Shaking Steering Wheel

[jymarino]

I have a '99 Saturn SL2 which is having steering wheel shake at speeds around 65 mph. It stops shaking when I get past 70, and doesn't shake every time I get to 65mph. Also, it doesn't shake at all at speeds under 60. The car does pull slightly to the right. The tires on the car are only about 4 months old, and all four were replaced. After having the tires replaced, I had the brakes done, and took it to the dealer to find out why the steering wheel now shakes. They told me that the wheel hubs were warped and needed to be replaced. I took it back to the shop that did the brakes, and they replaced the hubs, but didn't do a re-alignment, saying the re-alignment wasn't needed. The steering wheel still shakes, so I am looking for answers to the cause. Before having the brakes done (rotors resurfaced, new pads, new brake calipers on the front) the steering wheel didn't shake at all. They said that they checked the wheel balancing, but I don't know if it was really done right after the brakes were done. If anyone has had a similar problems I'd appreciate the help!

Thanks

[thesamba]

I got an 02 accord v6 and I have the same EXACT problem as you, no need to change a single word from what you said. Strange, it shakes at around 60-70, then stops. And below that no problems. I took my car to be alligned this morning and the mechanic scared me a bit. He said that having 17's or greater is a curse. Every bump bends the rim slightly. The best that can be done is to find which wheel is less bent and put it in the front so it does not shake too much. I still haven't tried going 60 or more since the allignment this morning but can't wait to see if it did any good. But again, mechanics are often wrong. So I can't say I am totally convinced. Though the guy related a story to me about some kid with rims who came in everyday for a week to get reallignment and ended up selling the car altogether.

[jymarino]

Since my first post, I've gone back to the shop that did the original work, and had them do a 4 wheel tire balance and rotatation. Although the shop mgr claimed it wouldn't do any good, miraculously my steering wheel no longer shakes! I have 15" rims on this car, but if your car does continue to shake, then have a four wheel balance and rotation done and see if that helps. I don't know that I buy what the mechanic you saw was saying. A car out of alignment isn't going to be shaking, it is going to drift to one side or another. From what I've learned, this kind of steering wheel shake is most likely a tire balance problem, which is why all the tires need to be balanced. Just because the steering wheel is shaking, doesn't mean it is the front tires causing the problem. I hope this is helpful, and good luck!

[thesamba]

WEll, I 've had all 4 wheels balanced a few weeks ago when I put on new rubber. So I think it must be the rims that have small inconsistency. I did nto need my rear tires balanced the mech said. He checked all 4. Whatever, I dont trust any mechanics. THey dont know shit. I get more help in this forum than from any mechanic, and it's free. Glad you fixed the problem.