Shaking seat

**j nix** · 03-12-2011, 06:51 PM

when i drive my seat and steering wheel shake. The steering wheel shakes a little, but my passenger seat shakes alot. I just had the wheels balanced and that seemed to help a little, but still shaking. Has anybody had this problem and what was the solution? Any help is appreciated.

**LSX01MUSTANG** · 03-13-2011, 01:33 PM

Are your front tires cupped from being out of alignment?

**KMdef9** · 03-13-2011, 02:09 PM

Originally Posted by j nix

when i drive my seat and steering wheel shake. The steering wheel shakes a little, but my passenger seat shakes alot. I just had the wheels balanced and that seemed to help a little, but still shaking. Has anybody had this problem and what was the solution? Any help is appreciated.

Your alignment could be off, as mentioned, or they could have messed up the balancing. Could the ball joints have gotten that bad?

I would not drive anywhere you don't have to!

Take it to an alignment shop and have them take a look at it.

How long has this been going on for?

**sjsingle1** · 03-13-2011, 02:11 PM

motor or tranny mounts shot?

**j nix** · 03-13-2011, 02:36 PM

I haven't checked the mounts. I will start by getting it aligned. I haven't done that yet, sense I got it 9 months ago. I drove it for 3 months and then garaged it. I got new tires on it right before I stored it. The tires were nexen brand. I never heard of them, but the guy who got them for me was a friend of a friend and I didn't question. I was thinking I might have put flat spots in the tires from sitting.

**pajeff02** · 03-13-2011, 03:25 PM

You should check all that has been mentioned and also inspect your u-joints as a bad one can cause a vibration at certain rpm's. Did the shop utilize stick on weights or the kind that are hammered onto the bead? Sometimes they install used bead weights and they can fall off soon after installation.

**j nix** · 03-13-2011, 03:48 PM

Well I got them balanced 6 months ago, but didn't start shaking until I got it out of the garage for the first time a month ago. Then I got them balanced again last week at Discount Tire. They are pretty good. I have new tires on all my cars from them, with no problems. It did seem to shake at different rpm's, rather than different speeds. I had the trans rebuilt recently. My rear sway bushings are squeaking pretty bad, I don't know if that means anything.

**j nix** · 03-13-2011, 04:11 PM

Sounds like I have a lot to check out. I am going to put on new shocks, 2 point sfc, PHB, LCAs and strut tower brace. I was hoping after those upgrades, that it might go away. But from what you guys are saying, I need to look at the front end. Is the alignment something I could do myself?

**KMdef9** · 03-14-2011, 08:15 AM

Originally Posted by j nix

Is the alignment something I could do myself?

Sadly, no.

**u118224** · 03-14-2011, 08:23 AM

Originally Posted by j nix

Sounds like I have a lot to check out. I am going to put on new shocks, 2 point sfc, PHB, LCAs and strut tower brace. I was hoping after those upgrades, that it might go away. But from what you guys are saying, I need to look at the front end. Is the alignment something I could do myself?

I would fix the problem before adding other parts. Did the car vibrate after you replaced the tires, or just now? I don't think an alignment will fix it. Is this a summer only car? Are the rotors rusty? I would start with the simple things before getting an alignment.

**Smittro** · 03-14-2011, 08:59 AM

Originally Posted by j nix

Sounds like I have a lot to check out. I am going to put on new shocks, 2 point sfc, PHB, LCAs and strut tower brace. I was hoping after those upgrades, that it might go away. But from what you guys are saying, I need to look at the front end. Is the alignment something I could do myself?

The only thing listed here that may have an effect on the vibration is the shocks..

None of the other things will stop or dampen mechanical vibrations..

No an alignment is something you can't do yourself without the proper equiptment which most folks don't own..

Flat spotted tires, bent rim/damaged rim, lost wheel weight, bad sway bar links, poor suspension, bad ball joints/tie rod ends, loose panhard/torque arm, etc etc..

All or one can contribute to vibration..

Check the lug nuts..

**KMdef9** · 03-14-2011, 09:27 AM

If you can, jack the front end of your car up, very securely. Grab the top of the front passenger side tire with one hand and the bottom with another. Pull/push in opposite directions and see if there is any play on the rim. It could be very small and hard to notice, but if you feel some play it isn't a good sign. Let us know.

**j nix** · 03-14-2011, 04:31 PM

It didnt shake after i got the tires, it actually drove great. It just started shaking now. It is a summer only car. Although if it is winter and the roads are dry, i will take it out. Discount tire just rotated my tires and i asked them to look if anything looked bad from a visual inspection. All they told me was that my sway bar bushings are squeeking. I forgot to list sway bars. I am also switching those out. Smittro said that bad sway bar links are a possibility and my sway bar hardware is squeeking bad. I will switch out my sway bars first when they get here and see if that makes a difference. In the mean time i will check out the front wheels like mentioned.

**pajeff02** · 03-14-2011, 04:39 PM

If it changed immediately after the rotation, I would say that you have a wheel out of balance. You will notice it much more on the front than the back. Correct tire pressure? And like Smittro mentioned, are the lug nuts tight?

**j nix** · 03-14-2011, 04:47 PM

Sorry for the confusion. Here is the story from the beginning. Basically the car was sitting in the garage for like two months. I pulled it out and took it for a ride. The steering wheel would shake like crazy. After I drove it a little bit, the shaking started to lessen, but never went away. It did the same thing the next few times I took it out. So I started by getting the tires balanced. It improved the situation, but still shakes. I checked and the weights are still on, tire pressure is good, rotors are new and not rusty and lugs are tight. Sway bar squeaks and I think the shocks are bad. Car has 115,000 with original equipment.

**j nix** · 03-14-2011, 04:57 PM

So the getting better as I drive makes me think, flat spots in the tires that smooth out partially once they heat up. There might be a fold in the tire. What do you think. Still mechanical?

**pajeff02** · 03-14-2011, 05:07 PM

I guess it is possible the tires have flatspotted, but that is more a thing of bygone days and older tire technology. Easy enough to check though. Simply put the car in the air and place a solid object in close proximity to the center portion of your tread. Position yourself so that you can view the small gap between the tire tread and the object and spin the tire by hand. Any dimensional irregularities will be readily apparent. Make sure you take appropriate precautions to prevent the car from rolling when you do this.

**LSX01MUSTANG** · 03-14-2011, 05:08 PM

It's sounding to me like flat spots since it started after a long sit. I would still go over the other mentioned mechanicals just to be safe.

**j nix** · 03-14-2011, 05:45 PM

I hear what you are saying about the mechanical. It is just that nothing happened between the time it was running well and shaking, except sitting in the garage on the tires. And it gets better as I drive. I will jack it up next winter or put on crappy tires. The tires are new, but the brand is Nexen. Anybody ever heard of them. I think part of the problem might be poor quality tires. Maybe I should have new tires put on to see what happens.