Steering wheel shakes

[Mishakol129]

Happy new year guys. My accords steering wheel shakes at 55-65 mph speeds. It has brand new tires and was aligned not to long ago. I also recently installed new outer tie rods. My concern is that I may not have installed the tie rods in the same place that they were before, I did not mark them with a sharpie. Would that have caused the steering wheel to shake or vibrate? If so and they are not adjusted right, how would I know where the correct adjustment is?


If its not that they its probably just out of alignment, but that is my main concern, are the tie rods out of adjustment or alignment?


Thanks guys, drive safe.

[Fleetw00d]

GET ANOTHER ALIGNMENT! If you simply replaced the outer tie rods after the alignment without attempting to very closely duplicate the position/length before removal, then your toe adjustment (how parallel the front tires are) is probably off (tie rods should have been replaced before the alignment), so the tires are fighting each other for directional control. A crude measurement would be to check the distance between the same ribs on the tire tread as best you can on the front and back of the front tires. If these distances are different, the tires aren't parallel.

I would hope that the tire shop would have noticed a bent wheel when balancing the tires (assuming they were balanced).

[oyajicool]

More than likely the tire balance is out of, well, balance.

If it pulls to left or right, I would say to check the alignment as well.

[Mishakol129]

GET ANOTHER ALIGNMENT! If you simply replaced the outer tie rods after the alignment without attempting to very closely duplicate the position/length before removal, then your toe adjustment (how parallel the front tires are) is probably off (tie rods should have been replaced before the alignment), so the tires are fighting each other for directional control. A crude measurement would be to check the distance between the same ribs on the tire tread as best you can on the front and back of the front tires. If these distances are different, the tires aren't parallel.

I would hope that the tire shop would have noticed a bent wheel when balancing the tires (assuming they were balanced).

I didn't replace the tie rods after the alignment but before it. I tried to adjust them with my fingernail by feeling the threads, I counted them.

And oyijacool, I had them balanced when I got new one's from wal mart. The car doesn't pull to the left or the right, the wheel just shakes. Its not a terrible vibration just enough to warrant a fix.

[oyajicool]

If the balance wight is dislodged from a tire, it doesn't matter it was balanced yesterday. The tire will be out of balance today.

[Mishakol129]

If the balance wight is dislodged from a tire, it doesn't matter it was balanced yesterday. The tire will be out of balance today.

I just drove it and the shaking problem is intermittent, it does it only sometimes. But i'll check if the weight is still on there.

[H311RA151N]

You can mark the threads with a sharpie or fingernail polish, or count the threads and that will get you close. But you still need an alignment.

The steering wheel shaking isnt due to an alignment problem. Its normally a tire out of balance.

I have had problems throwing weights off my factory wheels so you might want to check to see if your wheel weights are all still on.

When that happens my steering wheel will shake under slight acceleration at about 60mph.

I have also had a wheel bearing go out and get so bad it made a tire bounce thus shaking the steering wheel past speeds of 45mph.

Just some things to think about.

[oyajicool]

I had them balanced when I got new one's from wal mart.

Call Wal Mart, they may give you free wheel balancing job since you bought the tires from them.

Sma's Club gives free tire balancing along with free rotation for the life of the tires you buy from them. I had mine done for free once.

[H311RA151N]

^^^ Good idea, one good thing about getting tires from walmart.

[wed3k]

counting the threads on a tie rod certainly isn't the most accurate way to get an alignment accurate. 1/2 a turn will already put your alignment out of wack, imagine a full turn?

you won't feel toe adjustment either, you'll know when your tire is flat and chords are sticking out from inside the tire.

[illinois_erik]

did they seat the wheels correctly are the lugs torqued properly. Lots of things can contribute to a shimmy especially at speed. Usually if you can "drive through it" the tires need balanced. could be warped rotors, could be your tie rods arent equal and youre merrily toe skipping down the road.. take it to the shop for another alignment and get a test drive, Im sure theyll pinpoint it faster then the layman consumer.

[H311RA151N]

counting the threads on a tie rod certainly isn't the most accurate way to get an alignment accurate. 1/2 a turn will already put your alignment out of wack, imagine a full turn?

you won't feel toe adjustment either, you'll know when your tire is flat and chords are sticking out from inside the tire.

Exactly.

Thats why I said it will get you close. Like as in close enough to drive the car to the alignment shop.

[RyanD]

go get them reballanced. i used to work for walmart and i can tell you sometimes people dont care or forget to balance your tire. i get my tires done at the local walmart only because i trust the guys i used to work with. there was one time where i had to go back because i had a wobble at freeway speeds. they re balanced them and the wobble went away. people make mistakes.

they should do it for free. if they see you bought the tires there than they will most likely do it for free. i really hope you got Road Hazard on your tires as well. then its free rotate and balance for the life of the tires