Re: The shakes at 70mph - 4000

[eds@VFL.Paramax.COM]

> 
> From: Michel John Wendt <mwendt@csd.uwm.edu>
> Date: Tue, 11 Oct 1994 20:02:56 -0500 (CDT)
> Subject: The shakes at 70mph - 4000
> 
> My '84 4000S with 122k miles gets periodic shimmies (vibrations felt 
> through the steering wheel) at or above 70mph.  The condition happens 
> only occasionaly - it seems to occur after running over a 
> particularly rough expansion joint, but can also happen on a smooth 
> surface.  It stops as soon as I let up on the accelerator or move the 
> steering wheel slightly to the left (to the right seems to make it worse).

I've been noticing the same behavior in my '84 4000S with 385k miles
for the last couple of months.  Gets pretty annoying at times.  I've tried
rotating tires back-to-front with no success, then this weekend while I
was trying to get the squeal out of my brakes, I noticed my right side tie 
rod end had a lot of play.  That could definately cause the vibration
and could be affected by turning slightly.  I'm going to get mine
fixed but you may want to check your tie rod ends.

The procedure is to jack up the front of the car and to watch the tie rod
end (the ball joint that connects the end of the steering arm to the shock 
tower) while you attempt to turn the wheel back and forth with a hand on
either side of the tire.  Any visible up/down movement in the joint at all
means you need a new tie rod end.

The interesting thing on my car is that I've haven't replaced them yet!

Badly worn struts can also cause random shimmying/vibration.