Originally posted by Rob R.:
Hi,
Thanks for the information. It has been confirmed that the tires are round and in balance. Can you give me a little more information about the McPherson strut issue. What's the problem there? I find that the shimmy is intermittent not only with speed but with times as well that's why I'm leaning towards something more obscure. Any information would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Any slop or wear in suspension or steering components on many MacPherson strut suspensions can cause bad dynamics & harmonics. I had a Mazda R100 (Rotary engine)at slow to medium speeds where front wheels and steering wheel would just start shimmying back and forth in an extreme manner. It would then go away at higher speeds. This is similar to the problem found on some older Ford pickup trucks where at certains speeds the whole front end just starts going bannas and you would swear the truck was going to shake itself to death or even flip over. I have personally seen this happen to a Ford pickup and its actually looks like the wheels have gone square with all the shaking. Just bad suspension dynamics when things get out of spec (even a little bit).
Thus you should have the slack on all steering components checked, replace bushing were required (go to urethane replacements). You may even have to change the steering rack if that is out of spec. Also related, check that alignment is what it is supposed to be first.
