Connor280ZX Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Nearly two years later, new ball joints, rack bushings, sway bar bushings, tension rod bushings (rubber, not poly), new springs/struts, a new set of tires and wheels and i'm still getting the same wobble in the steering. Starts around 50-55 MPH, starts to fade away around 70-75MPH, and is not felt during cornering at these speeds. Jacked car up, checked wheels for play/possible bearing failure. All solid. I'm pretty confused, and it seems like the only things left to replace are the brake rotor and tie rods. Is there anything i'm missing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zipper Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 You didn't mention alignment? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connor280ZX Posted April 23, 2015 Author Share Posted April 23, 2015 You didn't mention alignment? Oh right, yeah I've had 3 alignments done in the past 18,000 Miles. Most recent one being about 6-7K ago. Never wrecked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stravi757 Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Have you checked Wheels bearings front and rear Bent hubs Drive shaft Differential Any lose mounts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Wheel balance Torrid ends TC Rod bushings Rack bushings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connor280ZX Posted April 23, 2015 Author Share Posted April 23, 2015 Have you checked Wheels bearings front and rear Bent hubs Drive shaft Differential Any lose mounts All wheel bearings have been checked, all of the drivetrain mounts have been replaced and tightened. The hubs, I haven't checked that's a new idea, not sure how to check them however. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connor280ZX Posted April 23, 2015 Author Share Posted April 23, 2015 Wheel balance Torrid ends TC Rod bushings Rack bushings Yes, 3 rotations and alignments done in the past 18,000 miles, and all of the front end bushings have been replaced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankieD Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Sounds like a balance problem since it only happens at certain speeds. Just my .02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88dangerdan Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Try swapping front to rears .that should help in determining if one of the tires isn't balanced or if you have a bent or out of round rim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connor280ZX Posted April 24, 2015 Author Share Posted April 24, 2015 Try swapping front to rears .that should help in determining if one of the tires isn't balanced or if you have a bent or out of round rim Oh yeah, thanks for bringing that up. Once I burned my rears off a bit, I swapped them with the front and the only difference was it stopped pulling to the right. Same steering wheel wobble at the same speeds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc_S130 Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 (edited) Last week I had the attendant at the gas station adjust my tyre pressures - i suspect he inflated the tyres too much and suddenly I had the same steering wheel wobble at certain speeds. Worth a look. Edited April 24, 2015 by Doc_S130 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connor280ZX Posted April 24, 2015 Author Share Posted April 24, 2015 (edited) Last week I had the attendant at the gas station adjust my tyre pressures - i suspect he inflated the tyres too much and suddenly I had the same steering wheel wobble at certain speeds. Worth a look. Interesting. All four are set to 32 psi cold. They are 215/55/r16 Edited May 3, 2015 by Connor280ZX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(goldfish) Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Rack, u-joints in the steering column? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connor280ZX Posted May 3, 2015 Author Share Posted May 3, 2015 (edited) Alright guys, so I've done some further testing, and found some additional things to mention. So, Once I start accelerating past 80MPH, the wheel wobble fades, but simultaneously, the car starts to develop a shake/vibration that gets worse until about 120MPH, then starts to fade away and becomes smooth again. I feel it mostly in the footwell. This can be mainly felt up slopes, not as much going downward... Now that i think of it, it occasionally did this with my old set of wheels/tires too. So at this point i think we've ruled out tire/wheel balance... Edited May 3, 2015 by Connor280ZX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supernova_6969 Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 I don't have a cause to suggest, but clearly, you need to drive it about 120 all the time. Simple as that. I had a bad vibration when I bought my 280zx, but it was caused but a flat spot on the tires due to the previous owner having had to do an I suspect shit-your-pants-type emergency stop. Got new tires and that disappeared immediately. But that does not seem to be the problem. I also had a bad vibration that could be felt in the back of the seat that was due to the get-pale-when-you-realise drive shaft getting loose and being this close to falling off. but that does not seem to be the same problem at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connor280ZX Posted May 27, 2015 Author Share Posted May 27, 2015 I don't have a cause to suggest, but clearly, you need to drive it about 120 all the time. Simple as that. I had a bad vibration when I bought my 280zx, but it was caused but a flat spot on the tires due to the previous owner having had to do an I suspect shit-your-pants-type emergency stop. Got new tires and that disappeared immediately. But that does not seem to be the problem. I also had a bad vibration that could be felt in the back of the seat that was due to the get-pale-when-you-realise drive shaft getting loose and being this close to falling off. but that does not seem to be the same problem at all. Yes, I have the strong need to do 120+ regularly BUT good news, took it to yet a different shop a few days ago, and they claimed my front left was "missing a weight" they re balanced all the wheels, and now it rides smooth as glass... Amazing. Definately not taking my car back to the other places if they couldn't spot a missing weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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