WOBBLE QUESTION PLEASE HELP - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

Camarobychance · 01-05-2021, 02:49 PM

I’ve been trying to diagnose a shaking steering wheel for about a year now and I think I might have figured out what it is but I need some good input whether or not this is it. First before anyone asks the tires ARE balanced, my brakes are brand new and there’s nothing bent or broken suspension wise (had it checked multiple places multiple times). What I think it is, is my steering rack and here’s why. I can feel it at all speeds but when I get up to around 45-50 mph I can REALLY feel it and see it shaking back and forth. Also if I grab the steering column (idk what the proper term is I’ll attach a photo of what I mean) and shake it it has a little play in it which could be causing my shaking steering wheel I feel like. Another reason is it is worst with the steering wheel dead straight and pretty much goes away when I make a turn. If I’m going down a straight road and just barely wiggle the steering wheel back and forth it gets REALLY bad. Almost like the cause of the problem is somewhere on dead center. One more weird thing is it’s not constant. Some days it’s terrible and some days when I’m driving home from work it will be smooth for about 10 minutes or so then all of a sudden it starts shaking out of nowhere again. It’s really frustrating me because I’ve fixed everything I didn’t like about the car but this is the one thing that’s holding me back from enjoying it.

gtstorey · 01-05-2021, 03:01 PM

I'm not sure on our cars but on some vehicles with hydraulic steering a fairly large amount of play at the steering shaft when the vehicle isn't running is normal. See what happens when you try turning it with the car running and see if it translates to wheel movement. Have you had it aligned? A good alignment guy would point out abnormal play in the steering.

Have you checked for out of roundness and runout on the tires?

Camarobychance · 01-05-2021, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gtstorey

I'm not sure on our cars but on some vehicles with hydraulic steering a fairly large amount of play at the steering shaft when the vehicle isn't running is normal. See what happens when you try turning it with the car running and see if it translates to wheel movement. Have you had it aligned? A good alignment guy would point out abnormal play in the steering.

Have you checked for out of roundness and runout on the tires?

Just had it aligned 3 days ago with absolutely no change. How do you check for out of round tires and runout? Is that something a regular tire shop could do? If so wouldn’t they do this when balancing?

Rock-It Man · 01-05-2021, 04:12 PM

Your brakes are brand new. So did this problem start right after you had the brakes replaced?

Bad rotors? Poorly installed rotors? Wheel bearings damaged during rotor installation?

I would start with whatever was touched right before the problem started.

Camarobychance · 01-05-2021, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rock-It Man

Your brakes are brand new. So did this problem start right after you had the brakes replaced?

Bad rotors? Poorly installed rotors? Wheel bearings damaged during rotor installation?

I would start with whatever was touched right before the problem started.

Problem has been there long before the recent brake change. Been dealing with it for about 9 months now. Wheel bearings have been replaced also. Also the vibration doesn’t occur only when braking like it would if it was bad rotors.

Black_SS10 · 01-06-2021, 11:31 AM

Check the steering rack bushing?

Southern Comfort · 01-06-2021, 01:02 PM

Can you provide more detail about your tires?
I’m running the original tires on the 2010. They are hard when cold.
Mileage might offer another clue.

ADVMax · 01-06-2021, 02:16 PM

I put on a new set of tires, front wobbled like crazy at 60 - 63 mph. Back to the tire shop for a couple of re balances, shop got to buy a new RF wheel after Cletus the tire guy gouged the weights off. Gouging the weights off of a black wheel with a screwdriver will scratch the hell out of a black wheel and thusly piss iff the picky owner. ugh.

I suggested rotating the tires on the wheels but they didn’t seem that smart. After wrecking a wheel I was done with them.

Swapped front wheels side to side and the wobble pretty much went away.

Isolated case but it seems there are quite a few things that make these cars shake the front?

gtstorey · 01-06-2021, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Camarobychance

Just had it aligned 3 days ago with absolutely no change. How do you check for out of round tires and runout? Is that something a regular tire shop could do? If so wouldn’t they do this when balancing?

