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cruizilla
Cruiser Fan
Posted: Sep 11, 2007, 5:08 PM
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steering wheel wobble
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My steering wheel wobbles at low speeds. When I take my hands off the wheel it wobbles back and forth. I went and got the tires rotated and balanced. This helped, but it's still there although not as much.
I'm wondering if ya'll think I could get this looked at under the manufactures warranty??
or if there is a cheap solution like a alignement or something.
06 base pt with stock tires.
this is the first "problem" i've had with her. Love the car but that is frustrating.
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Posts: 30 | From: bar in downtown hell
| Registered: Apr 19, 2007, 4:44 PM
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arubapt
Cruiser Fan
Posted: Sep 11, 2007, 7:16 PM
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Re: [cruizilla] steering wheel wobble
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Looks like a tire problem to me, maybe the harnas of one of the tires is damaged, it will get a little better after balancing, I had to replace the front tires as well because one of them was damaged too after hitting a sidewalk.
Regards,
Robert
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Posts: 24 | From: aruba
| Registered: May 27, 2007, 8:35 AM
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rsobhian
Cruiser Expert
Posted: Sep 11, 2007, 7:52 PM
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Re: [arubapt] steering wheel wobble
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Quote:
Looks like a tire problem to me...
I second that. It sounds like it is at least a bad tire (or two). Worse you could have a bent wheel. Have you (the car  ) hit anything HARD?
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2001 silver Limited-Touring (leather/suede, 4W disk, traction, heated mirrors & all :-)
Mods: Tokico HP all around / Energy Suspension Master Kit / K&N drop-in / R1 Concepts drilled & slotte disks all around / Enkei RPF1 16x7 wheels & Conti Extreme Contact rubber / Prestige APS620 remote starter
(This post was edited by rsobhian on Sep 12, 2007, 5:39 AM)
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Posts: 425 | From: MA
| Registered: Aug 2, 2007, 7:47 PM
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cruizilla
Cruiser Fan
Posted: Sep 12, 2007, 1:17 AM
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Re: [rsobhian] steering wheel wobble
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No I haven't curb checked or anything like that. The roads are kinda rough down here so maybe it is tires. I searched through threads on this site and saw a couple different suggestions. It would be a shame to have to replace tires with good tread on them.
Are the stock goodyears really known to be low quality?
Also, would one of the chain tire places be able to check them for belt damage? There is nothing visible on the outside, from my own inspection. I did read something about the tires jumping a belt. Never heard of that but I guess it's possible.
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Posts: 30 | From: bar in downtown hell
| Registered: Apr 19, 2007, 4:44 PM
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ptgeebee
Cruiser Addict
PT Cruiser Club Member
Posted: Sep 12, 2007, 4:38 AM
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Re: [cruizilla] steering wheel wobble
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Quote:
Are the stock goodyears really known to be low quality?
The Goodyear tires are known as Badyears. Have them on another car and because they were under warranty it is now the third set and still not good. First set wouldn't balance, second set wore on the inside of all four and now onto the third set which I upgraded so that I could get a better ride and could get Goodyear to pay. I'd take the car to a dealer that does Goodyear tires and have them checked out.
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East Tennessee PT
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Posts: 754 | From: Maryville, TN
| Registered: Nov 14, 2004, 4:53 AM
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mean green
Cruiser Addict
Posted: Sep 12, 2007, 12:06 PM
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Re: [ptgeebee] steering wheel wobble
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Yep, the OEM Badyear tires are junk. 
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2005 Stone White SRT4
2004 Graphite Auto
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Posts: 821 | From: Oregon
| Registered: Feb 19, 2002, 12:00 AM
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PTPenguin
Cruiser Expert
Posted: Sep 12, 2007, 2:49 PM
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Re: [mean green] steering wheel wobble
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Speaking of replacing tires, how are Cokers? I want the wide white wall look and they seem to be the only ones who have them. My Badyears are getting worse, they were fine when they were new, then I had them mounted on a set of Chrome Smoothies and they had a little vibration which has become a pretty annoying vibration lately. I imagine that if just bumping a curb is enough to throw them off, remounting all 4 of them probably created enough trauma to really make a mess.
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2005 Bright Silver Convertible, 5 speed with 8 ball knob, chrome door spears, chrome gas cap door, chrome antenna bezel, chrome grill kit, chrome rear bumper pillows, chrome bumper trim, stainless antenna with flames, stainless door panel trim, chrome smoothies with baby moons, 2" wide "gangster" white walls, chrome tail light trim, K&N air filter element in a modified airbox and an oogah horn. Hmmm, what have I forgotten???
