Why does my steering wheel shake so violently when I try to go over 60?

Question

I've had both outer tie-rod ends replaced (it's a Ford...*sigh*... I know, I know...). The second one I had done by a friend who's a mechanic, though it wasn't professionally aligned. Could that be my problem? Should I check the wear on the wheels? How dangerous is this if left unchecked?

Answer 1

If there is a bulge or ripple in the tread pattern on any tire, especially the front,the culprit, belt separation can easily case shaking above a certain speed and lead to dangerous blowouts.
Unbalanced tires can lead to sympathetic vibrations at specific speeds, but warped rims (from hitting speed bumps or curbs) also cause vibrations and could shake loose weights, masking the problem.
Warped brake rotors, caused by overheating while braking, may scrape at low speeds and build into a shake at cruise. This condition wears out all brake components prematurely, and can cause excessive wear on connected suspension/ transmission parts.
A tire & brake shop can handle any of that work, but you'll need objective recommendations from friends on which one is best in your area.

Answer 2

Here's the CORRECT answer. For starters, you need to take the vehicle to a competent mechanic to have the condition of the rest of the front end parts inspected. Then, assuming your friend didn't botch the tie rod job, you should have the front end aligned. Also, you should have all 4 tires checked for proper balance.

If the front end's been aligned, all 4 tires are balanced, and it STILL vibrates, then you may have another bad component in your front end....ball joints, inner tie rods, idler arm, etc.

But first of all, take it in and have someone who knows what they are doing inspect the front end, without delay, and don't drive at highway speeds until you do, or you can do damage to the car, and potentially to yourself if something breaks.

Hope this helped.

Answer 3

First, check the alignment to see if its off. Next it could be a wheel weight has come off at some point. Unless you have hit something recently i don't think it would be a bent rim and depending on how old it is your transmission should be fine. The danger would come from an uneven wear on your tires after you have been driving on them for awhile causing a blowout.

Answer 4

Bad ball joints, perhaps. Jack up the car so one of the front wheels is off the ground. Then grab the top and bottom of the wheel and see if you can move it backward or forward (meaning top or bottom away and then towards you as you are setting facing the whole wheel). If you can, you have bad ball joints and a mechanic needs to replace them. If it moves quite a lot, don't drive the car to the garage. Have it towed!

Answer 5

ERIC G had a lot of the same ideas I had, but he missed one. It could be the drive shaft, along with any of the other things people have said on here. But if you try to fix all of this stuff at once, it will cost you a fortune. So please have someone figure out what exactly is wrong before you start throwing parts at it. I love my Lincoln (Ford product), so don't talk smack about these lovely cars.

Answer 6

Make sure the tires have the proper inflation, and are balanced. Have the alignment checked, and also have someone check your ball joints and shocks/struts.
It can be dangerous, but it will also cause your tires and other suspension components to wear prematurely.

Answer 7

My boyfriend had the SAME EXACT PROBLEM you know what happened a week or so after it started shaking!!! His tire blew on the highway, burning rubber.. the tire melted right there in front of us. The shaking only happened when he was going over 65. When was the last time you had your tires changed? Hope you have AAA!
And it was a volvo, it can happen to any car!

Answer 8

You changed tie rod ends without getting an alignment?

Silly you.

Get an align and balance.

Answer 9

It may be that your car either needs an alignment or perhaps the tires themselves may be old or worn. Check to make sure your tires don't have a bubble appearing, that happened to me.

Answer 10

Balance your tires, they cause vibrations, not alignments; however, it is very imp[ortant to re-align your car after making front end repairs such as tie rod ends, as you will shred your tires quickly if you dont.