Hi all hopefully one of you fine people can help me here. My partner has an 03 focus with i drove a few weeks ago and noticed a slight wobble / shake through the steering when at low speed and up to about 45 - 50 mph. Was worried so ran it to quick fit to check wheels and all found to be ok but they did mention that the centre of the steering rack may be at fault but to get a second opinion. So took it to a new local garage and after about an hour he came up with the problem being with out of shape rear tyres. So 130 quid later and my misses tells me its still the same. Any ideas guys ??
03 Focus steering shake
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At lower speeds, tire or wheel bearing problems are the common culprit. You say they checked the tires, but did they check the bearings? If you jack the car up, check the tires for any play by grasping them at 3 & 9 o'clock, and also at 6 & 12 o'clock. Spin them too to listen to the bearing for any grinding noise.
Wheel balance problems usually show up at higher speeds more so than lower speeds, but that should be considered.
"out of shape rear tyres" Hmmmm.... I don't see that as causing steering wheel wobble. You might feel vibration from that, but you would probably feel it throughout the car and not just the steering wheel
Wheel balance problems usually show up at higher speeds more so than lower speeds, but that should be considered.
"out of shape rear tyres" Hmmmm.... I don't see that as causing steering wheel wobble. You might feel vibration from that, but you would probably feel it throughout the car and not just the steering wheel
The out of shape rear tires cause bumping and shaking worse the FASTER you go and commonly show at 70 mph.
Check tie rods by jacking tires up and slack at grabbing the tires at 3 and 9 o'clock and moving back and forth. They can easily do that especially when backing off throttle to cruise. A test is to brake rather firmly while car is doing it, the shift to braking forces should stop the shake for a second or two or even longer as you keep braking.
Check tie rods by jacking tires up and slack at grabbing the tires at 3 and 9 o'clock and moving back and forth. They can easily do that especially when backing off throttle to cruise. A test is to brake rather firmly while car is doing it, the shift to braking forces should stop the shake for a second or two or even longer as you keep braking.
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Tire/Wheel/Balance issue that should be enough to be findable if you get appreciable wiggle at 30 mph. (front wheels)
Feeling a TINY amount of wiggle at times isn't unusual, Focus has good steering feel & small amounts that wouldn't be noticed on other cars can be felt.
Feeling a TINY amount of wiggle at times isn't unusual, Focus has good steering feel & small amounts that wouldn't be noticed on other cars can be felt.
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