Steering Wheel Shimmy

[Pir0San]

My steering wheel will shimmy around 45 mph, which causes the whole front end to shake. I had an alignment done a while ago when my dad bent my engine crossmember, and the mechanic who did the alignment said I needed to replace either the tie rod ends or the ball joints to remove the shake, but I can't remember which one it is. I did a search, and found some people had the same problem, and new ball joints fixed the issue. If I replace the ball joints, will I need to have the front end realigned?

Thanks!

[e_racer1999]

sure wouldn't be a bad idea

[TomoHawk]

I hada shimmy when I got the car, and it was the old, dried-out, hard steering rack bushings that were loose. New ones fixed it right up.

[JLPurcell]

My steering wheel will shimmy around 45 mph, which causes the whole front end to shake. I had an alignment done a while ago when my dad bent my engine crossmember, and the mechanic who did the alignment said I needed to replace either the tie rod ends or the ball joints to remove the shake, but I can't remember which one it is. I did a search, and found some people had the same problem, and new ball joints fixed the issue. If I replace the ball joints, will I need to have the front end realigned?

Thanks!

Have you replaced the cross member? Not that it is the problem but I would still replace it. I may have one laying around, if I do and you want it you just pay shipping and it's yours. Let me know. Jerry

[e_racer1999]

I hada shimmy when I got the car, and it was the old, dried-out, hard steering rack bushings that were loose. New ones fixed it right up.

was thinking that as well...

[FirstGenZ]

New rack bushings cured my shimmy also. If the crossmember is bent real bad, change it. Lot of stuff connected to it.

[beandip]

Before you just start replacing things . Determine what is the cause. Get under the car and find where the play is that is causing the shimmy . It could be from the rack bushings , or tie rods or wheel bearings as will a ball joints. You could have a tire out of balance or a flat spot on a tire . A bent wheel could be the cause . Depends on the condition of your suspension . It could be from a combination of all of these. Gary

[Pir0San]

The crossmember was replaced about 3 years ago. I haven't had a chance to crawl under the car and check out bushings or whatnot, so I'll have to check it the next time I get a day off.

[JimmyZ]

Could also be a frame rail slowly breaking away from the body. Like Beandip said get under and check it all. The Z suspension is so light you can jack both tires up, grasp the wheel and twist/pull to see areas of extreme slop. It could also be that your rotors are warped. Tire could also have a separated belt... the list goes on. There are alignment shops which are much better than the garden variety alginment shops which can easily spot what's wrong. We used to have two such shops in my town.

Sometimes you may have slop (bushings) in your rear suspension which feels like it's something up front.

My2c

Jim