I check out of round by jacking up the car and spinning the wheel while sliding a block of wood toward it. If it touches all around the side or tread at the same time, it's pretty good. If it only touches at one point and the rest of the tire is not close to touching then its out of round (tread) or runout is bad (side).

Someone that is good with balancing and is looking for a problem should check this while balancing, but there have been to many stories on here of people getting multiple balances with the tires still being out of balance for me to trust that it was checked.

While it's off the ground wiggle the wheel to see if there is anything loose.

L6611983 · 01-06-2021, 06:51 PM

I've had the same wobble for at least 5 years it went away when i installed drilled and slotted rotors, went back to smooth rotors and the wobble came back and the passenger side wheel hub bearings were shot.

ADVMax · 01-07-2021, 06:47 AM

I think the reality is that these cars have some sensitive geometry in the front suspension which leads to different causes of wobble.

When I was a BMW Tech the new E32 7 series came off the truck with a front end wobble. There was a harmonic at 50 - 55mph that would make the front wheels shake. The Germans were kind of surprised but ultimately they never did much testing at 55 mph.

Greenhornet2 · 01-07-2021, 10:41 AM

there are different type of balancers. If you are having a wobble issue likely tires and you need to have the "road force balanced" with a road force balancer you may have a tire with excess road force. intermediate steering shaft will typically give you a clunky feeling in the wheel be wont actually cause a shake or wobble in the car.

HDRDTD · 01-07-2021, 11:49 AM

Just as tires can be unbalanced, they can also be balanced but out of round.

mikeman · 01-07-2021, 11:55 AM

I think Spec had this problem before he was banned. It was the bushings on his LCA's IIRC.

01-05-2021, 02:49 PM	#1
Camarobychance Drives: 2014 AGM 2SS RS 1LE Join Date: Jul 2019 Location: Franklin,TN Posts: 62 View My Garage	WOBBLE QUESTION PLEASE HELP I’ve been trying to diagnose a shaking steering wheel for about a year now and I think I might have figured out what it is but I need some good input whether or not this is it. First before anyone asks the tires ARE balanced, my brakes are brand new and there’s nothing bent or broken suspension wise (had it checked multiple places multiple times). What I think it is, is my steering rack and here’s why. I can feel it at all speeds but when I get up to around 45-50 mph I can REALLY feel it and see it shaking back and forth. Also if I grab the steering column (idk what the proper term is I’ll attach a photo of what I mean) and shake it it has a little play in it which could be causing my shaking steering wheel I feel like. Another reason is it is worst with the steering wheel dead straight and pretty much goes away when I make a turn. If I’m going down a straight road and just barely wiggle the steering wheel back and forth it gets REALLY bad. Almost like the cause of the problem is somewhere on dead center. One more weird thing is it’s not constant. Some days it’s terrible and some days when I’m driving home from work it will be smooth for about 10 minutes or so then all of a sudden it starts shaking out of nowhere again. It’s really frustrating me because I’ve fixed everything I didn’t like about the car but this is the one thing that’s holding me back from enjoying it. Attached Images

01-06-2021, 11:31 AM	#6
Black_SS10 SomeguyK Drives: 2010 Black 2SS/RS Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: FL Posts: 1,947	Check the steering rack bushing? __________________ TMS 427, Dart iron Block, Forged assembly, Frankenstien heads, AGP TT 62/62 BB turbo's, AGP/Fore triple fuel system, Tilton clutch, Holley 1 7/8 shorties, Technostalgia tail lights,Oracle, Aeroforce, MGW shifter,Flowmaster, Pegasus subframe bushings,BMR trailing & toe arms,Z28 UCA bushings,Zl1 rear sway bar,Prothane,BMR,Goodridge brake lines,Ridetech HQ coilovers,3.91,Trutrac,billet caps,DSS axles,HE offest,built TR6060,1LE diffuser,Havoc spoiler,SSclones,20in MRR 017, Pirelli P Zero, Nitto NT555RII More to come.

