severe wobbling, HELP!

[the.captain]

I have to take the car (70,000miles) in this weekend anyway but I was hoping to be a little informed as to what the problem could be. It feels like my RF wheel is wobbling, so much so it slightly but constantly jerks the steering wheel back and forth. There's no grinding or squealing so I don't think it's the bearings, just a constant rythmic thumping in time with the wobble. It feels like a wheel is going to fall off. It's more severe at slower-mid speeds but it can be felt at all times. I live in pot-hole central so maybe I bent something, I don't know, control arm, tie-rod? It seemed to just start a couple weeks ago but it's getting worse quickly. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[TorinoGT69]

Sounds like possibly a seperated tire check your tires for bumps or buldges in the tread area.

[the.captain]

I'll do that, thanks

[the.captain]

Wow, I think you got it. It's actually the left front tire. It has a swell in the outside of the tread I didn't even notice before. The rim must have cut through when I hit a pothole. As a secondary question do you know why it seems like the tires constantly seem to loose air on Alero's? I put air in them at least once a week.

[jr6078]

I have a similar problem with my tires losing air. The factory wheels on the Alero have a tendency to "wear off" the rubber around the tire bead where it contacts the wheel. The rubber actually transfers over and becomes stuck on the wheel rim. You can't see this without removing the tire.

The only suggestion I have for this is to have a shop remove the tires, clean all the crud off the wheels where the tire beads contact them, then remount and balance the tires. They may have to use a product commonly referred to as "bead seal" to get the tires to completely seal when they remount them.

If you're getting new tires, it's especially critical to have the wheels cleaned , because if the crud isn't cleaned off, you'll have new tires that are losing pressure.

[the.captain]

The whole reason my tire seperated is I probably hit a pothole with too little air in my tire and the rim cut into the first wall of the tire. It's a real pain. I'm getting the tires replaced today so I'll be sure to mention to them to clean the rims. Thanks.