Miss R has a shimmy!

[huey9ball]

Hi All,
I need help understanding what Miss R is telling me...
Background:
1997 ITR #40 - STOCK no mods. I drive her once a month. 40,025 miles.
Problem:
I notice a little wobble in the steering 2 months ago and thought it was the tires sitting "out of round " for a long time.
This last time out I experienced more shimmy in the steering.( low speed only)
Is it the bushings in the steering? I doubt it would be the tires after 3 hours of driving.
I need your opinion please.
Thank you.

[itrsteez]

First things first, get your wheels balanced. That's the common cause.

[huey9ball]

First things first, get your wheels balanced. That's the common cause.

Thank you for your quick response. They are balance... Tires have good life left on them. Hard to imagine they would fall out of balance..?

Shimmy is at low speed where only the steering shakes side to side 2 inches both ways... And stops as I increase speed.

[Doespike]

If you loose a weight, they could be out of balance. That has happened to me. I even lost a weight a mile from the tire shop.

Also try yanking on the wheels to see if there's play. Could be worn bearing, bushings, or tie rods.

BTW, when you want to sell your '97...lemme know JK

[itrsteez]

The only thing that throws me off is the vibration going away as speeds increase, that sounds rather odd.

[nannerb46]

Is the vibration there until about 60-65mph, then going away, or is the vibration disappear at lower speeds?

[huey9ball]

Is the vibration there until about 60-65mph, then going away, or is the vibration disappear at lower speeds?

The Wheel shake stops at 45+ ... I am having a feeling it could be the tie rod bushings?

Since I drive it once a month... should I put the car on blocks?


Thank you for your help!

[Dave_B]

Check the free/simple stuff first. Check the wheel weights. Also swap tires from front to back and see if the vibration moves to the rear, or goes away completely. Before throwing money at it, check the simple, free stuff first.

[huey9ball]

Hi All,
I took a video of the shimmy.... http://www.kamuitips.com/downloads/DSCN3554.AVI
Please let me know your thoughts...
Thanks!

[98TypeR#21]

Hi All,
I took a video of the shimmy.... http://www.kamuitips.com/downloads/DSCN3554.AVI
Please let me know your thoughts...
Thanks!

Wow that's an interesting one, looking at the video. The low-speed definitely eliminates balance as the cause.

I think it's the tires, but as another poster said, that's easy to isolate. swap fronts to back and back-to-front. If the vibration changes it's the tires. Don't just swap left/right because the vibration may occur on the other steered wheel.

If it's the tires, I wonder if something happened to one of the belts due to sitting for long periods. Just a thought.

If you prove that it is the tires but can't figure out which one (left vs right) you might try lowering and raising air-pressure in them one at a time - I'd expect the vibration to change on the tire when you mod the pressure.

I'm having my own little "issue" with my 98 right now - maybe I'll write it up to get others' opinions...

[Doespike]

Yeah, try what Jeff says. Do you have another set of wheels to swap altogether?

[huey9ball]

OK... thank you for the help. It may take me a while cause she hides in a "barn" like (single car) garage in Long Beach... SO gimme a few weeks.
Thank you for your help... Stay tuned.