Shaking steering wheel :: Help me diagnose

[poopsonu]

Alright this has been an ongoing issue. It has been driving me crazy. I have a 2002 12v in a GTI.

The car pulls perfectly through the first three gears. In 4th and 5th, at speeds 55 and above, my steering wheel vibrates when I accelerate. The harder I accelerate, the harder it shakes. It is especially troublesome when maintaining highway speed, like 75 mph. If I release the throttle, or run in neutral the shaking stops. Passengers in the car don't notice the problem. But I can here it in the exhaust. Like its droney, and a little slower. It is driving me out of my $*#(ING mind....

When I brake from those speeds, the steering wheel shakes erratically until the speed is reduced below 45 to 55, or I increase braking pressure. If I increase pressure, the steering wheel continues to vibrate, but not as erratic.

Here's what has happened recently and what I have tried:

I put a new water pump, coolant pipe and belt recently, but this problem was occurring before that problem manifested.

The holes that retain the bolts for my pendulum mount were worn out. So I had a shop put a helicoil (sp?) the next size up. I use VF mounts. It is on tight. Could worn bushings on the mount cause this?

I had my front wheels balanced yesterday.

Is it my axles?

Please help?

[noskeh]

Your control arm bushings could be worn out, also if you have aftermarket wheels and dont have hubcentric rings the wheels may be tightend down slightly off center. Another possibility could be that your fron rotors are warped pretty bad.

[poopsonu]

I have stock alloy wheels. No spacers.

How do I test the rotors? with a ruler?

[noskeh]

Usually hitting the brakes at high speeds and the steering wheel shaking back and forth is a pretty good sign that they are warped.

[tomjake]

sounds like a few problems i would start by fixing the brake pulsation its probly in the front if the wheel shakes when hiting the brakes. if you use the ebrake while moving and it is smooth the rears are not a problem. second wheels and tires... high speed vibrations tend to be wheel and tire related, it was mentioned above if you have aftermarket wheels make sure you are useing the corect lugs and centering rings. check tires for uneven wear, and seporations. and check for bent wheels. have a trusted shop with a good road force balancer balance the wheels. you can also try rotating tires to see if the vib changes. have the front end inspected for loose or worn parts. it is possible a cv it causing a vib but usually you will feel the vib in lower gears 1,2,3 only under acceleration.

[poopsonu]

To clarify again:

I'm running stock 16 alloy wheels. I had them balanced yesterday. I will try to change the rotors this weekend. I'm so broke from this damn car, I wish I could test out new rotors before buying them to be sure this is in fact problem....

What is the method for checking the bushings?

I checked all the lugs, made sure it was on the ring correctly. etc.

Anyone have an extra pair of rotors?

Can I replace the rotors without replacing the brake pads?

[David802]

Can you feel this shaking in the brake pedal as well as in the steering wheel? If the shake is only in the steering wheel my bet is suspension over brake problems.

I'd start by checking your suspension things like the control arm bushings. Lift the car up with a jack and put it on a jack stand then grab the wheels with your hands at 12 and 6 O'clock. Push with one hand and pull with the other, rocking the wheel back and forth. If your lower control arms are damaged and loose, the wheel should have have lots of movement. You can also remove the wheel or climb under the car and grab a hold of the control arms, and look to see if the joint is easily moved with your arm. Normally, it shouldn't have any play in it if you push it with your arm.

Edit: I don't know if Autozone still does this but the ones in my area used to have a machine that could check to see if a rotor was warped and could even grind them down if it wasn't to bad. They don't do this anymore but it's worth a couple of calls if it answers your question. GL

[poopsonu]

So I replaced the rotors, the wheel stopped shaking violently. It is actually much "faster." Whatever that means... It feels dramatically better.

However, within the steering wheel, when your accelerating in fourth and fifth gear, you still feel it vibrate.

If I let go of the steering wheel, there is no visible movement, you still feel an internal vibration. Now I just feel it slightly on the dead pedal. It reminds me of a torn CV. The way it feels out of balance.

The boots are in excellent condition. There is some play going from forward to reverse on the axle, but nothing out of the ordinary. Could it be the inner cv joint? I have already been through probably 4 or 5 sets of axles.

The control arm and steering linkages seem pretty tight. I'm hesitant to thinks is suspension related because my Shine setup is not that old. Not even a year.

[mk3alltheway]

I work at a tire shop myself and I cant even tell you how many guys I see that actually balance the wheels right! Slim to none!

Everyone has different machines, measures different lips, doesnt count spoke distance, puts the cone on the inside or the outside.

All im saying is I wouldnt rule out them being out of balance just because you got them "balanced"

[poopsonu]

alright after a four plus hour drive the car feels remarkably better. The problem is still there let me try to describe it this way.


I feel the shaking in the steering wheel and one the dead pedal. In my seat.

Also, after installing the rotors, when I slow down from high speeds while rolling to a light or something, I hear this womp womp wommmmp sound.

Any insights? Things look solid, dont actually see anything wrong. I jacked up the wheel and linkages seem on point. **** is driving me up the wall..

[llanowar]

axle nut is loose


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[poopsonu]

axle nut is loose


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Reihenmotors

I'm going to check that before the end of the day! If that's it, I will be so very

I work at a tire shop myself and I cant even tell you how many guys I see that actually balance the wheels right! Slim to none!

Everyone has different machines, measures different lips, doesnt count spoke distance, puts the cone on the inside or the outside.

