Steering wheel shimmy at highway speeds

[George Tur]

 > On Feb 16, 2006, at 1:14 PM, Tony Urban wrote:
 > Over the past month or two I've noticed a shimmy in my steering wheel
 > when I hit 55 and above.  I'd think it was my alignment or a tire
 > but it
 > seems to come and go (although it's there more than it isn't).  To
 > better explain, I'll be going 65 and the wheel will be shuddering
 > about
 > 1/8 inch side to side, I'll round a curve and the shimmy will go away.
 > I round another curve and it returns.
 >
 > Does anyone have an idea one what could be causing this problem?
 >
**************
Since the noise seems to come and go when making turns I would take a close 
look at the ball joints. A couple of years ago my wife's car started making 
odd popping and grinding noises when turning, especially in reverse. Turned 
out to be the ball joint, it was cracked. My own experience with odd noises 
and pulling of the wheels last year turned out to be sub frame bolts that had 
loosened. I had had new bushings put on the V8 and one of the nuts on front 
subframe snapped off about a month or so later, which allowed the control arm 
to move around. Check the front suspension very closely.

George Tur
91 V8