Front end shake 50+

[GVR-4579]

First, yes i saw the old post on this.

I have checked my Tie rod ends, and ball joints. They seem to be fine.

The struts are bad, I know that. I was wondering if on these cars that could cause a shaking at 50+. I am also concerned that replacing the struts may only mask the real problem? Does anyone think this may be possible? Also i took the wheels off because I know the lady took it to a shop many times, the wheels were very over tight, after retourquing them I knoticed the shake to be less but i cant make the connection on what that may mean problem wise.

Thanks For any pointers Erik

[Weasy2k]

Have you taken you car to a balancing shop to get the tires checked? They could be warped. I have also heard of some cases where over tightening the wheel can cause the hub to warp as well.

Do you feel it in the steering wheel as well or just the car itself?

[GVR-4579]

I feel it in the steering wheel, you can physically see it shake too, i was checking the brakes the other day and found that last time the wheels were balanced the shop missed some of the old weights so i was considering having them rebalanced. Also i noticed now the shake stops above 65 or so, it seems more of a balance issue to me now as it occours only in a certian speed range. However if i hit a bump sometimes the shake will occour as well so it also makes me suspect the struts. I would also like to check the rack bushings but havent gotten to it yet.

[Gairloch]

Hey man! Always good to see a local here.

I bet you really really long odds that it's tires, not suspension. My truck was doing the same thing you describe and it went away when I put on new tires a few weeks ago.

Shoot me a note if you would like a good source for tires, I know someone down your neck of the woods.

gairloch (at) gmail (dot) com

[GVR-4579]

I was going to try rotating the tires just for the heck of it too, I think i will take one of my runout gauges and check the rims/hubs for any chance of being bent. Ill take a close look at the tires too, they have alot of tread and are not worn funny so i hope they are ok, i just got this car from a old lady that bought it new so i dont think she would have abused the tires.

[Bak@EMSPowered]

sounds like its possibly your tires/wheels.

[Gairloch]

Originally Posted by GVR-4579

I was going to try rotating the tires just for the heck of it too, I think i will take one of my runout gauges and check the rims/hubs for any chance of being bent. Ill take a close look at the tires too, they have alot of tread and are not worn funny so i hope they are ok, i just got this car from a old lady that bought it new so i dont think she would have abused the tires.

She wouldn't have had to abuse them for them to be out of round. Could be because they're balanced improperly, could be there's a defect in one or more of them or it could be that there is a problem with your alignment and it's damaging the tires.

[GVR-4579]

Yep, next step is to get out the measuring tools i guess.

[Weasy2k]

get the tires balanced it really sounds like that is the cause!

[GVR-4579]

Originally Posted by Weasy2k

get the tires balanced it really sounds like that is the cause!

I plan on removing all the weights myself and then taking them to be balanced, there were some sitck on weights still on the inside of the rims, also looks like the inside of the rims could use a good pressure washing anyways. My VR-4 used to get dirt buildup until they would be out of balance but i doubt that is in on this car it have been city driven.

[RePete]

This is a super common problem with both generations of MR2, not sure about the MKIII.

If you know your suspension components or your steering is not the problem then it's either your wheels or tires. Some tires do not like to be balanced, I can't recall the brands/tire models but there are a few that are real crappers to balance, they're like lopsided ballons.

Also, you may have to use a Road Force balancing machine (Google it for locations near you) which is much more expensive but does a much finer job - you're almost assured of a good balance. I had this problem with all of my MR2s and the Road Force machine cured them all. And you have to tell the tech doing it that you need zero balancing, none of this 'close enough' stuff. Not too long ago I had my turbo close to 140mph and it still did not have front-end shimmy (was kinda floaty though but that's another issue )

[ToyotaTechGeek]

Originally Posted by GVR-4579

First, yes i saw the old post on this.

I have checked my Tie rod ends, and ball joints. They seem to be fine.

The struts are bad, I know that. I was wondering if on these cars that could cause a shaking at 50+. I am also concerned that replacing the struts may only mask the real problem? Does anyone think this may be possible? Also i took the wheels off because I know the lady took it to a shop many times, the wheels were very over tight, after retourquing them I knoticed the shake to be less but i cant make the connection on what that may mean problem wise.

Thanks For any pointers Erik

there are many different reasons one would experience what you're experiencing. first of all, if the struts are bad, replace them! don't worry about masking another problem. beleieve me, you'll KNOW if there's something else amiss!
have you checked your steering rack bushings? do you have aftermarket wheels? are they hubcentric? if not, there's one problem! yes, some tyres really suck: especially check, no-name brand tyres. on many of the Potenzas i've used, i have usually had 1 to 3 tyres in the set which require NO weights. that Uni-T thing...
you should check the condition of your suspension bushings and get underneath of the car and torque everything to spec just to check. how is the alignment of the car?

[GVR-4579]

Originally Posted by ToyotaTechGeek

there are many different reasons one would experience what you're experiencing. first of all, if the struts are bad, replace them! don't worry about masking another problem. beleieve me, you'll KNOW if there's something else amiss!
have you checked your steering rack bushings? do you have aftermarket wheels? are they hubcentric? if not, there's one problem! yes, some tyres really suck: especially check, no-name brand tyres. on many of the Potenzas i've used, i have usually had 1 to 3 tyres in the set which require NO weights. that Uni-T thing...
you should check the condition of your suspension bushings and get underneath of the car and torque everything to spec just to check. how is the alignment of the car?

I honestly have had no time to do anything with the car after i asked this question, i havent even had time to order in struts. I am going to replace the struts, and i am also going to check the rack bushings. I do not know what the factory wheel options are so i can tell you if they are stock or not, they have some mesh pattern. I dont know what you mean by hubcentric either. I have not found any of the suspension bushings to be noticeably loose. The car tracks straight and i do not notice any weird wear patterns on the tires.

Thanks.

[IsthataFerrari]

Have you tried checking out your wheel bearings?

[MR2TRD1]

Originally Posted by IsthataFerrari

Have you tried checking out your wheel bearings?

Wheel bearings on the MR2 usually just make noise when they are bad.

-balljoints
-tierods
-balance
-bushings

...are the main thing that could cause your problem


A SLIGHT shake is from the absence of the 98+ speed flaps.

[GVR-4579]

Originally Posted by MR2TRD1

Wheel bearings on the MR2 usually just make noise when they are bad.

-balljoints
-tierods
-balance
-bushings

...are the main thing that could cause your problem


A SLIGHT shake is from the absence of the 98+ speed flaps.

Tie Rods and ball joints seem to be tight.
I was questioning some of the bushings and the balance.

No clue what the speed flaps are but i could make some out or carboard and tape them on! JK I wouldnt call it slight but its not severe either.

Thanks for all the input

[ToyotaTechGeek]

don't forget to grease your muffler bearings!

[Mister2.2]

Id bet money on a bad balance or bad tires altogether.

[MR2TRD1]

Originally Posted by ToyotaTechGeek

don't forget to grease your muffler bearings!

[GVR-4579]

Got new struts in yesterday, fixed alot of the problem. It does still shake some, definatly feels like wheel balance now.