The title pretty much says it all. My 2002 C70 convertible has 105,000 miles. It steers fine and really doesn't have any issues, no noise, no clunking, no wandering.

However it does occasionally have a bit of steering wheel shake at low speeds. It doesn't happen all the time and it's not enough shake to see the wheel move, you can just barely feel it in the wheel. Nothing at all at highway speeds.

So I was wondering if I just want to refresh the front end, which parts should I start with? Missouri has vehicle inspections and they check ball joints and front wheel play and mine wasn't failed so I figure it can't be too bad. But are ball joints a good place to start? The struts look good, no leaking, no rust.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you one and all.

 

A very slight shake like you are describing is most likely tire/wheel balance related, and not steering or suspension related. Both the tire and rim are not perfectly round or completely balanced in weight and if the the tire slips slightly on the rim (due to hitting a pot hole, parking block, etc.) after the most recent balance was performed it is no longer perfectly in balance. This issue can even extend to the axles or cv joints if one of them is unbalanced or worn. Some shops even have equipment to balance the wheel/tire while it is still on the car so that it balances the drive line and everything. Even a broken belt on the tire can cause the issue you are describing, but rarely if ever suspension or steering components, though ignoring a particularly bad vibration can lead to issues with many other components including those you mentioned as well as axles seals. Good luck!

 

Thanks, I kind of wondered about that because I had to have the tire patched due to a leak. I don't remember feeling the shake before I had that done. I guess I should have the balance checked on that tire.

 

I have a 98 c70 coupe 2.3hpt. Today I am replacing both front axles and hub bearings.
Right hub bearing went bad. You can't go wrong replacing the upper & lower ball joints at anytime they show wear. They are real important to keep the wheel patch square on the ground! Find a good shop to check them on a lift or jack each up: grab 12 o'clock & 6 o'clock on tire and wiggle it hard, if it doesn't move at all the verticle is good, do the same at 3 & 9 o'clock, no movement upper & lower balljoints are good. Any movement bad ball joints replace all. Do this test both front wheels. Ball joints are also important to maintain correct front end alignment! Good luck.

 

That could be the cause of your vibration. A lazy tire tech marks the tire and rim so that he remounts the tire at the exact same rotation that it was well balanced at, but then adds the patch and wala, now the balance has changed and he didn't rebalance the tire. Of course it makes sense to get them all rebalanced, since it could also be another tire. Worn suspension components will cause poor ride quality or clunking noises, steering components loose steering feel or tire wear, but vibrations are almost always due to balance issues or drive line components like axles or cv joints.