J30t steering wheel shakes

[jldyer]

I need a little help on this one.

My steering wheel has been shaking for over a year now. It shakes between 60 & 70 while accelerating/normal driving and it shakes around 40 when braking. I've replaced the front outer tie rod ends, the rear brakes (new caliper on passenger side, new rotors, new pads), new struts on the back (used the KYB struts recommended here, new tires on the back (which were eaten in one year due to, I believe, the cause of the steering wheel shake).

What should I replace next? I was thinking of the inner tie rods (front and back). Remember this is a 't' model, so it has hicas on the rear.

What else could be causing this shake?

Thanks.

[fourdrinie]

you need to start looking at the front wheels/tires!
first get them balanced!
then inspect and or replace front rotors...

[jldyer]

Wouldn't the chewed up back tires indicate there's movement in the rear? That's why I'm thinking rear inner tie rods.

[fourdrinie]

The steering wheel shake at 60 mph while not braking is due to wheel imbalance. The steering wheel shake during braking is due to warped rotors.

[jldyer]

And if having the front wheels rebalanced doesn't fix the steering wheel shake, what would you look at next?

[fourdrinie]

if the front wheels are balanced and the steering wheel still shakes at 60mph...there are problems with your wheels...but that should show up in the balancing....
your rotors will affect the steering shake when braking!

[fourdrinie]

if there was something structurally wrong with your car, it would show up throughout the ride....
steering shimmy at 60mph is a classic symptom of wheels not properly balanced...
steering shimmy upon braking is a classic symptom of brake rotors being warped....

[J30inthe sun]

Unevenly worn tires can also cause a shaking steering wheel.

[fourdrinie]

unevenly worn tires would cause a shaking steering throughout the speed range...not only at 60-70 mph as jldyer initially stated in this post.

[J30inthe sun]

unevenly worn tires would cause a shaking steering throughout the speed range...not only at 60-70 mph as jldyer initially stated in this post.

That is incorrect.

I have experienced this myself with unevenly worn tires than caused a shake that started at @ 70 mph. This was with every wheel freshly balanced.

[fourdrinie]

I stand corrected.

[ezb57e]

Sure, it depends on how badly worn they are.

Maybe a bent hub?
Spin the tires up on a lift and look for run-out or wobble at the wheel.
If you see any, swap with another wheel and spin it again.
If its still bad the hub could be bent from an impact.