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Posts: 221 | From: Sin City
| Registered: Mar 24, 2006, 5:06 PM
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PTPenguin
Cruiser Expert
Posted: Sep 15, 2007, 12:03 PM
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Re: [cruizilla] steering wheel wobble
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I actually decided to get the jack out and inspected all my tires for roundness. I jacked up each tire and spun them by hand and noticed that the front right and rear right tires were sorta egg shaped. About 1/4 to 1/2 inch out of round. For an experiment, I swapped the front right with the rear left tire so that the two good tires were on the front and the two egg shaped tires were on the rear. Lo and behold, there is still a bit of vibration but the steering wheel is nice and steady. So, apparently, a bit of egg shape to a tire is enough to cause quite a bit of vibration in the steering wheel if they are in front. In the rear, they cause a bit of vibration but not coming thru the steering wheel. Needless to say, Monday I go and order my new Cokers with the 2 inch white walls... You might want to check your tires individually for roundness.
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2005 Bright Silver Convertible, 5 speed with 8 ball knob, chrome door spears, chrome gas cap door, chrome antenna bezel, chrome grill kit, chrome rear bumper pillows, chrome bumper trim, stainless antenna with flames, stainless door panel trim, chrome smoothies with baby moons, 2" wide "gangster" white walls, chrome tail light trim, K&N air filter element in a modified airbox and an oogah horn. Hmmm, what have I forgotten???
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Posts: 221 | From: Sin City
| Registered: Mar 24, 2006, 5:06 PM
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cruizilla
Cruiser Fan
Posted: Sep 16, 2007, 3:33 PM
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Re: [PTPenguin] steering wheel wobble
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Well, I had the problem fixed. I guess the stock goodyears are really crappy. Plenty of tread on them but apparently the front right was "split", I guess internally. So, I just bought two new tires for the front and got a toe adjustment. $250 bones.........I'll go ahead and replace the remaining goodyears over the next couple months.
thx
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Posts: 30 | From: bar in downtown hell
| Registered: Apr 19, 2007, 4:44 PM
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arubapt
Cruiser Fan
Posted: Sep 18, 2007, 1:52 PM
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Re: [cruizilla] steering wheel wobble
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I have the Good Years (the ones that where still ok) switched to the rear, there they should be ok for a while. The front is more important for me, I have some Dunlops installed and they are doing fine so far.
Its a waste to dump the ones who are still ok.
Regards,
Robert
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Posts: 24 | From: aruba
| Registered: May 27, 2007, 8:35 AM
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PTPenguin
Cruiser Expert
Posted: Sep 18, 2007, 2:35 PM
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Re: [arubapt] steering wheel wobble
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It's amazing Chrysler put such lousy tires on this car. I don't think I've ever had such lousy tires on a car that were factory. I always thought they put on decent tires on new cars, with the possible exception of those tires they were putting on Ford SUVs awhile back, but then any tire you put on those overweight dinosaurs would be questionable as to how long it's going to last.
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2005 Bright Silver Convertible, 5 speed with 8 ball knob, chrome door spears, chrome gas cap door, chrome antenna bezel, chrome grill kit, chrome rear bumper pillows, chrome bumper trim, stainless antenna with flames, stainless door panel trim, chrome smoothies with baby moons, 2" wide "gangster" white walls, chrome tail light trim, K&N air filter element in a modified airbox and an oogah horn. Hmmm, what have I forgotten???
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Posts: 221 | From: Sin City
| Registered: Mar 24, 2006, 5:06 PM
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GT Bruiser
Cruiser Expert
Posted: Feb 13, 2008, 8:45 AM
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Re: [PTPenguin] steering wheel wobble
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Quote:
It's amazing Chrysler put such lousy tires on this car. I don't think I've ever had such lousy tires on a car that were factory. I always thought they put on decent tires on new cars, with the possible exception of those tires they were putting on Ford SUVs awhile back, but then any tire you put on those overweight dinosaurs would be questionable as to how long it's going to last.
I finally got around to getting a new set of tires on My GT. I replaced the factory OEM Goodyears with new Yokohama Avid V4S'. I used the factory chromed alloy wheels and went to a 215/50R-17 rather than the factory tire. Not only a better look (wheels fill the wells better... looks more aggressive), but much better handling over the OEM Goodyears.
