1999 Toyota Corolla steering wheel vibrates after putting a

ADAM SCREEN

MEMBER
1999 TOYOTA COROLLA
4 CYL
FWD
MANUAL
41,000 MILES

Hi I recently put alloy wheels onto my car with brand new tyres, the day after fitting them I noticed a vibration from the steering wheel at around 60+ mph. So I went back to the dealer and he tightened the wheel nuts and said to do 200-300 mile before coming back if the problem persisted. So after doing 450 mile I went back and had spigots fitted but the problem persisted although the vibration reduced a little, so I then had the wheels balanced but this made the problem worse. So I am at a loss the car has only done 41000 miles but is 11 years old. I don’t know if it could be the tracking, suspension or dampers.

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,742 POSTS

Hi adam screen. Welcome to the forum. Have your mechanic run the car on a hoist and use a dial indicator on the lip of the wheels to identify if one has sideways runout. If you find one with, ... Oh, ... Around.040" or more, remove the wheel, reinstall the lugnuts, and measure again on the edge of the wheel mounting surface on the brake rotor. If runout is present there too, either the hub is slightly bent, or more likely, a piece of rust or scale fell behind the rotor when the wheels were replaced. As long as you're there, measure runout on the rotor's braking surface too just in case a warped rotor is causing the caliper to move back and forth. That movement can transmit to the steering wheel. Incorrect torque (tightness) on the lug nuts can cause rotors to warp, but mechanics who install aftermarket wheels and tires are usually very particular about this. The procedure can include retightening the nuts after a few hundred miles.

If no runout is found on the wheels, switch the front and rear wheels / tires on one side, then drive it to see if the problem is the same. If it is, switch the two wheels and tires on the other side. If there still is no change, suspect a bent hub. It is common for a bent hub to not show up until low profile tires are installed because the sidewalls can't flex enough to overcome the runout.

Caradiodoc