01-07-2021, 10:41 AM	#12
Greenhornet2 Drives: 2011 Camaro 2SS LS3 Whipple Join Date: May 2019 Location: Connecticut Posts: 1,925	there are different type of balancers. If you are having a wobble issue likely tires and you need to have the "road force balanced" with a road force balancer you may have a tire with excess road force. intermediate steering shaft will typically give you a clunky feeling in the wheel be wont actually cause a shake or wobble in the car. __________________ Whipple 2.9 CAI ID1050x injectors ZL1 Pump JRE FPCM JMS Voltage booster JRE Rough Idle blower cam BTR .660 springs CHE trunnion kit 1 7/8 Speed Engineering Borla Atak JRE scoop 1.5" lowering springs BMR trailing arms and toe links Cradle inserts 704WHP 603WTQ 93 octane

01-05-2021, 03:01 PM	#2
gtstorey Drives: 2010 Camaro SS2,L99, LSA SC Join Date: Aug 2017 Location: Huntsville, AL Posts: 2,155	I'm not sure on our cars but on some vehicles with hydraulic steering a fairly large amount of play at the steering shaft when the vehicle isn't running is normal. See what happens when you try turning it with the car running and see if it translates to wheel movement. Have you had it aligned? A good alignment guy would point out abnormal play in the steering. Have you checked for out of roundness and runout on the tires?

01-05-2021, 04:12 PM	#4
Rock-It Man 376 cubic inches of fun Drives: 2023 Camaro ZL1 A10 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: MA Posts: 4,033 View My Garage	Your brakes are brand new. So did this problem start right after you had the brakes replaced? Bad rotors? Poorly installed rotors? Wheel bearings damaged during rotor installation? I would start with whatever was touched right before the problem started.

01-06-2021, 01:02 PM	#7
Southern Comfort No Tags/Habitual Violator Drives: 2012 SIM 2SS/RS & z71 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: North Georgia Posts: 2,379 View My Garage	Can you provide more detail about your tires? I’m running the original tires on the 2010. They are hard when cold. Mileage might offer another clue.

01-06-2021, 02:16 PM	#8
ADVMax Sporting Foole Drives: 2010 Camaro SS Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: Alabama Posts: 500	I put on a new set of tires, front wobbled like crazy at 60 - 63 mph. Back to the tire shop for a couple of re balances, shop got to buy a new RF wheel after Cletus the tire guy gouged the weights off. Gouging the weights off of a black wheel with a screwdriver will scratch the hell out of a black wheel and thusly piss iff the picky owner. ugh. I suggested rotating the tires on the wheels but they didn’t seem that smart. After wrecking a wheel I was done with them. Swapped front wheels side to side and the wobble pretty much went away. Isolated case but it seems there are quite a few things that make these cars shake the front?

01-06-2021, 06:51 PM	#10
L6611983 Drives: 2010 Camaro 2SS Join Date: Mar 2018 Location: Bakersfield, CA Posts: 320	I've had the same wobble for at least 5 years it went away when i installed drilled and slotted rotors, went back to smooth rotors and the wobble came back and the passenger side wheel hub bearings were shot.

01-07-2021, 06:47 AM	#11
ADVMax Sporting Foole Drives: 2010 Camaro SS Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: Alabama Posts: 500	I think the reality is that these cars have some sensitive geometry in the front suspension which leads to different causes of wobble. When I was a BMW Tech the new E32 7 series came off the truck with a front end wobble. There was a harmonic at 50 - 55mph that would make the front wheels shake. The Germans were kind of surprised but ultimately they never did much testing at 55 mph.

01-07-2021, 11:49 AM	#13
HDRDTD Drives: 2013 Triple Black ZL1 Vert M6 ECF Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Trenton, Michigan Posts: 7,047	Just as tires can be unbalanced, they can also be balanced but out of round.

01-07-2021, 11:55 AM	#14
mikeman Banned Drives: 2015 Camaro Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: My Garage Posts: 1,125	I think Spec had this problem before he was banned. It was the bushings on his LCA's IIRC.