Thread: Wheel alignment

Widetread in Ferntree Gully did a good job on mine.

Shimmy might be wheel balance, but could also be myriad other things. For example, panhard rod bushes, shock absorbers, swivel preload, etc, etc.

Originally Posted by BigJon

Shimmy might be wheel balance, but could also be myriad other things. For example, panhard rod bushes, shock absorbers, swivel preload, etc, etc.

Ditto, the very fact the shimmy is speed related points to things attached to wheels first, rather than wheel alignment. I would check the wheel bearings for play, and the tyres for runout ( eccentric )as a first stop.

thanks all,

Driving me nuts trying to find this shimmy,

I have replaced the panhard bushes with superpro - improved a little

check swivel preload, set to 3.5kg on one side and 5kg on the other, was previously less than 1.5kg - improved greatly

but i still have a small shimmy at 85kmh, on a staight flat road i get no shimmy, but if i hit a bump at that speed instant shimmy, also, slight bend in the road doing 85 ish, shimmy again

Should I revisit the swivels and set the other side to 5kg so they are the same?

I also had the toe set to 0, improved a tiny bit again...

How old is the steering damper? A bad one can cause these symptoms.

BTW the "toe out" should be 3mm from memory.

steering damper is age of the car, 2002/90k km

I have been looking at the ironman/terrafirma dampers, worth replacing?

thanks again

It won't do any harm if you can afford it...it sounds like you've tried everything else....frustrating!

As for the brand I can't advise but also replace the associated washers and bushes if you do it.

If replacing the steering damper fixes it, you have simply masked the problem - best to find and fix the problem(s) first. Some of them you have already fixed, but I would carefully check for any steering free play (for example, I found the universal above the steering box on mine was slightly loose!) especially tie rod ends and for any free play on the radius arm bushes. But as suggested, the speed related shimmy does suggest wheel related - first step would be wheel balance, and check for runout, then check for loose wheel bearings - or even loose wheel nuts.

John