Why does your car shimmy and shake?

Answer 1

My car does not shimmy or shake, as I do not have a car... I believe you must be referring to YOUR car, am I correct?

Five Main things may cause this:

Number one is an unbalanced tire(s). You may be able to feel this through the steering.

Solution: Take you vehicle in to your local tire service and have them perform a balancing test on all of your tires.

Number two: If your vehicle feels like it shimmies side-to-side, but only does this over approx. 45 (for example), your steering may have too much play in it (you can check this by having the vehicle parked on asphalt or concrete -- NOT GRAVEL -- with the engine off. Using just a couple of fingers and a thumb, lightly turn the wheel in both directions until you feel the resistance of the ground. If it feels floppy in this "neutral area", as I call it, your steering gearbox is worn out, and needs to be replaced), it may shake back and forth.

Number three: Warped brake disc/drum and/or stuck brake shoe/pad; If you drive your vehicle at the speed that this shaking occurs and very lightly set your foot on the brake pedal (I would recommend with bare feet as you will feel more detail), you may feel a pulsing if it is a brake problem.

A way to check for a stuck brake shoe/pad is to raise the front/back of your vehicle onto jack stands (Never leave your vehicle on a jack!!! VERY UNSAFE!!!! The jack could fail or slip and the vehicle could land on you and injur/kill you! ALSO, always raise a car with a jack where the jack wheels can roll and on a leven surface to prevent jack from slipping while jacking.)

(with parking brake off while rear is raised) and turn the wheel. It should turn easily, but it should have some drag (it won't just spin forever like a bicycle tire unless your brake pads/shoes need replacing). If there is a wheel that does not turn easily, or does not turn at all, you may have a stuck brake pad or shoe.

Number four: Loose suspension; If one or more of your suspension components are loose, for example your lower control arms, shaking or vibrating may be the result. Also, if you have worn ball joints, you may also get this problem. If you notice a fairly light knocking sound while going over speed bumps or other bumps/dips, this will most likely indicate worn ball joints.

Number five: Loose steering component(s);

A good way to check for loose steering components is to have a friend watch what your front tires do when you drive over a speed bump at a reasonable speed. If, for example, your front tires nose in slightly upon climbing the raised bump, you may have a loose steering component such as one or more worn joints in your tie rod(s).

These I have mentioned, however, are not the only things that could cause this, but they are the most common from my experience. I hope this helps. If you would like more help on this issue, feel free to email me at themagikpeanut@live.com. To ensure that I do not mistake your email as junk, please write "Automotive Help Please" in the subject line. Thank you.