steering wheel wobble

yellowbeard · 02-04-2009

Hey guys, my steering wheel wobbles back and forth about 1 in, between 35 to 45 mph, then clears up. Does not do it on take off. any ideas? 70 opel gt. thanks Joe

First opel 1981 · 02-04-2009

Bent rim, and/or an unbalanced wheel.

I had the wobble at about 55 and it cleared up at 60-65. My wheel on the front passenger side was horribly unbalanced.

hrcollinsjr · 02-05-2009

Originally Posted by First opel 1981

Bent rim, and/or an unbalanced wheel.

Probably your best answer right there. Since it makes the steering wheel shake, check the front wheels for the above problems. The second thing(s) I'd check would be for anything loose in the front suspension.

Harold

First opel 1981 · 02-05-2009

Originally Posted by hrcollinsjr

Probably your best answer right there. Since it makes the steering wheel shake, check the front wheels for the above problems. The second thing(s) I'd check would be for anything loose in the front suspension.

Harold

Oh, I forgot to add....a loose wheel bearing (not as likely for a predictable/consistent wobble).

jmbinjax · 02-05-2009

Does it go away or reduce after the tires warm up? If so, then it is probably flat spotting from sitting. Try overinflating the tires to about 40 psi and driving for a few miles until they are warmed up then reduce to proper inflation. If this helps you might want to consider overinflating while the vehicle sits. This is more common in performance tires due to the material used in some of the belts.

Aardvaark · 02-05-2009

If it's a front tire with bad/slipped belt, it can do that.

Bad wheels and tires on the back of a solid axle car like the Opel are not nearly as detectable
while driving.

Sometimes it's visible by spinning the tire and observing the tread. It'll looked wavy. Also swapping, first from say the left front tire to the left rear. And then, if needed the RH side tires and driving it. You can usually find the problem tire/wheel.

RallyBob · 02-05-2009

On an early GT it's usually the lower a-arm bushings that are the culprit. This is the reason they changed inner sleeve ID's on the lower a-arm bushings from .710" to .745", to reduce the amount of rubber around the sleeve and lessen the slop. Urethane bushings help however.

kwilford · 02-05-2009

I'm with Bob on this one. Have a read of the thread
http://www.opelgt.com/forums/3a-fron...id-shimmy.html
and especially read what I wrote in post #36 regarding front shimmy.

HTH

tekenaar · 02-06-2009

. . . another thing is steering link [tie rod] ball joint slop . . . there should be NONE!

yellowbeard · 02-06-2009

the steering feels tight. I have 50's all the way around it. only does it at a certain speed. thanks Joe
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...4/100_0183.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...4/100_0195.jpg

02-04-2009	#1 (permalink)
yellowbeard Opeler Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: corinth ms. Posts: 79	Unanswered: steering wheel wobble Hey guys, my steering wheel wobbles back and forth about 1 in, between 35 to 45 mph, then clears up. Does not do it on take off. any ideas? 70 opel gt. thanks Joe __________________

02-04-2009	#2 (permalink)
First opel 1981 Uber Genius Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 780 Provided Answers: 6	Bent rim, and/or an unbalanced wheel. I had the wobble at about 55 and it cleared up at 60-65. My wheel on the front passenger side was horribly unbalanced. __________________ Opel GTs are not GM products

02-05-2009	#6 (permalink)
Aardvaark UFO pel abductee. Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Des Moines, Iowa Posts: 2,242 Real Name: Mark Paar (not Parr) Provided Answers: 5	If it's a front tire with bad/slipped belt, it can do that. Bad wheels and tires on the back of a solid axle car like the Opel are not nearly as detectable while driving. Sometimes it's visible by spinning the tire and observing the tread. It'll looked wavy. Also swapping, first from say the left front tire to the left rear. And then, if needed the RH side tires and driving it. You can usually find the problem tire/wheel. __________________ -Mark '75 Manta Direct link to my album of Opel related parts catalogs and magazine articles for reference: http://www.opelgt.com/photopost/show...ser/23031/sl/a

02-05-2009	#8 (permalink)
kwilford Über OpelGT.com Moderator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada Posts: 4,087 Real Name: Keith Wilford Provided Answers: 4	I'm with Bob on this one. Have a read of the thread http://www.opelgt.com/forums/3a-fron...id-shimmy.html and especially read what I wrote in post #36 regarding front shimmy. HTH __________________ Keith Wilford working on my '71 GT and '75 SportWagon

02-06-2009	#9 (permalink)
tekenaar Cunning Linguist Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Plano, TX 75074 Posts: 4,441 Real Name: Otto Provided Answers: 13	Tie rod ball joint? . . . another thing is steering link [tie rod] ball joint slop . . . there should be NONE! __________________ 1960: ♥ '61 Rekord PII 1.7 3S 3.9 ♥ '69 Kadett LS 'sprint' 1.9 3A 3.18 1970: ♥ '70 GT 1.9 4S 3.44 ♥ '72 GT 2.2SSD 5S 3.44 ♥ '72 GT 2.4FI 5S 3.44P ♥ '73 GT 1.9FI 4S 3.44 ♥ '75 1900 1.9FI 4S 3.44 1980: ♥ '85 Bitter SC 3.9FI 5S 3.44P 2000: ♥ '09 Solstice GXP Coupe 2.0 SIDI VVT Turbo 5S 3.73P

02-05-2009	#5 (permalink)
jmbinjax Opeler Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 154 Real Name: John	Does it go away or reduce after the tires warm up? If so, then it is probably flat spotting from sitting. Try overinflating the tires to about 40 psi and driving for a few miles until they are warmed up then reduce to proper inflation. If this helps you might want to consider overinflating while the vehicle sits. This is more common in performance tires due to the material used in some of the belts.

02-06-2009	#10 (permalink)
yellowbeard Opeler Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: corinth ms. Posts: 79	wobble the steering feels tight. I have 50's all the way around it. only does it at a certain speed. thanks Joe http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...4/100_0183.jpg http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...4/100_0195.jpg __________________

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