steering wheel shakes/vibrates over 60mph
 

This is one of the few problems with my car id like to address as i continue to fix up my car. I have an 03 ZX3. i have had this issue as long as i can remember owning the car which has been almost 2 years. While driving on the highway over 60mph my steering wheel vibrates and shakes quite a bit. I have already had new tires, all balanced, new wheel bearings, alignment and all 3 mounts replaced and it still does it.. ive also looked for answers online a while ago and could never figure it out. the mechanics could never find out whats wrong cuz they never went over 60mph in it.. im still confused on what exactly it could be. there is nothing wrong with my car part wise that the mechanics know of.. anyone have this happen to this to them or know what the problem may be?

I had this issue on mine, couldnt figure it out. Once I replaced my Front lower control arms, struts, mounts and swaybar links + alignment, it was all good.

Upon inspecting the parts I removed, my guess was the swaybar links because the joints were floppy, not tight at all.

They're pretty cheap on Rockauto.com, spring for the moogs, but anything is better than nothing.

i forgot to add that i recently replaced the front struts and both sway bar end links... what exactly are the front lower control arms and how much are they running for?

not so much the LCA, but the ball joints attached to them. Ball joints are like 30-35, the whole control arm is like 45. Then you also get the new bushings and dont have to drill out rivets.

Check rockauto again, they were the moogs. You will probably need an alignment if you do those... but not positive. If you have to, change the tie rod ends too.

well, before i buy anything i want to make sure what the exact part that needs replacing because i end up replacing all of this and it still continues with the problem..

how can i check to see if the ball joints are bad and would that cause the problem? also, the mechanic said my tie rods were fine cuz i thought that might have been the problem. he said that if they were bad they would have noticed.

Passenger motor mount I will bet your mechanic used aftermarket and not the Ford part - it is a common problem with the aftermarket passenger mounts. Also did he center the engine when all 3 mounts were loose during installation?

im sure he used aftermarket.. i wish he used ford but at the time i couldnt afford going to the dealership for the parts. as for centering, i am not sure. the vibration has been the same before and after the mounts, that i know.

Wheel imbalance will come on gradually and get worse with speed. With the small tires on the focus, there's not enough mass to bring it on at lower speeds



Do you have steel or stock mags?
Don't look for terrible things to be wrong.
Look for bent or warped wheels. A dented wheel will balance, but wont track even on the road.
Make sure that the balancer centers on the center hole on the wheel and make sure it is clean. Don't use an adjustable lug hole balancer.

I had a Datsun 240Z that had the Datsun "jiggle" and all the balancing never
corrected it, until I used my friends bubble balancer

It could also be a dented steel belt in the tire.

if he checked your TRE's then he would have also checked your ball joints.

Swap the front and rear wheels. See if problem persist.