mild front end end shake

[SUPER]

So the top of motor leak is taken care of. Next issue,

I have new rotors/brakes. Braking and driving very smooth except... At higher speeds, 60 mph or so, i get a slight wobble on the steering wheel during braking. Thinking suspension?

[Chucksta]

Ummm,,, Actually thinking out of round rotors. The easiest way to check is with a "dial indicator". What you're looking for is what's called "Run out". With the wheel off, set the probe of the dial indicator against the mid to outer section of the disc and rotate the wheel./ There should be no more than a couple of thou variance in one complete revolution of the wheel. Check both sides, as it only takes one side to be out to wiggle the steering wheel. If it only does it sometimes, that's indicative of BOTH sides being out of round, as every time you turn a corner, the wheels orientation to each other is changed, which results in that sometimes, the out of roundness on one side cancels out the out of roundness on the other side, and sometimes amplifies the symptom.

If you find the disc is not "true" ... return it! Do NOT let them turn it, especially if you paid for drilled, dimpled or slotted.. One of the problems with the SVX is that it's a relatively heavy vehicle, and therefore generates a significant amount of heat under breaking. Turning the rotors, even if the disc remains "within specs", diminishes it's ability to absorb heat, and diminishes it's ability to resist warping from, shall we say, enthusiastic driving. It wouldn't hurt to check the rears, while you're at it. If they are out of true, you wouldn't feel it as much, but ANY out of roundness plays hell with the ABS when you approach threshold.

It's actually doing the same thing at slower speeds, it's just not as noticeable, as the frequency of the pulsing is directly related to road speed. It's also relative to braking force.

It's pretty much a certainty that the issue is in the front set. The basic rule of thumb is that if you feel it in the steering wheel, it's the front end, if you feel it in the seat of your pants, it's in the rear end.

[SUPER]

Thanks for feedback.

[SURTEESS]

Most new rotors state in the packaging - that they should be machined right out of the box, as could have been dropped by courier....

R1Concepts state that...that is why I got mine done while on the car.

[1986nate]

Originally Posted by SUPER

So the top of motor leak is taken care of. Next issue,

I have new rotors/brakes. Braking and driving very smooth except... At higher speeds, 60 mph or so, i get a slight wobble on the steering wheel during braking. Thinking suspension?

Inner Tie rod ends

(or crappy rotors)

[SUPER]

Originally Posted by 1986nate

Inner Tie rod ends

(or crappy rotors)

If inner tie rod ends, expensive repair? Are there aftermarket parts, or OEM only?

[WhatIsThisIDont]

Beck-Arnley makes some pretty decent tie rods, and if you get them on Amazon, they aren't too bad.

If they have been in there for a while, they can be quite a pain to break loose and you'll need an alignment afterwards. If you're going through the pain of the job, might as well do the outters too.


Granted, you'll be able to tell once the car is in the air.

[1986nate]

Originally Posted by WhatIsThisIDont

Beck-Arnley makes some pretty decent tie rods, and if you get them on Amazon, they aren't too bad.

IIRC (based on other SVX owners) the beck arnley's are more expensive than OEM. Buddy just ordered both outers and one inner (already had a single inner) and it cost him $150 shipped.

[Chucksta]

On my '97, the same symptom ( pulsing / mild shake under braking over 60 MPH), occurred immediately after a safety check and 4 wheel alignment. Not that it didn't do it before that, I wouldn't know, as that was done at purchase. But, I would like to think that if the tie rods, or any other front end part wasn't up to par, it wouldn't have passed the safety, nor would an alignment been possible. What I don't know, however, is what amount of play is allowed in a tie rod to pass a safety check, or, how little play would there have to be to eliminate the tie rod end as the culprit.

I asked my mechanic if he checked the discs for run out, and he said that he didn't, as it wasn't required for a safety check. He only checked for structural flaws and thickness. When I swap out the snows for the summer rims, I'm going to check the run out on the discs. I'm interested to see how little out they have to be to make the steering wheel pulse.

I'll let you know how that goes in about eight weeks.

[B 4 You]

Check your ball joints too. Super easy to replace and can cause a shake if they're bad. I had a tiny shake forever because the alignment shop told me only one was bad

[SUPER]

Update - I took it to my regular shop to see what was up.


They put her in the air and all the suspension seemed real tight.

They used a dial indicator and found that the rotors were true.

Rotated the tires and there was no change in the mild shake.

So, their recommendation... Wait until it gets worse. it is really very mild.

They suspect it could be an axle, CV joint, whatever. Thought it would be an expensive expedition to look for the problem when the issue was minor at this point.

So... There it is.

[B 4 You]

How's the air pressure in the tires?

[Tapani]

Probably not relevant to the SVX, but once I had a Ford which developed a similar issue if the lug nuts were not properly torqued down with most of the weight of the car off the wheels.

Easy to check. The hub flanges distorted just a tad.

/T

[SilverSpear]

Originally Posted by Tapani

Probably not relevant to the SVX, but once I had a Ford which developed a similar issue if the lug nuts were not properly torqued down with most of the weight of the car off the wheels.

Easy to check. The hub flanges distorted just a tad.

/T

I second the hub flanges, they are the only thing I could think of that may cause a "mystery" shake after what you listed above (as checked).

[SUPER]

Originally Posted by B 4 You

How's the air pressure in the tires?

33lbs front and 29lbs rear.

Could it be the ABS? She only pulses when pushing it hard. Not panic, but harder than typical cruising braking.