gs4004gs

According to two front end people, the ball joints (as is the rest of the front end) are tight.

GS300ToM

iTrader: (32)

just for maintenance wise, im not telling you to change em if u dont want to...... have u not seen the sticky thread about ball joints??

eyecon7

iTrader: (2)

No its not the 20s...20s make more road noise... But mine still vibrates when i have my 17s

GS300ToM

iTrader: (32)

something must really be wrong with your car lol

Och

iTrader: (3)

I guarantee that the rims are either bent or maybe their hub center isnt centric to the lug center.

I had bent five (5) oem 17" wheels - with 45 series tires they are easy to bend. You can only imagine how bad bigger wheels with 35 series can be.

GS300ToM

iTrader: (32)

thats why i cruise 45 all day haha

qgoat

That's what every mechanic told me. They all said front end was tight and bushings looked fine. I decided to do all the front end bushings anyway and guess what? No more shakes. My steering rack bushing was limp as a noodle and the lower control arm bushing, I think they call it camber or caster I'm not sure, was worn. Those two were the worst. The Daizen bushing kit is your friend... Trust me on that. Use that kit and get the rack bushings also and do a roadforce balance afterwards and you'll be straight.

GS300ToM

iTrader: (32)

there you go.....

bpc23

iTrader: (2)

Someone earlier stated that the root cause of the vibration is probably related to wheels & tires and I tend to agree. Bushings and ball joints can contribute to and influence the problem, but probably aren't the root cause.

I know people have had their wheels balanced on a Hunter and it didn't solve the problem, but that doesn't mean the wheels & tires don't suffer from excessive runout (lack of roundness), which will also feel like vibration. Lack of roundness can be caused by poor wheel/tire quality, damage, manufacturing defects, age, etc. Also, just because your wheels were balanced on a Hunter doesn't mean the tech guy using the machine knew or even cared what he was doing. Unless you specifically ask for the tech to check for runout, it probably won't get done.

Head over to www.tirerack.com and search on vibration. Here you'll find good information like http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires/vibechart.pdf and http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...jsp?techid=20&

Alright, I think we've got to get organized to solve this problem because I'm having a hard time following who did what and when to fix this problem. I'd like to suggest everyone post, in chronological order, what repairs they did and a quick summary of the results (similar to GS300ToM). A quick statement of the problem and what type of car, wheels, tires, and suspension will also help.

PROBLEM: Vibrations felt through steering wheel around 62mph, somewhat random in occurrance.
EQUIPMENT: 2000 GS400, aftermarket 16" wheels, 225/50-16 tires, L-Tuned springs & shocks.

1. Lower Ball Joints replaced - influenced the vibrations, but didn't solve it.
2. Brake Rotors and Pads replaced - no affect.
3. Hub Centric Rings - no affect.
4. Steering Rack Bushings replaced - influenced the vibrations, but didn't solve it.
5. Diazen #2 Lower Control (Caster) Arm and Upper Arm Bushings - influenced the vibrations, but didn't solve it. Now the vibrations appear at ~72mph.

tom steele

you are wrong the bushing are the root cause. the castor arm bushing being 80 percent of the problem. thats why everybody that changes it comes back on saying there problem is fixed. i changed everything trying to get rid of this. i did one thing at a time so i could figure the root of the problem. this is what i do for a living is trouble shooting! so i took my time to figure this out. so i could help fellow members out.

gs4004gs

I'll go along with this just to keep things straight.

Problem: Wheel shake from 55-65mph. A shake more than a vibration
Equipment: 00' GS400. Does it with aftermarket AND stock wheels. All else stock.

1. Alignment - No change
2. Aftermarket wheels/tires/hubcentric rings & balance - Shake now worse
3. Wheels re-balanced - Better for a short time but back to the same soon after
4. Wheels balanced AGAIN - Better but soon back to the same
5. Front end checked, rotor cut, nuther balance - Better for a few hours then worse again
6. Hubcentric rings verified, nuther balance - Better for a few hours then worse again
7. Road-Force balance, run-out checked, tire rotated on rim - Even worse now

qgoat

After you do the bushings you should then have your tires re-checked for uneven wear or being out of round. Riding on worn bushings will cause your tires to wear unevenly so you still may need tires after bushings are done.

eyecon7

iTrader: (2)

today when i was reversing i can feel something loose in my driver side front... and my wheel turned hard comming down my drive way.. I still need to go under the car and check what it is.. but as far as i kno everything is tight from the tie rod towards the brakes..

duby1

iTrader: (7)

GS300ToM.... i'm having the same situation too. F@#$#@K! it annoys me everything i go to work in the mornings. =(

i'm fixing the situation as of right now as well.

GS300ToM

iTrader: (32)

do it and check back!!!!!!!!!