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Shimmy shimmy shake shake


zonianbrat
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Ok quickly searched to no evail as to my specific problem. I have been doing alot of traveling lately. Over the last couple of trips to TX I have noticed a slight "shimmy or shaking/vibration) in th steering wheel. This last trip from TX to NM I noticed it is getting worse. I have also noticed a bit of a woble noise kinda deal from the front tires. The steering wheel starts shaking right at 60 mph at its worst the hole truck kinda shakes at 65 mph. Below 60 the truck is rides great no shaking/pulling of any sorts. Then at 60 it the wheel starts shaking 65 you can feel a shimmy in the whole truck, then at 70+ it seems to plain out and ride smoothe again. Do you guys think this is a balance issue? If not what else do you guys think it could be? It only happens between 60-70! I have to replace the bearings too I think as after a long trip when I am driving slow I get a slight squeal from the drivers front (brakes are pretty new and last time I checked they were fine so they are not causing the squealing. I am going to be heading home for only like 2 days. I gotta change the oil and I was going to have it balanced and aligned. I would get bearings and some other front end work done if I had more time but I dont. Any opinions are appreciated.

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Have them re-balanced as a first step, you can have the alignment checked and corrected if it needs it.

 

The squeal from the front.. does it stop if you "lightly" press on the brake pedal? If it does then I would look at the cause being the brakes and get some brake cleaner. See if that helps. If it does continue to make the noise then yeah the wheel bearings may need repacked... but not necessarily replaced ;)

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That was my plan too red. Noise remains while brake pedal is depressed so I really think it is wheel bearings. I would replace them instead of repacking them. My uncle had one seize up on his van once. So I figure I do not know how old they are and they are not expensive. If in-fact that is what is squealing it means she is pretty much dry. But I do need to research the issue more. Seems like the squeal is only after long trips of highway driving.

Thanks Red.

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Once you get them out you can tell if they are dry, but still good or if they are dry and worn out... but if replacing them is your preferred course then there is nothing wrong with that :aok:

 

I had one seize on my Yota.. the front, right, outer bearing.. what a PITA that was. the race was actually stuck to the axle shaft... it took a lot of work to get it to break free!

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I'd say balance...I take it that your wheels aren't packed with mud. So many country people bring in cars that have mud built up on the wheels, if they washed the mud off it'd probably be :aok:

I had a wheel bearing collapse on me in town (in an old car) brake pedal went all the way to the floor.......NOT nice

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Could also be a tie rod end with some play in it. Jack up the front end, and grab the tire. If it moves up and down, then it's either ball joint, or wheel bearing, if it moves side to side, it's most likely a Tierod end issue.

 

Do that for both front tires.

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What I've done with my mom's cars in the past... go for a wheel alignment/balance, preferably somewhere where someone knows you... If not, it time to sharpen up them social skills!!!!!!

 

Just start talking shop and ask the guy, if its a real problem they'll tell you why they can't do it... its always worked for me... they usually tell you everything you need to know... and if your luck they'll give you an itemized quote.... ALL FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Don't forget to take a piece of paper and a pen... and don't forget to say thank you and shake his hand...

 

Yeah, its a dirty way to do it... but I don't play nice either!!!!!!!!!!

 

Good luck...

Edited by texasbudman
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If all above doesn't correct your problem, although I do agree that it's probably a tire balance issue, you may have a separating belt in the tire. I REALLY hope that is the balance and a rotation wouldn't be a terrible idea at the same time.

The squeal might be brake dust build up. If it looks like you have a bit of build up just get some brake cleaner spray and spray it down pretty good. Don't worry about getting the pads a little wet, this stuff dries pretty quickly and won't affect you pads, but don't soak the pads either.

 

I hope this helps.

Edited by Roost
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If your problem is only between 60-70 and smooth the rest of the time, its definitely tires out of balance! When you have a shake caused by wearing front end parts you will feel shaking at different intervals of speeds if not always. I would personally just do the balancing at first wait for an alignment until you correct or replace the bearing/squealing problem. F.Y.I.-Sometimes semi-metallic brake pads can cause squealing issues that will go away shortly after that particular flake of metal in the pad wears down some.

Good Luck!

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Thanks for the replies. I think it is a balance issue too. As far as dust on the pads it might be as all the jobs I drive too are on caliche dirt roads. This job I am on is the worst as we are drilling with air and not mud you would not believe the dust. I can not tell what color my truck is right now. But this problem has been there awhile. The squeal is at low speeds after 8-12 hour trips. And since I have not personally checked out the bearings I think that is where it is coming from. I would just do all this work myself but it looks like I might only get 3 days off this time so I want to spend time with my little girl and preggy wife instead. Simon I will take your advice and just have whatever shop I stop at check for tire movement up-down and side to side. I will be taking it to Sam's club as that is where I bought the tires and rotate and balancing is free. So these days off I will get balance-rotate maybe alignment done even though she tracks perfectly. Actually now that I think about it my rear driver tire is showing a tiny bit more wear than the other three. I have gotten them rotated and balanced every 7500 miles so I am not sure why that would be. Next time I get some time off I will get teh bearings and probably some other stuff done. Any suggestions on what other front end stuff should be replaced along with bearings?

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If the shaking becomes MUCH worse when you apply brakes, it could be warped brake rotors.

 

 

If it's shaking all the time, it's probably rim / tire:

 

-Tires balanced?

 

-Could be bent (out of round) rims

 

-Belt separation in tire (happened to me before, balancing didnt help but new tires did)

 

 

^^all the above has happened to me... they all have similar symptoms.

Edited by FUELER
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Just had the rotors replaced less than 20,000miles ago along with new brakes. No shaking when applying the brakes just when I go between 60 and 70. And it seems like when I hit soft turns going that fast in the canyons you can feel and hear it better (it is kinda hard to explain but I can hear it too kind of like I had some serious mudders or something like a wa wa wa wa wa.

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I swore I replied to this post...I think someone removed it...or maybe it was another shimmy thread...i will put money on tires or wheels...i had an issue with a tire place that couldnt get it balanced and told me wheels i called bull@!*% and swapped my mud rovers over from my 87 and bam no more shaking at highway speeds...mine wouldnt shake so bad in the morning when the tires were cold but in the afternoon it'd damn near shake your teeth out...

 

go have them spun up and see how bad out they are...mine was 12 oz out and I had replaced everything from the bearings to the spindles to the ball joints to the tie rods and none of it fixed it...changed the tires and bam it was fixed...

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Well here is an update. I finally made it home for a couple of days and decided I needed to take it to Sam's club since I bought the tires there and they balance and rotate it for free. Well while they had it jacked up I checked the tires side to side and up and down. The passenger front tire has some side to side play so maybe it is time for some TRe's. Not much if any up and down play so that is good. But I looked at the truck before I took it in and my tires are sitting like this \ / so I am out of alignment too. The guy at Sam's club says my whole shaking out of alignment problem is because I am running 31x10.50's and that is way too big of a tire for the truck. I blew that off, then he was like " your rear tires did not move side to side or up and down at alll. Gee thanks tard. So I got them balanced and it has not really helped the situation much. So next time I am in town I am taking it in for alignment and assesment of tie rod ends, ball joints, and bearings.

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I wouldn' take it to sams club anymore.....Is that the same thing as costco up here? Because if it is, well my dad took the wd21 to get new tires and they didnt even tell him that it had holes in the frame.

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