Steering wheel shake after new suspension and lift install

Wow. Non-existant caster. That's probably your problem. You need to be at least 2 degrees positive. Even more would be better for fitting w/out rubbing.

 

Hey Nathan,

almost positive it’s not the needle bearing, which is a rhythmic pulsing groan that you feel more in the pedals and floor than the steering wheel.

Shaking is usually a tire balance or worn suspension parts issue. Those big tires can be difficult to balance. One thing you could try is rotating the tires front to back to see if the shake goes away, then you would know for sure it needs balancing.

A road force balance uses a special machine that works better for big off road tires. Never a bad idea to get an alignment when you get new tires too. I always do, gets you started on the right foot and prevents premature wear patterns.

 

Yeah the caster and cross caster measurement is what I was looking for and its not on the report...does the steering wheel feel floaty or lite when driving around at speed?

 

Yikes that is some low caster. I bet it is all over the road and probably look like a lumber jack sawing the steering wheel back and forth to keep it on the road.

If you didn't have a vibration with the tires before the lift, it probably isn't a balancing issue assuming they kept the wheels where they were and didn't take any weight off. The easy way to determine if it is needle bearing is to put it in 4wd. When I had my vibration, I could feel it in the pedal. It was kind of a slow oscillating vibration that didn't seem to change with speed. A balancing issue would show in the steering wheel shaking in your hand or the seat if it were the rear tires.

 

The shaking was only in the steering wheel Best I can tell it only happened at higher speeds or going downhill. I returned it to the shop and they were quite sure it was the wheel spacers. They've ordered some new ones and I'll pick the car up on Tuesday. They also said they rebalance the tires and realign it.

I'll circle back to post on what worked and what didn't, and who if any wins a remote tele-diagnostic award. Thanks for all the input!

 

Update and question here. They rebalanced the tires and did alignment again after putting on new (smaller/better brand) hub centric spacers. They also rotated the tires. They said it pulled less but still had itermitent shaking.
Their rebalancing the tires and redoing alignment a third time and now thier going to re-line it in a way that it doesn't pull. However, they say that it will cause uneven wear on the tires and that's why they were reluctant to align that way in the first place.
I haven't heard yet if that's resolved the steering wheel shaking and pulling issues.
Here's my question: The tires were put on before the lift and spacers were installed. The shaking only started after the lift and the spacers were put on. If there was no shaking in the steering wheel when the new tires were put on but only a hard pull to the right, could the tires really be the cause of the shaking?

 

Clamshell upgrade. I just got my lift done and this was a major part of the lift to ensure no shake or hum from 60km/h to 80/km.

 

Just heard back from the shop. They say The steering wheel shakes at 60 miles an hour but not above or below. They had to put 10 oz of weight on the tires to balance them.
They think it's either the stiffness of the e-rated tires or a bad tire.
I asked about the clamshell upgrade in two places have told me they don't think that will help the problem.
did you get a chance to drive your car before the clamshell upgrade and notice any shaking?

 

Road force balance?
Are they chasing weights?
What's it do when they dismount and remount on the balancer?
Are they using a cone, fitted collet or nothing on the hub bore?
Are they using a clamping hood or plate to secure?
If they're using a plate, what tips; flat or conical?

 

No idea. I guess the more direct route is just to know what they should be doing and asking them to do it. So what should they be doing?

 

On another note about the clamshell bushings that are popular and supposedly resolve shaking and shimming. I called East coast supply and talk to technical support and they said that if the shaking is not resolved by turning to four-wheel drive high then the clamshell bushings will not help with any shake or shimmy. That is pretty much what the shop told me as well.

 

So much wrong here. The lack of caster in the first place could have caused your shake and the pull you had after the lift but before the alignment is normal and correctable. All that the shop said about doing the alignment is wrong. Sounds like they were will to sacrifice caster to get camber in spec, which is more of a tire wearing angle. There's only one way to do the alignment and that getting it as close to factory specs. Yeah you may want more caster to clear the cab but that's it. You may need new UCAs to correct the loss of caster with the lift. Oh and you want cross caster no more than .5 difference from the other side with the larger angle on the driver's side to compensate for road crown

As far as putting 10oz on a rim to balance a tire, that's not right. Really sounds like a bad tire, or improper use of the balancer or a balancer out of calibration. Are any of the weights 180 degrees from other weights?

 

Idk man, maybe take it to an actual tire shop and tell them you want them road force balanced.

Try taking the spacers off completely and see if that solves your issue. This could be a wrong spacer issue.

 

unfortunately can't take the spacers off otherwise the tires will rub against the spindle gussets.

 

No, I didn't. This upgrade was highly recommended by the team at my shop. I have e rated tires as well. May need a fitment kit. Driveshaft spacer. If its shaking at one speed, if find it hard to believe its tires. This is a tricky one to weed out a problem since you created many new variables.

 

I'm on my way out there to pick it up. I'll ask about the 180°. The UCAs are brand new and icons. Maybe I just need to bring it to a good outside tire shop myself. Frigging shame. Anyone have suggestions for a good one in SoCal?
I suppose I can go back to the place where I bought the tires as well. Just seems like a bad tire is a far reach.

 

If you have new UCAs that compensate for lift (like most UCAs do) and they couldn't get you more caster (assuming those readings were accurate) AND said they couldn't get one angle in spec without taking another out of spec then I'd say they aren't sure what they are doing.

The weight thing I mentioned you can see for yourself. If there is weight directly opposite other weights on the rim then that is counterbalancing and is usually a sign of mounting a tire assembly wrong on a balancer and the tech is chasing weights.

A bad tire is not a far reach at all BUT getting a second opinion with someone who preferably has a Hunter Roadforce balancer (although not necessary if someone really knows what they are doing) is probably the best option.

 

New upper control arms and that's the alignment they did? You need a new shop that know what they are doing.

That and 10oz to balance a tire is ridiculous.

 

Thanks! That sounds like good advice. I'll let you know what happens.