Steering wheel is worse after rotors installed!

Hi everyone,
I posted a couple days ago about my experiance installing brakes,
rotors, P/S 1/2 shaft, and new struts/springs. I noticed a steering
wheel vibration at medium-hard braking. I attributed this to my
rotors, which were orig. at 185k. Also the steering wheel would
vibrate pretty bad at highway(70mph) speeds. After installing all the
above, my vibration durring braking is gone.

However, my steering wheel and general handling is *WAY* worse than
before. Granted the front end sits a little higher, but it was much
more predictable and stable before. I was told that an alignment was
not necessary because I did not disturb any adjustment bolts(unlike
some GM cars that need to be aligned after a strut install)
Generally the car seems 'floaty', esp in corners. When
accelerating at low speeds, the wheel oscillated back and forth, and
pulls somewhat to the right(always has). As odd as it sounds,
sometimes if I hold the wheel steady, the oscillation goes away, until
I change speed or corner.
My question is this - will it make a difference if I get an
alignment before I get new tires(I need both)? Also will a tire shop
be able to tell me if there is something wrong with my wheels?(cheapie
painted American Racing wheels). I have read that a bent wheel will
give similar trouble. It was never this bad though. Maybe my problems
were simply magnified with new shocks/springs?

What do you folks think may be my problem? Like I said, the car
handling like it was on rails before I installed the above parts(even
with a broken D/S spring and bad P/S 1/2 shaft!). So I feel the
problem might be with how I installed the parts, or something like
that. I paid mention to all torque spec's.

Oh, FWIW, when I installed the D/S strut/spring, I could not get the
strut alignment 'notch' to line up with the split in the 'tension
fork'(the fork that attaches to the bottom of the strut). I couldn't
get it to line up because the bottom forks were twisted and wouldn't
allow me to pass the bolt through it. So in short the notches aren't
lines up on that side. The car has never been in an accident.

Thanks for reading - any insite is greatly appreciated!!!
-Jamie

 

Try swapping wheels front to rear. if same, then get alignment, they can
check for possible worn ball joints in the steering.
Cupped/Worn/Out-of-round/unbalanced Tires could also cause shaking.

 

Hi,
Thanks for the response. I guess it would help to let you all know
it was a 90 Accord EX, just FYI. It's rainy out today but I will
rotate the tires and see if that helps at all. When you say
ball-joints, which are you referring to? Is this on the actual
steering assembly?

Thanks!
-Jamie

 

Steering wheel shaking at speed is a sign of either out of balance tires or
orn front suspension components, or both.

Pulling to the right is either the tire on the right has different air
pressure than the one on the left, or you need an alignment, or both.

Sounds like a failing suspension component (tie rod end, ball joint,
bushings, etc.). You should have a reputable shop give the whole thing a
good going over.

No. You just might not be happy with the alignment if the old tire are
really bad. It should straighten up once you put the new tires on.

If a wheel is bad, the shop should see it right away. If it is non-obvious
initially, they will definitely see it when they try to mount the new tire
and balance it. You should tell them you want to know, though, or they
might just slap on the tires anyway and not say anything.

From your description, it sounds like you may have lots of problems. I
would start by having a reputable shop (by reputable I mean one that won't
try to sell you stuff just 'cause they can) go over the whole front end. My
guess is that some of your problems are due to the tires, but there is also
something else failing (tie-rod end, ball joint, bushing, etc.).

That could account for many of your newly created problems. But it will fly
apart soon and then you can do it right the second time.

Seriously - take it to a reputable shop and have them go through it.

 

I dont know if the Accord suspension is similar to the Civic, but the
Civics EAT upper ball joints for breakfast. I thought my problem was
warped rotors until I found the ball joints were wasted. Wiggle the top
of the tire in and out and watch the spindle where it attaches to the
upper a-arm.

-Pete