[davesbedroom]

I took my 97 taurus GL on the highway for the first time and at speed of 60-70mph the steering wheels shakes. Doesnt' feel like any car I have driven. I checked the tires and pressure and everything is ok. Tonite I am going to check the torque on all the lug nuts and try it again. Do you think the wheels are unbalanced or am I in big trouble?

 

[Guest]

I had the same problem on my 01 when I first got it - it was a tire balance problem. I thought I was in big trouble, too so I milked my warranty and made them go with me to drive it and feel it and wasted almost an hour of their time so I could make them confirm it wasn't something else such as ball joints, etc. But they balanced the tires for me and all is well.

Also - the first time I went to get my tires balanced I went to Meineke (chain of small quick E lube time places in case you aren't familiar with them.) and I still had the shaking after they were done. That's when I went to the dealership and they rebalanced them - they said Meineke's balancing machine was wrong and sure enough they were right. Meineke and the Stealerships prices were the same ($40) for rotation & balancing on all four wheels, so I would recommend you go to to a dealership to have them balanced.

 

[dant98]

If the tires have uneaven wear or if your alignment is off this could be a culperate.

Ballence would also be another thing to check. I suppose it's possible one of your wheel weights fell off or something. My 2000 will cruise at 95 with no problem. 70 MPH should not be an issue.

-Dan

 

[road_rascal]

It could also be a tire problem. I had this happen before years ago on my old Dodge with a set of of new Michelins. Somehow in one of the tires the cords/ belts separated and no matter how many times the shop balanced it the car shook above 60 mph. Only after they took the tires off of the rims and inspected the inside of the tires did they find the defect. It's pretty uncommon but keep it in mind if all else fails.

 

[TheGreatZambini]

I second road_rascal. I had an old set of GoodYear Regatta's on my 95 when I bought it, and it shook at speeds above 60 or 70 mph. I had it balanced, rotated, etc. several times, and finally a guy at Merchant's Tire and Auto ran his hand around one of the tires and found a FEW bumps where belts had come loose. The only way I knew to check that was that I bought two new Michelins and immediately could isolate where the vibration was coming from (the GoodYears).

If you rotate the tires, and the wheel doesn't shake, then rotate them again and it does shake, you can tell which tire has the problem.