However, I would have preferred to run with the Goodyear Eagle F1 All-Season... they're simply out of stock at most retailer locations other than Goodyear (but available at TireRack for $145 per). I wasn't willing to pay the premium from a Goodyear retailer so went with my second choice, the Yokohamas. I would never have a problem running with Goodyear tires... even the OEM units were permissible. Let me explain.
Yes, the OEM Goodyears have issues, primarily with traction. To me, they were always squirrelly and sometimes raised the hair on the back of my neck, especially on a bumpy high-speed curve. It would often feel as if the tires simply slipped sideways across the road. That's not something you want to have happen at any speed.
However... I drove my OEM units nearly bald on the front. That's 72k on the OEM units, and for such a soft compounded tire that's pretty good life. And I often drove like a crazy muthafu*ka too! I believe these OEM units all suffer from premature belt separation and that's what feels like slipping traction.
Regarding the Ford Explorer tire issues: the problem was never with the Firestone tires... it was all in the balljoints, plain and simple. I owned one of these Ford Rollover Deluxes and replaced 4 sets of upper and lower balljoints within the first 6 years. You ever see an Explorer with the wheels tilting in at the top (called excessive negative camber)? They're supposed to tilt in ever-so-slightly at the tops as to become nearly impossible to discern positive or negative camber.
High-body vehicles like Explorers, Jeeps, Yukon's, et al need a slight negative camber so they zero out when rising from a bottom-out situation. This prevents excessive positive camber that leads to rollovers in turning situations. Excessive negative camber overheats the inboard edge of any tire and leads to premature failure i.e. a blowout. Combined with a high body pitching during high speed turning (like interstate speeds and cloverleafs) and you have a lethal mix.
So blame the crappy OEM TRW balljoints for the rollover failures... the Firestones are a good tire given a bad name. Since we're on the subject of balljoints... make sure yours are in good shape and your PT's not suffering from excessive negative camber. If tires are tilting in at the top... and you're not a professional competition driver... it's time to replace worn suspension components like struts and balljoints. On these PT's they seem to wear fast along with the bushings and wheel bearings.
Got a wobble even with new tires? Your wheel bearings are likely bad.
For what it's worth... the Yoko Avid V4S' are incredible tires with superior wet weather grip, even on ice and snow. Amazing. They're way quieter than the OEM Goodyears ever were, and they track straight and true. At 85+ MPH I feel nothing but smoothness with good road feel transmitting through the steering wheel.
I also had them siped for more traction while braking. PT now brakes in nearly half the distance over OEM Goodyears. Can't wait to get them on a hot summer highway. Compounds will be stickier and I expect my eyeballs will pop out of their sockets during an emergency braking.
My 2 cents became a nickel.
Regards!
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Intense Blue Pearl... Yeah, Baby! 2003 GT - 5 Speed Getrag - Factory Loaded W/Ghost Flames, Borla Cat Back Dual Exhaust. "I Suck At Electric".
(This post was edited by GT Bruiser on Feb 13, 2008, 8:54 AM)
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Posts: 313 | From: Twin Cities, MN
| Registered: Dec 15, 2004, 3:52 PM
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PTPenguin
Cruiser Expert
Posted: Feb 13, 2008, 3:18 PM
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Re: [GT Bruiser] steering wheel wobble
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I've been happy with my Cokers, they even opted to only put balancing weights on the inside lips of my chrome smoothies at the tire store so they'd look smoother, after all, who would take smoothies and make them look un-smooth with balancing weights... But I digress. The Cokers are far superior than the original tires, they balanced great, they seem to handle better, they feel smoother, the only time I had to fill them up with air was when it got cooler outside (from 120 in the summer to 40 in the winter...). They were expensive, but at least I'm very happy with them and I'm not always thinking about how long the BadYears were going to last before I was going to have a blowout, or worse...
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2005 Bright Silver Convertible, 5 speed with 8 ball knob, chrome door spears, chrome gas cap door, chrome antenna bezel, chrome grill kit, chrome rear bumper pillows, chrome bumper trim, stainless antenna with flames, stainless door panel trim, chrome smoothies with baby moons, 2" wide "gangster" white walls, chrome tail light trim, K&N air filter element in a modified airbox and an oogah horn. Hmmm, what have I forgotten???
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Posts: 221 | From: Sin City
| Registered: Mar 24, 2006, 5:06 PM
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