308 wobbly steering wheel...sometimes

what wheels are you running? aftermarket superperformance 16 inch wheels wobbled on my car until i got the wheel hub shims.

 

Welcome!

Worn steering rack bushings...(not mounting biushings but the ones within the rack itself).

Search for thread, on do it yourself rebuild, or they are available rebuilt to 'bolt on'......

 

I agree CONSTANT wobble or vibration could be wheel tire combo, but the worn rack symptoms come and go, usually at higher freeway speeds.

It causes the steering wheel to go left/right about 1/4" - 1/2" or so.....?????

 

Welcome to FChat (just another "problem" 1st post )

Sounds like you've already done a lot of careful looking at the wheel & tire geometries and mass properties (which is good) -- a few questions to start with:

Have you noticed if the problem is more likely to occur when the tires are cold and a little out-of-round from sitting overnight?

Does it occur only when going straight? Ever had it occur while rounding a curve?

When you say the steering rack is in good shape are you including the steering column components? -- any "play" in the system would give the same symptom as worn rack bushings (if those aren't the culprit). If the u-joints are in good shape and tightly-mounted, you should still check the "squeeze joint" at the input to the steering rack held by bolt #8 (I still think that bolt #8 is one size too small).

It's also a good idea to check that nut #24 is tight -- it needs to be loosened to make the "tilt" adjustment, but should be tightened afterwards to stiffen up the whole assembly.

Just some additional ideas -- good luck with the hunt...

PS 1) Please add or give a more complete year/model(B,S,4?)/version description of your "308" -- either in the Post or in your Profile. 2) Can you disclose which continent you're on, or is that too personal?
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"tyres" Steve, me thinks UK!

Well, your tech is using our deductive logic, as well...

308 = 20+ years = worn out stuff.....LOL!

91tr has given some excellent alternatives to check though, before going to the rack itself......

 

New tyres sorted it for me, a few years ago mind.
When you say steering geometry, did you have track, toe, castor and camber on both front and rear laser checked ?
Once again ... start with the simplest and cheapest first.
cheers, from the land of no speed limits !

 

Dave S your PM box is full!

Or it was, the other day.....

 

That's TERRIBLE for a Ferrari driver!!! You definitely want to get your steering sorted out and fixed.

 

On my Ferrari, turning the rack to one side or the other would actually make the wobble stop...only did it when travelling straight, in unloaded condition...

 

How old are the tires? If they are flat spotted a bit from age/whatever, the steering may wobble when they are in one relative position to each other and not with a different position. If your tires are over 5 years old, treat yourself to new ones. You'll also find the handling vastly improved even if the wobble is something else.

Ken

 

I had the same just after purchasing the car.
Reason was a seized brake caliper which caused the brake disk to warp while heating up.
After cooling down everything was smooth again. Driving a while the wobbling came back.
Sorry, but the only thing which helped in my case was rebuilding the front calipers and a pair of new brake discs front.

Best Regards

Martin

 

I had some work done on my car and when they put the wheels back on, violla, wheel shake. I thought maybe a wheel weight had been knocked loose during the work, but when I went to have them balanced, the shop guys told me that I was missing some rings that would center my wheels and that it was more than likely the cause of the shake. Like you, the shake only comes on in a straight line, but mine always occurs at around 55 mph. This, of course, forces me to drive faster, to get rid of the shake. I bet it has something to do with your wheel and how it's mounted to your car.

 

You might want to check your wheel bearings (if not done already) as this can add a lot of variables into the mix if they are worn or have excessive play - this can make it tough to align the car properly. Check for play and if you suspect some wear then disassemble and look for blueing of the race and bearings as this indicated heat build up and implies poor running performance.

 

I am having the same problem wtih my spare HRE wheels, however with my QV wheels it was fine. I bought new Bridgestone S-02 tires and the fronts were so out of round I put on my used set and it is still doing it. Mainly in a straight line and on real smooth surfaces at any speed it is as smooth as glass???? Not sure what is up but it is disconcerting. I checked the bearings and the rack and both had about only 1/16" free play which I assume to be OK???

ROB

 

I'm glad I could point you in the right direction
I hope, that your brake rotors are still o.k. They were not in my case, but you can try it after you have rebuilt your calipers. If the wobbling comes back with hard braking, the discs are also due.
In my case the constant overheating of the sticky driver's side front caliper had damaged the rotor so much, that the disc warping and wobbling came back while braking hard from high speed.

Best Regards from Germany

Martin

 

It was rear wheel, not front but acted like bad balance and disk got hot. Would come and go. Rebuilt calipers to no avail. It was the brake hose. 30 year old rubber had disingegrated on hose ID and was plugging the bore. Plenty of oil pressure to apply brakes but no way they would release quickly. After 10 minutes pad would move back so when you jacked and checked, all was OK.

Calipers might be just fine. Remove hose at caliper and try running a smooth steel rod down the bore. If it goes easy, fine. I could not go more than an inch.

Good Luck,

John