vibrations in the steering

Eddie Greenlee

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Well I tried to look back to find where I posted some questions about some vibrations in my steering wheel around 55 and 60 mph, after i had my tires rotated and balanced. I drove it for about 2 weeks and this morning i took my jeep back to the tire shop and asked them to check my toe job I did and to check the balance on the front tires.
SO come to find out my toe job was basically perfect but the balance on the front right tire was off 1.25oz. So they fixed it and WOW, no more vibs. So in this case, they did not balance it right the first time. I took it out on the highway today and from 50 to 70 its smooth as glass. man that makes me feel better.
 
Yep, I figured that was the case. Glad you got it solved!

So many people spend forever tracking down their vibrations / death wobble, only to find out it was the tire balancing all along. As @Jerry Bransford has mentioned, balancing big tires like we run on our Jeeps isn't the easiest. It takes a competent shop and someone who knows what they're doing.
 
Cheers, awesome that you got it worked out!

The fact that a professional shop had to balance your tires two times to get it right, doesn't make me feel any good about locating a second option near me. The place that installed my tires (great place) is 70 miles away, so Id like a backup place near home too. However, I've already been through a similar balancing issue with two local shops in the past. What a pain!

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Sometimes, with a small local shop you have to have the patience, persistence and firmness to get the job done right. Or you can be "that guy".
 
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Do you know if they balanced using Road Force equipment or a standard static balancer? I'm headed back to the shop tomorrow for a THIRD time to have my tires rebalanced because I'm chasing a shimmy at 50 mph and whole vehicle vibration at 70 mph. I'm not convinced this Road Force balancing is helping but I'm also ignorant in the technology. Be nice to know what your shop used.. Thanks.

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My search kung-fu is failing me, or maybe it's my memory that's failing me, but I could have sworn there was a thread on here that mentioned road force balancing is good for low profile tires but not for larger sidewall tires like we have on Jeeps.
 
My search kung-fu is failing me, or maybe it's my memory that's failing me, but I could have sworn there was a thread on here that mentioned road force balancing is good for low profile tires but not for larger sidewall tires like we have on Jeeps.
Haha... Probably the post I started 2 weeks ago in the Wheels and Tires section! I'm just curious what's working/not working for others. Frustrating to have to take it back a third time.

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This is why I have the local Ford dealership balance my tires. They are constantly installing lift kits in the F150's, and they handle large tires all the time.

They always balance them perfectly.
 
My search kung-fu is failing me, or maybe it's my memory that's failing me, but I could have sworn there was a thread on here that mentioned road force balancing is good for low profile tires but not for larger sidewall tires like we have on Jeeps.
I think it's one of the Death Wobble threads I've read in the past week.
 
Fourpointzero,
I don't know where in NJ you are, but in Howell NJ there is a one man shop called Tire Craft. The owners name is Eric. He is a stand up guy and I will recommend him to anybody. None of this "Rush you out the door while doing the job as quickly as possibile" crap.
 
My search kung-fu is failing me, or maybe it's my memory that's failing me, but I could have sworn there was a thread on here that mentioned road force balancing is good for low profile tires but not for larger sidewall tires like we have on Jeeps.
Road Force balancing never worked any better for my 35" tires than conventional balancing did. I stopped paying extra for it and never noticed any difference.
 
Just need to stress to the shop that your jeep is very stubborn and must have the tires balanced to 0.0 on each side. Some shops have old balancers and maybe some are out of spec, so finding a good shop that knows what they are doing is tough to find. Some brands of tires are also more difficult to balance than others.

Also, check to make sure you don't have a bunch of rocks or gravel caught between the lugs of the tire. Get enough pebbles stuck in there could throw a tire off if you are running a aggressive tread tire.
 
Do you know if they balanced using Road Force equipment or a standard static balancer? I'm headed back to the shop tomorrow for a THIRD time to have my tires rebalanced because I'm chasing a shimmy at 50 mph and whole vehicle vibration at 70 mph. I'm not convinced this Road Force balancing is helping but I'm also ignorant in the technology. Be nice to know what your shop used.. Thanks.

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not really but probably just a standard static balance machine.