Wobbly wheels? - Car problem

[Marnoot]

I have a 2001 Nissan Maxima; some time last week I began to notice a significant wobble in my steering wheel (and the front of the car), most noticeable at slower speeds, though present at all speeds. At slow speeds the steering-wheel wobbles about 2.5 minutes, if it were a clock. At higher speeds the wobble seems less pronounced but the rate of wobble increases proportionally with speed. The car is also pulling to the right somewhat more than normal, though I'm not sure the two problems are related. What are some possible causes that I could check for myself?

I recently had all 4 wheels balanced, so I'm pretty sure that's not the issue. Some quick internet searches have suggested a bad belt in a tire, control arms, tie-rod ends, etc., but how do I narrow down what the problem is? I'm not sure how to check for bad control arms and tie-rod ends, or for a bad tire-belt for that matter. I'm generally capable of replacing parts in cars when I know what's bad, but diagnostics have never been my strength. Any ideas?

Edited to add: I have [cheap] cast aluminum/alloy wheels, so I would doubt a bent rim as the culprit. Don't they usually just crack?

[Brad Johnson]

Swap the tires front to back, one side at a time.  If the wobble suddenly goes away, you have your culprit.

But first, get the car up off the tire and give theme a good hard shake.  You want to make sure you don't have any loose tie rod ends or steering gear.

Brad

[AJ Dual]

Your tires are most likely wearing out of round, and the wobble it causes is progressive, more wear, more wobble, more wobble more wear, etc. etc. etc. that's what happened to my PT cruiser last year. Perhaps the balancing job was botched.

[onions!]

Perhaps the balancing job was botched.

Yep,tire.A pothole or curb kiss can also break tire innards loose.

No grinding noises?

If it were me,I'd jack up the front of the car & support it on jack stands.Then,after setting the parking brake(or chocking the rear wheels),I'd step on the brake,slip the tranny into 1st gear,& release the brake.Then,staying 90 degrees & a few feet from the side of the car,have a close look @ the tire.If it's spinning smoothly round & round it's likely O.K.If it spins like there's an egg on your wheel then,well,you found it.

A quick visual (& physical-careful!steel belts can poke w/authority if you're not paying attention)inspection looking for bald spots or visible steel belts showing in the tread wouldn't hurt & could save some sweat.

YMMV

[Marnoot]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm going to run it over to my brother's house (I'm in an apartment at the moment) tomorrow and get it up on some jack stands to take a look and see if I can figure it out. If I can't figure anything out, or can't/don't want to fix what I find wrong myself I'll probably take it to Big O on Thursday. They've done some work for me free lately, so they deserve some pay-work if I have to take it somewhere.

[brimic]

Check all of your ball joints/ tie rod ends. If they have play in them at all, get them replaced. It not fun to have one break while driving, but luckily they usually break while turning at low speeds.

[Marnoot]

Well, I put it up on jacks this morning and couldn't find any obvious problems. There's no wobble/free-play when I grab the wheel and shake it. There's not even any obvious wobbles when the wheels are spinning, per onions instructions. You can feel the car shake when the wheels are spinning off of the ground, though, and if I spin the driver's side wheel manually, looking at the top of the tire to a reference point beyond it, it looks like it might be ever so slightly out of round. I didn't have time to swap tires around to narrow it down to which side for sure, unfortunately.

I think I'll just take a long lunch tomorrow and take it in.

[Parker Dean]

Sometimes CV joints in the drive axles will give this sort of symptom. Typically, a bad CV joint is more pronounced on acceleration/deceleration, though not always.

[Brad Johnson]

Could be that a balance weight dropped off.  Not uncommon.  Or it could be that a belt in the tire has seperated.

*EDITED TO ADD*

Just saw your other post about the diagnosis.

Brad

[v8stang289]

You said you had the wheels balanced, but did you have the car aligned? If the tow or camber is off it can cause the tires to notch which can cause a vibration exactly like what you describe. You can sometimes look at the tires (most often the inner edge) and see that the tread height varies. Its kind of like a wave with the tread being thin in one place but high next to it and repeating. The problem is that once the wear pattern sets in its hard to  reverse it.
-matt

[Marnoot]

You said you had the wheels balanced, but did you have the car aligned? If the tow or camber is off it can cause the tires to notch which can cause a vibration exactly like what you describe. You can sometimes look at the tires (most often the inner edge) and see that the tread height varies. Its kind of like a wave with the tread being thin in one place but high next to it and repeating. The problem is that once the wear pattern sets in its hard to reverse it.
-matt

I didn't have it aligned, as the balance fixed the (different) vibration problem I was having at the time. I'm dropping it off in the morning at Big O near here. They said they'd check the alignment first; I've known it's needed an alignment for awhile now (it's always pulled ever so slightly to the right, even on perfectly flat or even slightly inward-sloping grades), perhaps I'm reaping the rewards of procrastination.

I looked at the wheel weights, there weren't any cleaner spots right next to the existing wheel weights that would indicate a recent missing one (these are the kind that go on the inside of the wheel). Bad belt is certainly a possibility. Hopefully they'll get it all figured out for me tomorrow, I don't trust the car enough to take it on the freeway until it's cleared up.

[Marnoot]

Well, it was indeed a bad belt. He showed me a spot on the tire that was concave, and lower than the rest of the tire; causing the out-of-roundness I noticed on Wednesday. I don't remember hitting any big potholes with that tire, but must have done so. Of course the tires on the car are crap.
They're the ones that were on it when I bought the car used, and a quick internet search showed you couldn't possibly buy cheaper new tires in that size than the brand/model that's on there. Same goes for the rims. I don't understand why someone would go to the trouble/expense of replace the stock wheels with "alloy" rims, but then buy the absolute crappiest and cheapest ones they could find.

[Brad Johnson]

I don't understand why someone would go to the trouble/expense of replace the stock wheels with "alloy" rims, but then buy the absolute crappiest and cheapest ones they could find.

Form over function.  Happens all the time. 

Brad

[Gewehr98]

Sometimes cheap is good.  Corvette C3 rims (Made by the now-defunct Western Wheel) look pretty snazzy on a little S-10, and give me an extra inch of tire mounting width. I'm grateful to the 1982 Corvette owner who put 20" bling-bling w/Falkens on his car, and sold me his original rims and brand-new Dayton Daytonas for $300.00. 



The gummy unidirectional Dayton Daytonas wore out quickly, especially after I installed the Chevy ZQ8 suspension/steering/frame/hopshock package.  They've since been replaced with Firestone Firehawk Indy 500s.  Traction is still an "A", but I'll never get the truck drifting or scooting fast enough to really make use of an "H" or "Z" rated tire.  .84g is great plenty with respect to skidpad numbers for a body on frame, solid axle vehicle that can haul a real payload in the bed.

[Marnoot]

Yeah, I'm also a fan of cheap, when it's cheap and good. Unfortunately these rims fail to meet the latter requirement. The "chrome" is peeling off all over the wheel; also the "metal"(shiny plastic) pieces(stickers) that covered the center of the wheels have all come off. The rims serve their purpose well enough, though, so I doubt I'll be replacing them. Looks like a nice deal you got on your rims, though!