Steering Wheel Wobble a Gen 3 Curse?

[CrispyCracker]

I've now had my Gen 3 for roughly six months. I've thrown thousands of dollars at it: timing belt, water pump, pulleys, plugs, wires, coil packs, new radiator, repainted panels, double-din stereo, spare, trunk liner, etc. etc. Goal, like most in here, is to set up a dependable cross-country vehicle for the family. The EP locals have been great re: dispensing advice and encouragement freely. But here's the deal: IT'S BEYOND AWFUL ON THE HIGHWAY.

Backstory: when I bought the truck it had 285/75/16 retread tires on it that I was confident were the source of a pronounced steering wobble at speeds from 50mph or so and up. So I bought new 265/75 KO2s, new 1mm offset wheels and paid for balancing and alignment. No dice -- still had the crazy shakes. So I had two separate local mechanics look over the suspension. Their verdict: lower tie rod ends needed to be replaced and boots on two CVs were torn but other components seemed OK. So I paid one of them to tackle the tie rods and boots and then spent $250 on a road force balance just last week. And...the crazy vibration remains. If anything, it's worse, with the steering wheel wobbling back and forth in my hands like an orbital polisher.

Given the rave reviews Gen 3s get in this joint I'm almost ready to count myself unlucky and accept that the truck will be limited to a local life. But then I remembered reading posts from longtime members like Igorskiy86 and Christian and a number of other Gen 3 others which reveal that they've struggled with steering vibrations, as well. A quick search of this joint's archives will confirm this. So now I'm wondering if these trucks are just intolerant of tires and suspension parts that push them more than a few degrees away from stock.

I'd appreciate opinions on this. I'm supposed to leave with the family on our annual summer vacation in two weeks (long drive from FL to NC) and at this point the truck is an unhealthy roster scratch. I will not risk their safety so I'll likely use our rode-hard but dependable Grand Cherokee. I'm willing to throw a wad of dough at the Monty one more time before we leave but I'm at my wit's and wallet's end. What would you recommend? New CVs? Examine steering components? Wheel bearings? Rotors?

Thanks for any related thought and input. I really like the Monty and it's an enormous letdown to have its potential limited by this maddening and elusive problem.

 

[Monty85]

Sorry to hear the frustration. Hope I can give you few pointers to help find the root cause.

Can you check following ?

- does vibration happen during braking ? Then most likely the rotor.

- does vibration happen during acceleration or cruising ? If your ball joints, tire balance, brakes, wheel bearings are all checked, I would look into control arm bushings.

I had one case when I worked in shop, customer frustrated after spending money to replace everything to get rid of shake but the bushing. We replaced the control arm bushing and it was fixed.

- check tire balance again. I have had to balance my tires 3 times to have technician get it right not too long ago.

Lastly, I doubt but does your wheel have any bend or damage ?

 

[CrispyCracker]

Great questions. Thanks for taking the time. Vibration takes place at highway speeds (50 and up). Is not related to braking so I have sort of eliminated brakes as a cause. I have not really focused on whether it’s more present when accelerating or just cruising but I believe it’s both. Wheels and tires are both brand new. Taking the truck back to the tire shop day after tomorrow to have it road force balanced once again.

The story about the control arm bushing is very interesting. I will mention it to my mechanic. I also want him to look at bearings though there is no noise from either side even in hard turns.

 

[ajm291]

I had a severe shake (2006 Montero) after getting new tires due to a bad balance job. Had them rebalanced and still had the same problem. Took the wheels to a Mitsubishi garage and they properly balanced them and shake was gone.

I had a bad front wheel bearing years ago and it didn’t shake, just sounded awful (metal grinding noise)

I replaced my steering rack as it was leaking and the boots were both torn. The right side tie rod (I assume it was the inner one as the outer one seemed fine) had some play (could feel it when wheel was off the ground and I grabbed the tire and wrestled it around) but even with this play, I didn’t experience any vibration at high speed.

I’d start with the wheels and ensuring they are truly balanced. I would assume that the shop doing the alignment would check the steering components to ensure they were within spec. It’s a little troubling that this problem didn’t go away when you got new wheels & tires.

 

[Michael Brown]

I will say that I don't have hardly any shaking in the steering up to 70mph. Above 75 it gets a little vibration, but I rarely go much faster than that.

