[FL_Gal]

hello all

today I replaced my two front tires as the tread was very poor. do not know how long the tires were on the car. since then i have a serious vibration. the steering wheel has the "right to left" shimmy, the faster I go the vibration gets harder. the shaking sort of feels like the whole car is doing a shimmy but the vibration is more on the front end.

did the bad (almost bald) tires hide the fact that something on the front end was going bad? can i bet on maybe this being tie rod ends?

 

[bull geek]

If you can...park the car, apply P-brake firmly. Jack up front corner of car (use rear subframe bushing on each side ) Grab the wheel at 9 and 3, try pushing and pulling the wheel, feel for any play. Do the same at 6 and 12. If you want to go check things out under there, grab a jack stand and lower that side of the car onto one before heading under...

Are these new tires you put on or used?

 

[FL_Gal]

asking me to jack up the car? oh that's humorous :lol2: I'll pass that along to my brother or something lol

due to the many repairs i've been forced into and my cash flow looking really bad, I got used tires. I will be going back in the morning to have them looked at. when i had a bubble in a tire I got that same shimmy thing before. but the noises and vibrations existed before tire replacement, but it just seems to have been magnified. I can't go over 50mph without the noise, but the steering wheel wobble happens as soon as i start accelerating. (note: this is not happening during braking, just had the brakes replaced and rotors spun). It seems to worsen and get louder when i turn (or even veer) to the right.

driving on the expressway is almost required due to the distances I have to travel for my job, so that is of utmost importance to have investigated in the morning, just was tryin to get an idea of how much more money I have to spend

 

[FL_Gal]

i also want to mention something else just in case it might matter. when i come to a stop, i hear a knock. it's in tempo with the speed (as I slow to a stop, the noise slows to a stop). the last couple of days I would hear the knock sort of have a creaking sound to it. with replacing the tires today everyting just seems clearer. knock can be felt, vibration and everyting.

 

[Tommy2tone]

well..... It sounds to me like the used tires you put on where worse than the bald ones.
My sister's '98 Taurus had a bad shimmy, quite like you described, and as soon as I looked at the front tires, I could see the belt was broken on one. I discovered the other tire also had a twist in the belt when I took it off the car.
At least you noticed right away and are doing something about it. Sis drove it that way for weeks, (I live over 100 miles away & didn't know how BAD it really was).

Nothing wrong with buying used tires, though. As long as they aren't over 8-10 years old. And you can either have them replaced if defective, or don't pay too much for un-garanteed tires.
I always put hand-me-down tires on my vehicles, I'm cheap. However, I have a lot of experience inspecting tires for defects when they are demounted. I've gotten tires for free that lasted a couple years. The ones I only spend a few bucks on, I don't pay to have balanced, either.

 

[FL_Gal]

lol these days cheap is the way to go. i was told to look at some numbers to see how old tires are, i may try to look. but in any case, i called the shop and he's already aware I am returning. I'm still concerned about the knocks and stuff up there before i even replaced the tires.

the shimmy is probably the tires. like i said before i had the problem. the tire was on the back that time and it felt like the car was wagging it's tail lol when the cash flow gets better i'm going to put new ones on. I drive about 120 miles a day so its important. these are "temporary" tires

 

[Tommy2tone]

!

Just read your previous post #4, and I believe you may have a bad INNER CV joint.

They don't go bad that often, but the symptoms are just like a broken belt on a tire. Have the tire shop check that. Don't let them just try to sell you a new axle, though. Ask them to show you the evidence.
With the car on the lift, if you (mechanic) grab the axle shaft and push up or sideways on it, it will move like it is disjointed inside the inner boot.

When I say the symptoms, I mean especially if you are feeling the shimmy on acceleration. Is it worse when you accelerate hard, vs easy acceleration? If Yes, then I would bet it is the inner CV joint (maybe both, but not on a newer car).

