Wondering how others solved the phantom menace of Steering Shake/wobble/vibration/shudder :lookout: that seems to defy all "normal" kinds of diagnosis and fix? Poking through the many threads on this topic over past 5 years or so, it seems to be more common in 5th generation than prior, and of course more common where suspension has been lifted/modified. But still a devil of a problem even on unmodified like mine.
My 07 has 177K on it and for the last 40K miles was very smooth/stable at any speed on Toll Roads, high speed interstate, whatever. Until about 5K miles ago when I noticed a slight steering shake creeping in just over 70mph, that subsided after about 75mph. This is a 2WD with only mod being Bilstein 5100's, rear set to OEM, front one notch up - less than 1". The smooth/serene rolling was good before and after the Bilsteins so I don't think they're implicated.
that little vibe got amplified and multiplied when I finally wore out the rear pair of Michelin LTX's. How I wish I had just kept on driving. Replaced with 2 Kumo Crugens, and have had rebalanced, rotated, etc 5 times now including this past Monday when I left it with a local ace mechanic who has a reputation for being tenacious with drivability issues. He says he thinks the older pair, Bridgestone Alenza Plus, are the culprit, and that one of them may have a problem that is invisible. Right before handing off to him I had 4 wheel alignment done and that shop check every single part starting with calipers for any other cause. I'm not confident that they would notice things like bad bushings particularly in the steering components, but it is what it is. One wheel was very very slightly out of line, but the older tires were wearing "perfect", as they said.
After all that, the character of the hide/seek problem is a little different but it is still there, starting at about 62mph to about 80 but is inconsistent which is the most aggravating and mysterious part. Sometimes it is almost silky smooth, but stop somewhere, get back in, drive off on the same Interstate and it will be back - shaking my hand and feet and seat.
Anyone here in 2018 have this and solve? Probably the cheapest next step would be to drop the old reliable Bridgestones and matchup 2 more Kumo's, and just keep balancing until somebody gets lucky.
My 07 has 177K on it and for the last 40K miles was very smooth/stable at any speed on Toll Roads, high speed interstate, whatever. Until about 5K miles ago when I noticed a slight steering shake creeping in just over 70mph, that subsided after about 75mph. This is a 2WD with only mod being Bilstein 5100's, rear set to OEM, front one notch up - less than 1". The smooth/serene rolling was good before and after the Bilsteins so I don't think they're implicated.
that little vibe got amplified and multiplied when I finally wore out the rear pair of Michelin LTX's. How I wish I had just kept on driving. Replaced with 2 Kumo Crugens, and have had rebalanced, rotated, etc 5 times now including this past Monday when I left it with a local ace mechanic who has a reputation for being tenacious with drivability issues. He says he thinks the older pair, Bridgestone Alenza Plus, are the culprit, and that one of them may have a problem that is invisible. Right before handing off to him I had 4 wheel alignment done and that shop check every single part starting with calipers for any other cause. I'm not confident that they would notice things like bad bushings particularly in the steering components, but it is what it is. One wheel was very very slightly out of line, but the older tires were wearing "perfect", as they said.
After all that, the character of the hide/seek problem is a little different but it is still there, starting at about 62mph to about 80 but is inconsistent which is the most aggravating and mysterious part. Sometimes it is almost silky smooth, but stop somewhere, get back in, drive off on the same Interstate and it will be back - shaking my hand and feet and seat.
Anyone here in 2018 have this and solve? Probably the cheapest next step would be to drop the old reliable Bridgestones and matchup 2 more Kumo's, and just keep balancing until somebody gets lucky.