Has anything been changed from the stock suspension? I thought I remembered yours having spacers, but I may be mistaken.

How much play do you have in the steering wheel at low speed/stopped? Can you turn the wheel any noticeable amount before the tires begin to turn? I have almost no dead space in my steering wheel, so when I touch the wheel it turns.

 

[MrGalantguy]

Looks like you covered areas like the tires and wheels. I would honestly have the tires rebalanced just to make sure. I doubt your wheels are causing the issue as they look new.

I would say check all your steering linkage (Inner and outer tie rods) but you had those replaced.

I would really check the suspension components like the UCAs and LCAs bushings to make sure they are in good condition.

Do you have uneven brake wear on your rotors or notice a faint smell after driving for awhile? Sticky brake calipers can cause vibration when speed go above 40mph in most cases also...maybe something to look over.

 

[CrispyCracker]

ajm291, when you say “Mitsubishi shop” do you mean a dealer or private shop? Sure wish I could find a Mitsu specialist locally.

Michael, the previous owner installed crazy heavy retread tires (285/75s), 30mm wheel spacers and 2” strut spacers all around. I removed tires and all spacers and downsized to 265 KO2s and 1mm offset wheels (a few weeks back). I’m wondering if the suspension components are warped due to pressure from the former lift and heavy tires. I noticed a LOT of toe-in before the switch. As for steering, very little play in the wheel.

MrGalant, tomorrow I’m returning to the shop that did the road force balance. I’ll be asking them to visually inspect tires and rims, re-balance and also inspect:

- steering components
- motor mounts
- front struts
- ball joints
- driveshaft Ujoints
- CV axles.

I uploaded a quick clip to YouTube to show how strong the vibration is at 50 mph and up:

 

[ajm291]

ajm291, when you say “Mitsubishi shop” do you mean a dealer or private shop? Sure wish I could find a Mitsu specialist locally...

Yes, I meant a Mitsubishi dealership.

Your video of the wheel shaking is exactly how mine was when the tires were improperly balanced. The tire shop tried twice, but never was able to get them properly balanced so I took them to the dealership and they balanced them without a problem and the shaking was resolved.

 

[CrispyCracker]

Thanks, ajm. I normally avoid dealerships but if this issue continues I may give it a shot. I wonder if they just had better equipment...or maybe a better understanding re: how imperfections seem to be amplified by the persnickety suspensions on these trucks?

 

[plh]

I keep forgetting, are stock Gen 3 Montero wheels hub centric? (I doubt your aftermarket wheels are hub centric).

I'm also in the bushing bandcamp. I've replaced several of them in my '05.

 

[plh]

I doubt the dealership would be of any specific help. These trucks have not been sold new here in 12 years (2006 MY). Many Mits dealerships went out of business in 2008/2009 and all the guys working in the new replacement dealerships now are new (for the most part). We have 3 in the metro area here now, 2 of them are only a couple years old. The 3rd is pre-recession.

 

[Monty85]

I did have similar shake on my steering wheel after balancing. I was already thinking my bushings were bad but went back to shop again to rebalance. Second time around, they got it right and it got smooth and no shake upto 90mph. I was happy!
So start with rebalance and see where it goes. Good luck!

 

[CrispyCracker]

Thanks, Monty85. Gives me hope.

plh, the new aftermarket wheels came with centering rings. One thing I noticed is that the rings (unlike others I've used on other vehicles) we're not overly tight. Normally I need to tap them in with a rubber mallet but three of the four slid into place fairly easily. Might be relevant, might not.

 

[ajm291]

I think you're heading in the right direction. The hub and wheel are the areas to focus on immediately in this instance. The control arm bushing could be bad, but from my experience the shaking you're experiencing at high speeds is related to the wheel/tire balance or the lack of concentricity between the hub center and the wheel center.

 

[Toasty]

Gen 3's are sensitive to this sort of thing, i just fixed one with the same problem. Aftermarket wheels without proper centric rings or wheelspacers without centric bores. Despite what the internet says Gen 3's most definitely are hubcentric. The one I just fixed had .040" runout at the wheel center and it had perfectly balanced tires. It shook like crazy, now it does not and all i did was make the wheels near .000" runout manually.