Who do my tires shake while driving?

I have a 1992 Toyota Paseo. I bought this car about a year ago and got new tires when I bought it. Lately I've been dealing with some intense shaking. When I drive over bumps the tires shake a lot. I have to hold onto the wheel very hard. It is at it's worst between 50 and 70 mph. I know my shocks/struts are bad because it's like driving a boat. Could those guys be responsible for the shaking as well? Could it be alignment? I'm not expecting an exact answer, but I want to know around how much it should cost. Is alignment more expensive than struts or the other way around? I'm going to a mechanic soon, but I want to know he's not taking advantage of me being a girl who knows nothing about my car! Please help.

Lutzkrieg

Three things, your alignment is out, your tires are worn on the sides, You need to replace your sway bar bushes in which case your alignment is out too. If you have to hold onto your wheel tight over bumps then your sway bar bushes are stuffed and giving you too much sway. In which case your alignment will be out. Also your wheel bearings could be stuffed as well. In fact Id lay odds on sway bar over struts... Lie on the ground and look at the bars that go to your wheels, If they look different on either side then they're bent, however sway bar bushes...try that first. I've included a link that shows you what a sway bar looks like roughly (In front of the motor and behind the bumper underneath) and another that shows you what a bush looks like. If the bush looks worse off than this then there's your culprit.
The shaking at speed is 90% positively alignment, and the steering problems sounds almost positively the sway bar bushes. More than likely the bushes went first and the domino effect has caused alignment problems.

i_love_boys

Im pretty sure its your alignment and you need wheel balancing. Its going to run you about 100 dollars.

wnruger

yes your struts can cause the shaking but i would have the tires balanced and rotated first that will be the best starting point and the cheapest if that doesn't do it then i would start having the front end supension looked at i know that sway bar end links will cause some vibration as well as some very loud popping noise on bumps good luck

versantly

alignment problems, bad tires, etc. get the car to a shop & don't drive till it's repaired.

truemusic53

well either it could be that your tires arn't all facing the same way, or that your suspension is really bad. you can obviously narrow it down to your tires...are they all on tight, sounds bizzare but still, you never know. sorry im not much help but i mean its either they arn't facing the same direction, suspension, or they are falling off. good luck

I <3 my Suby.

I would start by checking your air pressure, alignment and have the wheels balances.

parkmistyred

My dear have it checked out right now. Don't wait as something is very loose. You could end up in the ditch or worse, under a semi.

saq428

Could be the suspension, but more than likely you need to get the wheels balanced...and I've never had a wheel balancing cost me $100.00, so shop around.

Effem T

The only Zen answer is: WHY NOT.

pbleek

Sounds like your tires need to be rebalanced and you also need new struts. There is a chance you hit something and your rim is bent or damaged or your tire is damaged, could simply be that your balancing weights fell off the front wheel/ wheels.

mystacall

think what is happening is that the brake rotors are warping and causing an "imbalance". This, in turn, caused the tires to wear irregularly. There is probably some wear in the suspension components - most likely ball joints - and that allows the vibration to continue after it is generated by the brake rotor.

I suggest you have someone look at the brakes - and the suspension - and even if they replace some parts, the vibration may still be presesnt because of the wear in the tires, so you may need to replace them, too.

I also had a broken motor mount that did the same thing...check both..bearings and motor mounts and get 2 oppinions but dont tell either one your getting a second and then compare

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