October 17, 20196 yr ive been noticing a steering wobble in my 2001 outback it was there both before and after changing the front hubs i also tried a different set of tires and wheels the wobble remains. what can cause the wheel to wobble when driving? at slow speeds its a slow wobble and as u go faster the wheel wobbles faster. it has good lower ball joints and tie rods nothing seems loose in the suspension im just not sure what to look at from here.
October 17, 20196 yr If you’ve got noises from the CV shaft on that side of your front end, then it could be a dead outer joint. I had this issue on my brumby and it would pull on the steering wheel right off the mark. But it had mega noise when turning corners from that front driveshaft. Cheers Bennie
October 17, 20196 yr Author update i took the front brakes apart today both front calipers the pistons are free and can push one in by hand the other comes out and will do that with ither piston i push on the caliper. slide pins are free and lubricated pads wearing evenly i decided while it was apart to wire wheel the corrosion off the hubs and the backs of the wheels re inspected everything tie rods still good lower ball joints still good bearings good put back tires/wheels on the front and the wobble remains. what els can cause it? the car drives smooth other than the wobble and has no bad noises from the wheels or suspension this was not suposed to be a quote i dunno why it quoted that messege. 12 hours ago, el_freddo said: If you’ve got noises from the CV shaft on that side of your front end, then it could be a dead outer joint. I had this issue on my brumby and it would pull on the steering wheel right off the mark. But it had mega noise when turning corners from that front driveshaft. Cheers Bennie no axle noises no torn axle boots Edited October 17, 20196 yr by sirtokesalot
October 17, 20196 yr On a smooth road or parking lot stop the car with the front wheels pointed straight ahead. Let go of the steering wheel and let the car start rolling forward with very little gas. Does the steering wheel turn on its own in jerks? If so how far does it turn?
October 17, 20196 yr Author it rocks left and right slowly and the faster it rolls the faster it rocks back and forth. id say maby about a half an inch of left right movement
October 17, 20196 yr Well, I was expecting more movement. It happened on our 95 after I installed a new aftermarket axle (my last new one) and the steering wheel would turn a quarter turn to the right. It was the new axle. The outer joint was way too tight. Earlier you said you were cleaning the hubs. Did you clean the inside of the rotors that mate with the hubs? A chunk of rust between the two will cause a wobble in the wheel.
October 17, 20196 yr Author 1 hour ago, Rampage said: Well, I was expecting more movement. It happened on our 95 after I installed a new aftermarket axle (my last new one) and the steering wheel would turn a quarter turn to the right. It was the new axle. The outer joint was way too tight. Earlier you said you were cleaning the hubs. Did you clean the inside of the rotors that mate with the hubs? A chunk of rust between the two will cause a wobble in the wheel. yes i took the calipers and rotors off cleaned the hub surface the back of the rotor mating surface the front part of the rotors mating surface and the back of the wheels surface so all points of contact were wire wheeled clean.
October 17, 20196 yr I thought you would have. You probably spun the wheels when you had the front jacked up to see if they spin true. Take the car out again and this time turn the steering wheel about a quarter turn to the right and let it roll then the same to the left. See if the wobble is weaker or stronger. If it is then it is an axle binding. Turning the wheel to the right will allow the left spindle line up with the axle and have less pressure on the cv joint and vice-versa.
October 18, 20196 yr Author it does seem to be less of a wobble while its turning vs just rolling strait.
October 19, 20196 yr The front axle joints have a slight tendency to push outward on the wheels as they rotate because they are angled forward to the wheels. Take a look at the control arm bushings. It's hard to judge the front one by looking at it, but the rear bushing has a big washer. If that washer does not look centered on the bracket the rubber is bad and will allow movement in the control arm. I have replaced both of them on both of our cars.
November 2, 20196 yr Author update. im not sure witch axle it was i replaced both front axles today and the wobble is gone.
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