Do my wheels need balancing?

[Qxxx4]

Here's my dilemma. I bought my 20s last March and got them balanced put them on and used about 20k kms. In november I put the stock wheels and tires back on. Going on the highway I noticed severe vibration on the highway when I turn about 1/8th to the right doing over 100kmh. I got new stabilizer links and the mechanic said suspension is fine and balanced my front right tire. back on the highway and the problem was gone completely. Put about another 3k and noticed it slightly sometimes to shake again but only on highway turning right.

Now I just put my 20s back on and I notice a shake even going straight at 100+. And when I turn slightly right on highway it violently shakes. Torque is fine at 90ft lbs.

So....do my 20s need balancing (guessing yes) and I did an alignment last year also before I put the 20s on.

Nothing happens in city driving I only get symptoms on highway. also. If I turn my wheels at a standstill I feel some play between turning right and left from centeAny help is much appreciated!

[alexf20c]

sounds like a ball joint to me. or possibly a control arm bushing.

[fueler]

id balance them first. ive been meaning to do the same.

[GRNMACHINE]

You can swap the tires front to back and see if symptom changes. If the problem goes away I would lean towards tires, if it stays then I would lean towards suspenson. I havent had to rebalance my wheels much after they were originally balanced (assuming the balancing was done right). I spent way too much time last year trying to find a shaking issue at 45mph-60mph. It was a balancing issue on the wheels (pretty much assumed that but wanted to make sure).

[02pathy]

unless their is damage to the rims, or there is missing weight you shouldn't have to balance them, but what you should do is an alignment every year that way everything is check out before you put on the chrome i usually do all of my major maintenance too as well at this time, but i had my rims for two season, i balanced them myself from day one and had the car up to 160 no problem year after year and same with old car

[GRNMACHINE]

Agreed, occasionally the stick on weights fall off. Assuming they were not balanced previously, the adhesive will still be there, which tells you the weights have fallen off. Other than that I have never had to have my wheels rebalanced ( again, aside from not having them balanced correctly the first time out ).

Re: alignments, every year before putting on the 20's is good idea if you can afford it. Remember, an alignment is only as good as the next deep pothole you hit, curb you hit, etc etc. Alot of people dont realize that. Many things can throw an alignment off. Prices vary immensely as well. Firestone will do "lifetime alignments" for around $150, not sure if I trust them though. One Nissan dealer wants $139 for an alignment and they "send it out". Another Nissan dealer wants $49.... I will be switching wheels soon and will be bring it to the dealer that charges $49. I have light feathering on the stock Bridgestones that I dont want to happen to summer tires. Granted the stock Bridgestones are 10 years old though... Done rambling.

[alexf20c]

a wheel imbalance will not cause the shake to turn into a VIOLENT shake during a turn.

something is amiss in the suspension. rebalancing your wheels will do nothing.

[Qxxx4]

You guys were all right pretty much. My mechanic gave it an alignment and replaced a lower ball joint on the left. My wheels were balanced already. My toe alignment was very off and I could feel it for sure. the mechanic said my centering ring between the wheel and hub is missing on all 4 wheels. He's looking for it for me. Will that affect alignment again if I drive say another 1000miles without it? I'm doing a 3 hour trip out of town next weekend and don't want to F anything up.

[fueler]

EDIT

You will be just fine for 1000 miles without rings. Ive driven 180,000 miles in mine without them. As long as the lug nuts are torqued in proper order and to proper specs.
Modified by fueler at 9:48 AM 3/23/2010

[alexf20c]

nissan hubs are lug centric, not hub centric. basically, the wheels are centered by the lugs, not by the hub and/or the centering ring. i wouldn't even worry about the rings, because they are not needed.

[GRNMACHINE]

Qxxx4,These guys here are sharp. I will add the hubcentric rings for my new wheels did help a little. As stated before, I was looking for problem with steering wheel shake after new wheels. I have never seen or used plastic "hubcentric rings" before, the new wheels came with rings that didnt fit so I didnt use them. Felt a decent amount of shake at 45-60 and was told I should use the rings. Had Discount order me the correct set (they didnt charge me-they are only about $15), reinstalled the wheels and had less shaking, minimal but it was slightly better. I cant say the rings did alot but they helped a little. (now can you post some pics of your rebuilt running boards??)

[Qxxx4]

yeah ill Def get the rings if the mechanic finds them. Every little bit helps. I notice a world of difference now I got too used to the loose steering. Everythings so tight now and it just feels like new. The mechanic spent two hours tightening everything up front I hope it stays tight for a long time.

The running boards are on! me n my dad just did one side though the other side is ok for another year. It looks perfect and we painted the underside and also painted my wheelwells, rear axle and most of the underside.

I work a ton lately but when I get a chance ill take pics of the underside of the step and the metal we used. It wasn't too hard it was my dads first ever experience with a welder and he finished it before I could even come home from work.

[GRNMACHINE]

Thanks, I will find the link to the rings I used. Looking forward to pics. I have decided not to toss out my step bars yet. Maybe I can salvage them after all.

[Buzzman]

Qxxx4: I may be a little late chiming in on this problem, but I had similar symptoms last year, and it turned out to be a bad strut on the one side.They were still the originals, so I had them replaced, (along with the rear shocks), and the problem went away. How old are your struts BTW?

[GRNMACHINE]

All this talk of Vibration, I guess it was my day yesterday... Got on the highway and the Path steering wheel starting shaking and was really bad at 55mph, pulled off, looked at tires, suspension, didnt notice anything. Got back on highway and it quieted down, attributed it to rock in tire or who knows, made it my destination fine. On the way back I got back on the highway again, vibration was worse, then went away after 7 miles. Upon further inspection, noticed brake dust all over the front passenger wheel (have ceramic pads, they dont leave much dust). Burning smell also. Havent had time to take wheel off, would have to say stuck caliper. Probably looking at replacing the pads again, calipers, and rotors. Anyone have recommendations on parts? Calipers are insanely expensive thru Nissan (as everything else is). Will probably get the "Satisfied" pads again, or Akebono. Would like to get Brembo rotors, also read decent reviews on ATE. Really dont want to spend a ton of dough on brakes.

Qxxx4--sorry for hijack of your thread, just wanted to sure an incredibly boring story which had to do with vibration. Pathfinder is killin me on repairs last 2 years....

[alexf20c]

Qxxx4: I may be a little late chiming in on this problem, but I had similar symptoms last year, and it turned out to be a bad strut on the one side.They were still the originals, so I had them replaced, (along with the rear shocks), and the problem went away. How old are your struts BTW?

Here's a tip: Read the thread before you post in it. He already figured out and fixed the problem. It was not the struts.

[Qxxx4]

Buzzman, the struts are all original, the vehicle has 152,000 kms and my mechanic said their fine but I'm sure soon enough they'll need replacing

grnmachine no worries the problem is solved for me but if it happens again I'm sure it'll be expensive haha

[Buzzman]

Here's a tip: Read the thread before you post in it. He already figured out and fixed the problem. It was not the struts.

Thanks for the tip.The only reason I chimed in is because struts were never mentioned anywhere in this thread. Even though he said he fixed the problem, I was still curious to know if they were original. Let's face it, original struts on a 99.5 QX4 with 152,000 Kms. have got to be somewhat tired.They may look OK, but there's an outside chance they could contribute to the problem.Mine certainly did. Cheers.