One of the most common causes of shaking steering wheels is an alignment problem. If your vehicle isn’t aligned properly, it can cause damage to tires, suspension parts and other aspects of the vehicle’s operation. In this article we’ll explore some common causes of uneven wear on tires and how to fix them so you can get back on the road with a smooth-steering ride.
Section: Have a helper watch the wheels while you look at the tires
If the vehicle is going in and out of alignment, check front and rear tire pressures.
Check for uneven wear on the tires.
The front tires should be checked for uneven wear every 7,500 miles. This helps ensure that the steering wheel is properly balanced and that the tire meets the road surface at an angle of 45 degrees or less. If you have a rear-wheel drive car with a manual transmission, you may also want to check your tires for proper tread depth (see below).
If your tires are worn down too far, they can cause instability when driving in wet conditions or snow. Additionally, if you’re experiencing excessive shaking on dry roads only, it could be caused by underinflated tires (check here for more information)
Check the tire pressure of all four tires. If any of the tires are low on air, then it will cause a vibration which can result in shaking steering wheel.
Take your vehicle to a mechanic if you are not sure about how to check your tire pressure or don’t have time to do it yourself – they’ll be able to give you a more thorough inspection and make sure that everything is safe for driving.
Tighten the lug nuts.
To tighten the lug nuts, you’ll need to jack your car up and loosen the lugs with a socket wrench. Check all of them, but especially those closest to the wheels. If they don’t feel tight enough, you may need another size wrench. If they’re too tight and you can’t get them off with a socket wrench (or if they break), use an impact driver instead—it will help loosen any stubborn lugs without destroying them.
If any of the lug nuts are loose or damaged beyond repair, replace it before proceeding. You also want to check that there aren’t any washers missing or cracked—replace these as well if necessary. When tightening, start from front to back so that everything is level: each wheel should be tightened equally until all four tires have equal pressure at all times
Get your tires rebalanced and rotated.
To get the most out of your tires, you should have them balanced and rotated at least once a year. As tires wear down, their weights shift to one side, which can affect the handling of your car and even lead to serious damage if it goes unchecked for too long.
You’ll want to rotate your tires when they’re about 6 or 7 years old (or sooner if you drive a lot). Rotating them will even out their wear patterns—because one side always leans toward the ground while the other faces up—and help maintain proper tire pressure. This not only helps prevent rollover accidents but also lets you avoid costly repairs later on down the road!
Measure runout and replace any warped brake rotors.
If the steering wheel shakes when you brake, it’s likely that one or more of your brake rotors is warped. This can be caused by driving over rough roads and/or braking heavily. You’ll need to measure runout with a dial indicator to determine which rotor needs to be replaced. Replace any warped rotors as soon as possible because they can continue to warp over time and lead to other problems like poor braking performance, premature wear on tires and shocks, etc..
Replacing the pads alone won’t fix this issue. If the problem still persists after replacing them all (including calipers), then you may need to replace other components such as: Brake fluid master cylinder booster lines calipers (if none have been replaced yet) Read Also :Seven symptoms of bad shock absorber
Inspect your suspension system, including the tie rod ends, ball joints and shocks/struts.
The next step is to inspect your suspension system and check for worn or damaged parts. This will involve looking at the tie rod ends, ball joints and shocks/struts.
Tie rods connect the steering knuckle to the steering hub. They are made up of a metal rod that connects two smaller arms together at one end (in this case, they connect your steering knuckle to your steering wheel). When these tie rods become loose or damaged, they may cause excessive play in your steering wheel.
Ball joints attach between a control arm and the spindle/knuckle assembly on either side of the vehicle’s axle. Over time they can wear out causing excessive play in your vehicle’s front wheels which eventually leads to loss of control while driving due to misalignment or suspension problems caused by loss of proper alignment between tires and axles causing vibrations when turning corners due to improper tracking during acceleration which could lead to premature wear on tires if not checked regularly enough leading down road towards expensive repairs costing hundreds dollars per visit depending on how bad things really get before taking action now instead risking thousands later when damage becomes irreparable requiring more extensive repairs costing more than double what initial estimate would be without doing something now so please start working with us today!
Read Also : Car Suspension Problems
Align your wheels you should have them balanced if they’re out of alignment.
Alignment is one of the most important factors in how your car handles and drives. The entire vehicle should be aligned when you purchase it or as soon thereafter as possible, and then at least once a year thereafter. If you have just had an alignment done, check to make sure that the wheels are not out of balance by using a tire balancing machine at the shop where you got your tires installed (if they offer this service).
If any part of the alignment is out-of-specification, then go back to where your tires were balanced and have them fix it right away! Otherwise, if everything looks good but you still feel like your steering wheel is shaking when going over bumps or through potholes (which could be caused by anything from worn suspension parts to bad shocks), take it back to where they did their previous work on your car so they can get more information about what’s wrong with it. These are the most common causes of shaking steering wheels and how to fix them.
Overheating: If your steering wheel is overheating, it will start to shake. This usually happens when you don’t have enough coolant in your car. To fix this problem, check the level of coolant and add more if needed. Make sure that there is plenty of coolant at all times so that it doesn’t run out and cause a fire in your engine compartment.
Loose or broken parts: If you can hear a loud clunking sound when turning the steering wheel back and forth, there might be a loose or broken part inside the steering column that needs to be replaced by a mechanic as soon as possible before further damage occurs to other parts of your vehicle such as suspension components or brake lines which could result in much higher repair costs down the road if not addressed immediately after noticing symptoms like those mentioned above due to faulty directional control while driving (such as shaking).
Conclusion
There are many potential causes of a shaking steering wheel, but most of them can be easily fixed. If you’re still struggling to find a solution to your problem, please contact us so we can have a technician take a look at your vehicle and let you know what they find—we’re happy to help!