 

[FL_Gal]

I will actually have my mechanic look at it. funny tho, when i had the brake job done I thought he checked under there. but then again they were looking for a bad ball joint (ford dealership stated bad ball joints). I assumed they looked for anyting bad under there and he said all was well. what I just experienced today states all is NOT well.

in a shop, how long would it take them to do it? trying to decide if i need to rent a car (again ) for work. i think my car needs an intervention or something

 

[Tommy2tone]

Yes, all tires have date codes on them that show when they were manufactured.
I saw a program concerning old tires a few years ago that recommended never using tires that are over six years old. I think that is being a bit over cautious IMHO. It depends on the quality of the tire. And if they sat baking in the sun on whatever car they were on. Or if they sat outside with water sitting in them for a long time, etc, etc.

 

[taurusrules]

I bet it's your tie rods. If they're original, it's time....

 

[Tommy2tone]

A friend had a '94 Grand Prix which had a bad shimmy under medium to hard acceleration. We thought for sure it was a crappy tire.
Then, when I was under the car checking on something else, I just happened to twist the right hand drive axle a certain way, sort of pushing on it at the same time. It moved like someones arm being out of the shoulder socket.
That was how I learned how to check for bad inner CV plunge joints. By accident. I'd never seen one wore out before.

The knocking noise you describe also sounds like a possible indication. Usually the outer CV joints make noises when they are failing, but you only hear it while turning, unless it is very bad.

 

[FL_Gal]

i hear a single knock when i turn the wheel, but not necessarily under any acceleration. if i turn it either way to go in reverse for example, i'd hear it. put it in drive, go, single knock. i can only assume original parts, and I was thinking tie rod only because I had one go a long time ago, and i remember the "bounce" i had. another symptom i just remembered. not severe, but noticeable.

i swore i was done putting money into this car, but hey, i guess i like punishment.

 

[Tommy2tone]

I bet it's your tie rods. If they're original, it's time....

That could also be the reason for the wear on the tires she just replaced, but I don't really think it would cause the steering wheel to shake at constant speeds. My money is on the CV plunge joint.

The word "creek" does make me wonder if her ball joints are dried up, or even worse, ready to fail completely. Are these the non-greasable ones on a 2002?
How many miles does your Taurus have FL_Gal?

Better have them all checked to be safe.

 

[FL_Gal]

99k on the clock. the only driving i'll do is getting it to the shop in the morning. dont know whether to laugh or cry

i've booked the rental just in case ::sigh::

 

[FL_Gal]

well I got one mystery solved today. apparently I had the crappiest tire in the world. tread was separating and it had a bump in it. I dont have the shimmy anymore and was able to get on the expressway. I'm "back to normal" now, which isn't all great. i get the vibration over 70mph like I used to. I get the single knock every now and then when turning the wheel and the knockknockknock/creaking sound when almost to a stop. I'm going to have them do another treasure hunt tomorrow to see if my cv is going, or tie rods, etc.

 

[bull geek]

Your wheels may just need balancing if you are getting the same vibration.

Tauruses aren't known to really have CV axle issues...they are more prone to have the tie rods and the endlinks go at a much faster Rate.

Is this the noise you are hearing?

 

[FL_Gal]

sounds alot like that, yes. I'm listening from my laptop so I had to concentrate really hard. I'll listen again from my desktop to confirm, but yea, that sounds very very close.

 

[sfontain]

well I got one mystery solved today. apparently I had the crappiest tire in the world. tread was separating and it had a bump in it. I dont have the shimmy anymore and was able to get on the expressway. I'm "back to normal" now, which isn't all great. i get the vibration over 70mph like I used to. I get the single knock every now and then when turning the wheel and the knockknockknock/creaking sound when almost to a stop. I'm going to have them do another treasure hunt tomorrow to see if my cv is going, or tie rods, etc.

For future reference, all the advice about steering parts spontaneously and coincidentally going bad at the same time as you got new tires seems highly questionable to me at best. Had I seen this thread earlier I'd have told you very quickly that either you got a bad tire or whoever installed them didn't tighten the lugnuts all the way.

As Nick says, vibration at 70 mph is very likely a wheel out of balance. Also, when was the last time you had an alignment done?