All im saying is I wouldnt rule out them being out of balance just because you got them "balanced"

I see your also in Jersey. Wheres your tire shop, think you can do it right

[vergessen wir es]

Balancing has it's limits. You can't balance a worn tire or an out of round rim. Sure the machine will let the operator balance the weight but if the tire is out of round or scalloped the problem will persist. When I have had this problem I find a shop that will let me watch the rim spin. You will see instantly what's going on. While spinning watch both the inside and outside lips and tread. Plus you will be able to verify the final measured balance. Womp womp is usually scallopping from worn suspension components likea worn sway bar end link or worn strut/shock. Ie wheel hop. Way out of spec camber can accelerate wheel hop wear.

[mk3alltheway]

I'm going to check that before the end of the day! If that's it, I will be so very




I see your also in Jersey. Wheres your tire shop, think you can do it right

Sears auto center in Rockaway, NJ

Balancing has it's limits. You can't balance a worn tire or an out of round rim. Sure the machine will let the operator balance the weight but if the tire is out of round or scalloped the problem will persist. When I have had this problem I find a shop that will let me watch the rim spin. You will see instantly what's going on. While spinning watch both the inside and outside lips and tread. Plus you will be able to verify the final measured balance. Womp womp is usually scallopping from worn suspension components likea worn sway bar end link or worn strut/shock. Ie wheel hop. Way out of spec camber can accelerate wheel hop wear.

Some machines can detect inconsistencies, however most people will see the wobbly once it is spun. Also they show where the imbalance is so between the two its a sure shot..

[poopsonu]

alright the axle nut is tight as Whoa...

I really looked at the tire, to tread has an irregular wear on the "interior" of the tire, (facing the wheel well)

The shaking seems to be coming predominantly from the drivers side.

Rockaway is mad far. Got any good tire deals? like 2 for free

[poopsonu]

How do you check if a rim is bent?

When I turn the tire, using the Shock as a fixed point, you can see differences in height, and several "flat" spots. Can this cause the shaking that I'm talking about

The wheel feels like its wobbling at low speeds ( 0 - 10mph) and highway speeds (55-85) but not in between.

The brakes seem to be rubbing against the rotor at times. The carrier is on perfectly..... Should I post pictures?

I checked the LCR bushings, linkages, ball joint, everything.

The drivers side has no rotor set screw because this damn shop i took it too got the previous set screw stuck into the caliper behind the rotor itself. I should probably show a picture of this. The hub seems slighly differnt than the passanger side hub. The passanger side hub has one hole for a set screw. THe drivers side seems to have four set screw holes, all of which have stripped set screws stuck in the hub.

Can anyone throw me some insights? Is there more information I can provide. This is really driving me up a wall. Like sell the car anoying.

I'm tempted to just get a new set of tires and give it a try but I am broke.... I'm going to try to rotate the tires and see if I can feel the wobble in the back instead of the front....

[poopsonu]

Rotated the tires, did everything I could, can't figure it out.

I bit the bullet and went to a shop. They think it might be gearbox problem... I'll update when I get an update.

[poopsonu]

The shop said it was a bad passanger side axles.

This same shop put in the axles, and told me they were racing axles. They said they put the axles in two years ago and so they are not under warranty.

Does this make sense? ??

[Boost112]

The shop said it was a bad passanger side axles.

This same shop put in the axles, and told me they were racing axles. They said they put the axles in two years ago and so they are not under warranty.

Does this make sense? ??

...were they raxles?

[poopsonu]

No they wern't "raxles" They cant tell me what brand they were for some undisclosed reason... They allege they dont know..

[mike_VR]

No they wern't "raxles" They cant tell me what brand they were for some undisclosed reason... They allege they dont know..

well raxles are lifetime

[poopsonu]

Replaced the axle with what the shop recommended.

Axle snapped off while shop owner was driving the car.

This was right after the guy told me not to worry about his driving, I'll be safe.

Is this a win or a lose for me? Hes got to fix it now... He broke it.

[poopsonu]

Alright, I'm back.

I replaced both axles with Raxles and the car is dramatically improved.

Now it just vibrates in the steering wheel at high speeds, randomly. I feel it in the gas peddle. It's an intense vibration, but not violent. I feel it in the seat.

Can a worn on out bushing on the center exhaust support cause this!

I checked ball joints, Control Arm Bushings, and the tie rod ends.

Can anyone help?

[poopsonu]

Fixed all the exhaust hangers, still a vibration.

Car makes a low pitched rubbing sound, like wammmm wammm wammm sometimes when the shake is present.


Is this a transmission problem?

The mounts seem fine, I shook the **** out of the engine and it was solid... I dont think I can reproduce the horizontal movement of turning the same way...

[kpaskdub]

Wheel Bearing, you could possibly need an alignment, brake rotor warp, dry CV joint check the boots for any rips or holes.

Check if the wheel moves left to right when jacked off the ground, if so get a new tierod

[poopsonu]

I did all of that.

Last week, new raxles axles, new front tires, four wheel alignment and balancing.

I feel like its the dog bone mount. My VF mount destroyed the transmission connection and I had to install a helio coil.

Does anyone know of any other way to brace the transmission to prevent horizontal movement.

I'm running out of ideas.

I replaced the rotors and wheel bearing during the dates of this thread.

Anyone anything! The car feels fine, pulls fine. but makes this noise and vibrating steering wheel. The vibration is at a high frequency.

[kpaskdub]

g60 solid rear tranny mount my motor doesnt move at all just installed it yesterday

[poopsonu]

Not to sound stupid, but where do I put that on my mk4 12v vr6?