99 Taurus Steering Wheel Shakes on Highway

Hi,

I have a 99 Taurus SE sedan with the 24v w/66000 mi.
At highway speeds around 65-75, my steering wheel has a slight vibration/shake. It doesn't do it all the time, but most of the time. I had my wheels balanced at the dealer, and it seemed to get slightly better, but the wheel still shakes. The faster I go, it seems to get better. It is a noticable vibration around 70, but if I go up to 80-85, it is not as bad. I called the dealer up after getting this done, and basically they said all they could do is have me come in and do another balance for $150 on a more advanced machine to check if one of the tires is bad.

I also get some brake pulsation when slowing down at highway speeds. Could this be related? I don't know if warped rotors would also cause the wheel vibration...

Also, while I'm thinking about that car, one other thing I noticed is that when I cut the wheel all the way to the left while I'm parking, I notice a noise from the drivers side front end, hard to describe, almost like two pots/pans rubbing together. It does it when I make the full turn, then when I turn the steering wheel about 5 inches back to the right. After the 5 inch turn it doesnt make any noise. Only when I go all the way to the left...

Any help would be appreciated-

Thanks-- Bill

As for the steering wheel vibration, you description is very much like what a wheel/tire out of balance would be described as. You should try moving the wheels/tires front to rear and see if that has any effect. If now you don't notice so much of a vibration in the steering wheel, but the rest of the car seems to vibrate, then you have either a wheel balance issue, a bent wheel, or a bad tire (that's not on the rear of the car).

If moving the wheels/tires front to rear has no effect, then you should consider having the rotors machined for the brake pulsation and make sure when the wheels are installed, they are properly torqued (star pattern and torque spec) so as not to cause the rotors to warp due to uneven torque being applied from, say, an air impact tool. There is a chance if the rotors are warped badly enough, the spot with the large runout is contacting the friction material of the brake pads and causing the wheel to slow down momentarily, hence the steering wheel vibration. I wouldn't expect this type of issue to get better at higher speeds though.

-Rod

I rotated the tires, and the vibration in the wheel went away. I can't notice any vibration in the rear of the car, so I'm hoping my problem is solved for now. I still have that noise from my front end if anyone can tell what that is...

Thanks,

Bill