Steering Wheel Shakes Options

[HardHead93]

During my track day yesterday I ran off the road into the dirt. When I got back onto the road my car started making a thumping noise and the steering wheel was vibrating while driving. I got home and put the front of the car on jack stands. There was no play up and down or side to side when I shook the wheel. I also inspected the wheels and rims, there was some lost tread from where I locked the wheels but no warping of the rims. Lastly I started the car and put it into gear to get the wheels spinning. Usually when I did this both wheels turned normally. When I did it this time the driver side wheel would turn a little bit then get stuck. Once it got out of that sticking point it would turn some more but slowly, then get stuck again. When I turned the wheel by hand doesn't spin as easily as the passenger side and does have a point where it gets stuck and I have to push through it. I don't think it is the wheel bearing because I just replaced that about 6 months ago. What could be causing this? Could it be a sticking brake caliper? I do remember when I was driving home smelling a funny odor at first I thought it was gear oil but nothing was leaking from the car.

This post has been edited by HardHead93: Nov 19, 2017 - 1:45 PM

[gallant17]

Try pulling the axle shaft from that side and check both joints for binding im not sure if this would cause a steering vibration but it would defenitley give the wheel a hardspot while trying to turn it

[HardHead93]

I did some more looking and it looks like a definitely have a warped driver side rim. I think I am going to change wheel bearings and ball joints on both sides as well as the wheel and tire on the driver side just to be safe. I guess this part of the deal when you track a car and push it to the limits. Sometimes things break. I am still open to any other suggestions on what I should look at or replace to make sure this problem is gone.

This post has been edited by HardHead93: Nov 19, 2017 - 2:24 PM

[Tigawoods]

if anything it would be something in the knuckle/wheel area. What rims did you warp? Rotors could be adding to it but chancing are you would be able to hear that slightly when turning the wheel.
Wheel bearing change is a must. Id say the root of the problem is there. Did you check for any clumped up dirt that might be throwing off balance?

[HardHead93]

if anything it would be something in the knuckle/wheel area. What rims did you warp? Rotors could be adding to it but chancing are you would be able to hear that slightly when turning the wheel.
Wheel bearing change is a must. Id say the root of the problem is there. Did you check for any clumped up dirt that might be throwing off balance?

It was the driver side wheel that got warped. There were branches from the bushes I ran over when I went off the track but no dirt. I am really thinking it is the wheel because there is a flat spot on the tire from braking hard and the bent rim.

[slavie]

if anything it would be something in the knuckle/wheel area. What rims did you warp? Rotors could be adding to it but chancing are you would be able to hear that slightly when turning the wheel.
Wheel bearing change is a must. Id say the root of the problem is there. Did you check for any clumped up dirt that might be throwing off balance?

It was the driver side wheel that got warped. There were branches from the bushes I ran over when I went off the track but no dirt. I am really thinking it is the wheel because there is a flat spot on the tire from braking hard and the bent rim.

Well, if it is the rim, that's easy to check - rotate the tires (back to front, front to back crossed), so that your rim in question will be on the opposite side in the rear. Go for a drive and observe.

You can swap the rotors side to side if you don't care about your pads too much. Just make sure to go through the break-in procedure. Will answer that question for you.

Ball joint wouldn't be causing the issues you're talking about. You'd get wondering while breaking or accelerating.

Bearings are only $30 for the Koyo DAC3874W6 - same PN the dealer sells, without dealer markup. Got it on eBay. Took a while to arrive, but it's identical to the OEM one I took out, PN and all. Couple more $$ for the seals, I suppose. If you have the means to replace it yourself (as in, a shop press), shouldn't be too big of a deal. Biggest issue is going to be loosing wheel alignment (unless you do it in situ with an on-car bearing press, thought that's a PITA). While you're at it, good advice seems to be to pack the bearings a bit tighter in addition to the factory grease, and throw a new CV axle nut (properly torqued). There's a theory going around that axle nuts have some special coating on them allowing them to torque correctly but only the first time around; incorrect torque puts the wrong pre-load on the bearings causing them to wear out prematurely. As if this post isn't long enough - make sure to get the correct nut: Toyota changed their spec from black nuts to silver nuts in late nineties, and you're supposed to use the same one your CV axle originally came with to have it torque properly. All this is only comes into play when you track the car and push it to limits. A bunch of LeMons 6GC teams had to change wheel bearings daily before figuring this out.

I had a similar experience where I flew off the highway and into a ditch. Had a cycling humming noise in that wheel. Changed everything short of the hub itself - wheels, bearings, ball joints, rotors, control arm bushings. While not as much, noise was still there after all that work, so I just gave up on it and it went away after some time. Moral of the story: there is a chance you effed up your cast iron hub, but that chance is small.

[HardHead93]

I took off the knuckles and hubs are fine. I was worried about that because I have had a bad hub before and it made a similar sound. The bearings are pretty worn so it is good I am changing them out. I understand replacing the lower ball joints will not fix the problem but since I have to take the knuckles off to do the bearings I might as well do those because they are original to the car (20 years old). Right now it is looking like it is most likely the bent rim that is causing the shaking. I ordered some new rims that I plan to make for my daily tires. Then I am going to take these rims since I have beat on them and make them for a set of track tires. The good news is there is a guy here locally that can repair the rim.

On another note it looks like I broke an exhaust hanger as well so I will need to get that fixed. It is the hanger that attaches to the muffler. The joys of tracking your car!

[HardHead93]

Well, if it is the rim, that's easy to check - rotate the tires (back to front, front to back crossed), so that your rim in question will be on the opposite side in the rear. Go for a drive and observe.

While I was doing a full brake service on the car, I decided to rotate the tires. I just took it for a drive and the wheel has stopped shaking but now the thumping is coming from the rear of the car. That solves it, bent rim.