With the exception of the front end bearing races(going to put in disc brakes eventually so I figured why bother?), I have totally rebuilt the front end on my 71 Cutlass, torqued it down as per the service manual. Took it for a spin and had a shimmy at around 40-45 MPH. Took the wheels in and had them balanced. Was told that the two rear wheels were slightly warped and had a couple of dents in them, was told to keep them on the rear. Took it for a spin today and had the same shimmy, slightly less, but still there around 40-45 MPH. Anyone else have this issue? Could it be the alignment? From what I am reading, it is a tire or a lower ball joint issue. Frustrating to say the least after all the time and $. Looking for some insight as to what the heck can be causing this, and what the cure could be.

 

I moved your post to its own thread instead of resurrecting an old one. Well your bent wheels are not doing you any favors. Does it get progressively worse as you increase speed? Had you gotten an alignment since you rebuilt the front end? How old are the tires?

 

A shimmy/vibration is very unlikely caused by alignment unless it has caused tire wear problems. A rotating part such as a tire is much more likely to be the source. How old are the tires? Any chance of trying wheels/tires from another car? Stock rims or aftermarket? Is the shimmy in the steering wheel or the body of the car?

If the front end was rebuilt the ball joints should be good. Was it aligned? If not, ask around to find a good alignment with a specific tech by name. The tech makes A LOT of difference on an alignment. Forum members can probably give target alignment specs to aim towards...anyone???

Good luck!!!

 

It comes in around 40-45 MPH and fades away around 50 MPH. The alignment is in the works, although it tracks pretty straight after I get past the 45 MPH mark. Thanks for the heads up on the tires, they came with the car when I got it in '12. Fortunately I have a set of 15" rims that are just waiting for a new set of tires, looks like I'll be getting them sooner rather than later.

 

I have encountered this exact issue on several sets of tires in my 50 years of driving an automobile. It's the tires. The tires are now seven years old since you purchased the vehicle. You CAN in fact, find out how old the tires are by examining the DATE STAMP on the tires - every tire has a date stamp. If the vehicle sat for any extended period of time, small nuances of slight degradation to the tires occurs - i.e. sidewalls collapse, steel fibers weaken & the adhesion of the steel fibers within the mold become modestly out of round. My bet is on the tires.

 

Check your idler arm bolts to the frame as well. Sometimes on front end rebuilds these come loose and if they do ever so slightly you will get the front end shimmy at certain speeds.

 

Will do, thanks

 

Thanks Chief, it has sat for the most part for the last four years.

 

Likely tire issue, good tip is to over inflate tires in storage, keeps tire from flat spotting and the sidewall is stiffer.

 

^^x2^^ Even better solution for long term storage is to put the car on jack stands or remove the wheels.