Wabbly steering...sometimes? Rust too...

[akboss]

Hey guys,

I've had some help in this forum before and many thanks for that. But this new problem has emerged that really has me scratching my head, and my mechanic says he can't help until something becomes regularly wrong.

So when I approach speeds of 100 km/h or more, the steering wheel starts to vibrate fervently, and it gets stronger as the speed increases. At 120, it is shaking so rapidly that my hand becomes numb when holding it for a long period - this can't be good. But get this! Sometimes it doesn't happen! I was driving just yesterday at increasing speeds between 90-120 and no vibration, she was smooth as glass.

I know the power steering fluid needs to be changed, could that be the problem? Also, I just put on a new set of tires and had them rotated. I didn't notice the problem before the rotation, but I asked the shop owner to check the balance and he said all the tires are dead-on, checked them twice and it's a local shop I trust.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks guys!
A.

OH, and because it's a P5 forum, anybody else having rust bubbles show up on the rear quarters and around the wheel arches? My car is mechanically sound and I want to keep 'er running, but I don't know if it's worth the cost of getting some bodywork done...the car is worth only maybe $4K on the used market now.

[DoctorCrobe]

Well first off, I want to make it clear I am no car expert..

I don't think it's an issue with your power steering fluid as I havn't heard of problems like that before.. all your power steering does is make it easier for you to turn the wheel, unlike the old cars where you have to manually crank the wheel over to make turns.. power steering just makes it easier and faster to turn..

one thought is to have them rotated again, put the other tires back up front and see if it still does it.. if it doesn't do it, then you might have some manufacture defect in the tires and should take them back...

however if it still continues, maybe take the tires to another shop and see if they will rebalance them and see what they think..

lastly, you might have some joints going out and they are shifting around causing it to vibrate, this can also ruin the tires... and if this is the case, then you'll need a good alignment after the joints are fixed... usually your mechanic can tell if you have any ball joints or steering joints going out..

the thing I am kinda worried about is if your doing 60-80 mph or 100km/h+ and one of those joints break, it might cause an accident... so I'd see what your mechanic says..

hope this gives you an idea of what you can do

[MrBill50]

Alboss,
I'll leave your steering problem to others with more experience, but I can recommend a superior and affordable treatment for those rust bubbles. Master Series (www.nomorerust.com) has the most effective and longest-lasting rust treatments I have found yet and their support staff are extremely knowedgable and helpful. Their professional expertise in the area of metal coatings and rust prevention/treatment was a big help to me in the past. If you have rust bubbles, I would use a wire wheel to clean off the flaking paint and rust from both sides of the panel and then use the Master Series Silver Primer to fill the pores and seal the metal to prevent oxygen from causing the rust to reform. Ths primer is very different from other primers becase it contains aluminum flake in a urathane base. The very fine aluminum flake is like a powder suspended in the urathane and is what prevents oxygen from getting through. After applying the primer you can apply your top coat directly over it. To see the entire line of Master Series coatings go to www.nomorerust.com .

[Mazdapro02]

Run you hand over the treads of the front tires to feel for high or low areas. Could also be the belts on one of tires could have separated.

Rotate one side and test drive, if problem goes away you've found the problem if not do the other side.

Could also be a tie rod end that worn.

[DoctorCrobe]

ok, what mazdapro is looking to see, is that if your having a seperating belt issue in any of your tires.. or if that they are feathering from shock damage.. although the feathering probably won't cause it to wobble unlike the seperated belt..

If it turns out you do have a seperated belt, go buy a new tire and do not drive on that tire any more or you will blow it out...