Front-End Shake

[penguinphan]

Possibly a dumb question, but here it goes. My 92 mtx has a REALLY bad shake that I can feel in the steering wheel when I go over 50 mph. When I took it to the shop, the guy said that the reason is that I have the wrong size rotors on the front. I bought this car from a guy about a month ago and he said that he replaced the front rotors and put on new pads. Here is my question. Is it possible that someone who owned the car previously did the 96 brake upgrade and when the guy put new rotors on he used rotors for a 92? When the car was on the rack, the mechanic had the front wheels spinning and they were wobbling pretty badly. Any ideas, suggestions, and comments would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

[Rob94]

If the wheels are wobbling, I'd say it's the bearings.

 

[Ishodu]

If you inspect the caliper brackets the 96+ ones have FN74 stamped on them. That will answer that question. If you tires or out of balance it could also shake the car, also worn suspension components or a bad alignment also.

 

[DHMag]

itd be hard to believe, but an out of balance half shaft could also be the culprit.

 

[oxrox]

I agree - check the tires for balance, mine were so bad that at 60 mph, the dash board was vibrating so bad, I had to drive slow. Balanced the tires, no more issues.

Ryan
95 ATX

 

[pjtoledo]

If 92 rotors were put on a car set up for 96 parts about 1/3 of the pad would be out past the rotor and clamping on air, not the rotor. I'm sure there are some people that could manage that combination, and if thats the case with your SHO I suggest you look for more real stupid repairs. I would be more suspect of worn, broken, bent parts. Jack the front up and start jerking on the wheel. It is supposed to stay in place with the weight of the car on it while while turning and stuff. If you can move it with your hands something is wrong. Then spin it, look for anything that wiggles, or spots where it is harder to spin.

Perry

 

[penguinphan]

Hey guys. I really appreciate all of the responses. I had new tires put on about 2 weeks ago and they supposedly balanced them. I think that I will take the car to another tire shop and have them check the balance again. I also have to have the alignment done, but that will have to wait until after I put on the new water pump and all of the other parts that should be replaced while your down there. Here is another stupid question. When you said that 1/3 of the caliper would grab nothing but air, you mean the top 1/3, correct?

 

[RStalveyARFF]

Yes. Another thing would be to check if there's any corrosion behind the rotors forcing the wheel to go on cocked.