oneglory

Hey guys, help me save some time and frustration and probably diagnostic fees and maybe narrow down some issues I have here.

Symptoms:

1. Wheel wobble/shimmy at highway speeds
2. Left drift
3. Pulsating which I can feel I guess, more in the steering wheel while braking, its more pronounced at higher speeds.

My winter tires have been replaced with all seasons. I went with tires that I might have never gone with if not for the sale+rebate but I ended up pulling the trigger anyway. Vogue Signature V. It should be noted that I did have most of these issues last summer with my Hankook ventus v12 evo2 as well so I'm not entirely convinced it's a faulty tire (belt, etc)....YET.

What has been done:

1. 2 tire balances, the second time I had them recalibrate their machine beforehand.
2. 1 alignment. I can post up the print out when I get home from work if that helps.

Other info:

1. Last year I replaced the pads all around with Powerstop z16 (on sale, see a pattern here?).
2. Also replaced the rotors in the rear.
3. Did NOT replace the front rotors

Other than replacing the front rotors which I think i have to do anyway for the pulsating, any suggestions for the remaining drift after the alignment?

I was thinking about switching the two front tires left to right and seeing if the car pulls right, if so it's the tires. If not, i should be looking at suspension components? Tie rods? LCA(s)?

oneglory

shit. meant to put this in problems and fixes. sorry.

Oh Sickest TL

iTrader: (3)

my bet is a seized caliper on the right side

polobunny

A seized caliper on the right side would make the car drift to the right, not the left.

How bad is the left drift OP? Like you have to hold the steering wheel pretty strongly or pretty crooked to keep the car straight?

Post the alignment specs whenever you can so we can look, that's going to help.

If you can diagnose yourself, make sure the direction and suspension components are not too worn out. A wheel wobble could be a lot of things, and most of the things it could be would make driving very dangerous. In other terms, time to put the car on jack stands and play around with the wheels.
Pay attention to the lower control arm bushings which are a notable failure point on our TL.

oneglory

Thanks!

Ok, I will post up the alignment spec sheet when I get home. To keep the car straight I have to turn the wheel right maybe say 5 or so degrees? I wouldn't say its much to be crazy but it's enough to be noticeable.

Another thing I forgot to mention, when my car/brakes/suspension is not at operating temp, going over bumps or pot holes will give me a slight bang that's hard to explain. The last time I heard a similar noise was on my civic when my caliper slide pins were bone dry. Also when I purchased the car it had bad endlinks on the front sway for which I had the dealer put new ones one. I'm sure they found the cheapest ones possible.

It's just a matter of finding a time to do it with an 8 month old who's teething at the moment, hence why I have no time to diagnose for 4 weekends in a row.

Other info:

TL-S with 170k miles btw, purchased at 100k suspension replacement was unknown, I wouldn't say it's overly bouncy or the suspension is bad. It's certainly no go cart like my civic.

Oh Sickest TL

iTrader: (3)

ooops lol. yea i meant left seized caliper

oneglory

I'm not getting any burning smells or similar issues that would attribute to rubbing pads.

My commute is 30 miles to work and home, i think it'd be pretty hot enough to smell by the time i got home. All highway.

polobunny

Even if it didn't smell you'd feel it by having your hand near the wheel. Gets scorching hot in much less than 30 miles haha!

oneglory

alignment spec sheets:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B12...ew?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1...0tj&authuser=0

FamilyGuy

Sounds like your front rotors might have a slight warp, and you could probably use a new set of compliance bushings. Look at the compliance bushings and check for cracks. Start there. Rotate tires front to rear as well.

Honestly, with 170k miles, you could probably use a whole new suspension...and bushings.

Check motor and tranny mounts too, might help with some of the vibrations.

oneglory

So I dropped my TLS off at Hamilton Honda today and they just called me and left some voicemails which I missed (was somewhere with no cell signal):

They want to cut all 4 rotors @ $199 per axle and balance the wheels/tires again. Nothing was mentioned about the left drifting.

That seems steep for resurfacing the rotors no?

Oh Sickest TL

iTrader: (3)

at that price id just get new rotors lol

6spdwrx

I think I may be able to answer #3. Pulsated brake is due to ABS and it's completely normal unless your rotors are damaged.

oneglory

Def. not the ABS.

csmeance

The pulsing under braking is the front rotors or the rear rotors. Don't waste money cutting them, just buy new ones.

Vibrations come from many places and need to be isolated. You probably need new lower control arm compliance bushings, but along with that you may need replacement bushings for the other parts of the lower control arm and upper control arm. As well I'd make sure all the tie-rods are good too.

Best thing to do is lift the car up and move the wheel in all directions to see which way has play. I missed your mileage but if it's over 100K, you may need new shocks too.

I like the idea of swapping tires. Be careful that they rotate in the proper direction! Some tires are directional and can't be swapped left to right.

oneglory

Pretty sure I shouldn't be able to move the LCA bushing with my fingers.

I asked Hamilton Honda to give my suspension a check but apparently they missed this, or more than likely didn't actually check.

6spdwrx

then maybe your rotors are damaged?

oneglory

Didn't update that had the rotors turned and the shimmy is gone.

the left drift is still present though.