amount of weight, it can make it difficult to balance, and has a tendancy to throw off the ballance weights or just not stay in balance. The cure is to have the tire dismounted and turned 180 degrees from the original orientation and remounted. That will usually put the heaviest part of the wheel opposite from the heaviest part of the tire, which counterbalances each other and makes it easier and more accurate to balance.



...Rich
 
The wheels have been balanced three times. Twice by Firestone, then another tire Co. If the rotors are warped, can they be turned or do I have to replace them? Are they costly?
 
It depends on how warped they are. If they are original, it is rare that they cannot be turned.



Turning normally cost 8 to 15 dollars depending on your location. 2 or 4 wheel drive does not change that. It SERIOUSLY affects the price if you want/need to replace the rotors.
 
Well, I had the rotors turned, warped a little, but not really any big changes in what I am feeling in the steering wheel. I am so frustrated.
 
Take it back to the dealer and tell them to pull up the TSB that describes how to solve vibration problems (tire balance, tire runout, tire/wheel matching, wheel/hub matching, etc. There is a pretty detailed TSB for the '07s- sorry, I don't know which one- but I have seen it.

 
Denise,

The first thing I would do is switch the front and rear tires. If that solves the steering wheel shake, then you know the problem is tire/wheel related. If you still have shaking/vibration then there is something wrong with front-end and it is probably not the tire/wheel.



While it is rare, occasionally you will get a new tire that is defective and is out of round. You might want to go back to the place where you bought the new tires and tell them about the problems and what has been done to try to correct the situation.



Most Tire good tire stores can figura out what the problem is if you tell them. They can run tests with a dial-indicator to determine if any of the new tires are out of round or has any defect that would cause vibrations.



It's also possible that the vibration from you old cupped tires damaged a tie-rod end and now the steering is loose alowing the vibration?



...Rich
 
Thanx everyone. I did have the tires rotated to the rear. It did make it better, but it is still not like it was with the origninal Michelins that were on it. Still vibration. I dread going back to the Firestone Tire store with any problem. Their service is terrible, always 1.5 to 2 hr wait for anything as simple as a rotation. I will never purchase tires from a Firestone again. They are idiots and don't give a crap about their customers. This is my first Firestone purchase, but never again, no matter if there is a 200.00 savings.Here's an example, took the ST back for another tire balance, sit for 2 hours, then here comes the little guy with my keys, says your ready. I asked were the tires out of balance, he says let me ask the tech what he found. Comes back and tells me that the guy didn't look at the work order, and he just put an inspection sticker on my truck, nothing with the tires, so then I sit for another 30 minutes. Stupid!!!!
 
Denise,

Ya, I know what you mean about Firestone Stores. My wife's Saturn came with Firestone Firehawk tires on it and one had a slow leak. I decieded to go to Firestone and get it fixed and perhaps buy a Road Hazard warranty...What a joke. It took them 2 hours to fix a flat and they would not sell me a warranty because they claimed the tires already had more than 55% wear on them, but the car had less then 10K miles on it.



After all that, the tire still leaked a little and I finally took it over to the Goodyear store and had it fixed right.



...Rich
 
The front end on my 07 shakes badly when applying brakes going 75-80mph down hill. I thought as the rotors heat up they warp and that causes the vibration when brakes are applied. Does not do this around town. 25,000 miles on second set of Michelins. My shop said bushings in the front end are cracked and need to be replaced could be the heat here in AZ getting them replaced next oil change.



Bill
 
Well, I went back to Firestone today and told them I was frustrated with the tires, because they had been balanced 3 times and still have vibration in the steering. They told me that they would take all 4 tires off and replace them with a significate upgrade, ( Bridgestone Alenza ). With no extra cost, so I agreed to that. Problem is, I still have this vibration, begins at 55 to 60 mph , levels out at a faster speed ,then begins again at 75 or so mph. I had an alignment done in July, and had it checked again in August when they put the new Firestone tires on.Yesterday I had the rotors turned also. What in the heck could be wrong? I don't know what to do with it.
 
Denise,

I think something else is out of balance or not spinning exactly on center. Perhaps a wheel is bent slightly or there is something bent, loose, or damaged on your suspension.



There was a problem with vibrations on some of the real early model Sport Trac's caused by a bad driveshaft. Ford replaced them free with a new aluminum drive shaft. Perhaps some 07 models have a similar problem, or your drive shaft got dented or bend? Only Ford might know that.



If your truck is still under warranty, you may want to go your Ford dealer and have them find and fix the problem.



...Rich



 
Your gonna love this....put it on a tire balancer. I would hope that somebody that balanced the tires previously would have said something if one of the rims were bent but usually the people doing the tires are just kids and don't really care
 

Latest posts

Top