Hey guys over Thanksgiving break I changed out my front control arm bushings and ball joints. Bought 4 new Firestone champion HR tires directly from their store and had them installed, balanced, and aligned all at the same location. They do a "check" on suspension parts to make sure nothing is wrong and they didnt mention anything that would be wrong. I had my tie rods replaced about a month back. Well since Thanksgiving I drove 1000 miles in 1 day. The whole ride I got completely random vibrations, sometimes in the steering wheel, sometimes in the seat, sometimes both, sometimes neither. The car can drive in a straight line for miles so I dont think its the alignment. After the trip I didn't notice any abnormal wear on the tires. (checked and measured each with a penny) Any clue what this could be?

 

Was there a vibration before the new tires but after the bushings and ball joints? What speed were you getting the vibrations? My guess would be a balance issue. Sometimes new tires slip on the rim after they are mounted throwing off the balance. I have had this happen a few times.

 

Thanks for the reply. The whole trip (1000 miles) heading to my destination before I got all the work done there was significant pulling and tugging from the steering wheel and had to hold it at 15 degrees to the left in order to go straight. This is what caused me to get all this work done. After this initial trip I noticed abnormal wear in the tread on my tires. After getting all the work done most everything seemed fine other than the random vibration. Not sure exactly what speed it was at, it seemed to happen at multiple speeds, but at least 60mph+

 

If it's definitely over 60, it's most likely a wheel out of balance. Any reputable shop should be able to check the balance and fix it. How many miles are on the car?

 

Wheel balancing.
Maybe a weight of the slightly wrong value in error or might have lost a weight that did not quite attach correctly when the tires were fitted and balanced?

Are the alloys/rims ? all in good condition? i.e. no slight buckling from earlier damage.

 

Ill take it to the local Firestone here and see what they can do. The rims seem fine they are your standard 15 inch Volvo alloy rim that has the 5 single spokes and 5 double spokes

 

I took it back to Firestone today and they re balanced the tires. The front right was an ounce off. Not sure if that is what was causing it but next time I take the highway ill see.

 

That should take care of the steering wheel vibration, as those are caused by a front wheel out of balance. Since the rears where ok, you may still get the seat vibration. If you do, I would swap the fronts to the back and see if the vibration moves to the steering wheel. If it does, something else is wrong with the rears (now the fronts) such as a tire out of round, bent wheel etc. If it doesn't move to the steering wheel its above my ability to diagnose.

 

Thanks for the advice, I took it for a short stretch of the highway when heading home this afternoon and it seemed as if the vibration was gone. I only had to go one exit down on the highway so didn't get a true feeling but I hope its fine and Ill see as I drive more.