Ls-400 Steering Wheel Shimmy

[W6RU]

I just purchased a 1997 LS-400. When I test drove it I felt a very slight shimmy in the steering wheel. I figured that a tire needed to be balanced. After putting a new set of tires on the car I have the same very slight shimmy ... no change. It feels like tire balance with a slight vibration. What else could be causing this ?

Thanks,

Terry

[SRK]

Get a good four wheel alignment done. I know a good shop in my town that lets me watch ( and even advise on angles - I prefer 0 camber or slightly negative only on my cars). I had a worn left inner tie-rod end, and with that repair and the alignment the car drives perfectly. It is important to get a carefull and accurate shop to do the alignment, as the angles are small, and these cars are completely adjustable, so a shop that just sets toe and backs it off the rack is not going to do the quality of work you need.

[nc211]

I'm digging up the dead on this one. I'm wondering if my camber is off as well, causing this wobble / wandering thing I've had for what seems like forever! SRK, can you tell me what part adjusts the camber / caster? Is it the strut rods? Also, how can I inspect the inner tie rods to see if they're ok, or worn out? Any simple tests to see?

Thanks amigo!

[nc211]

SRK, nevermind on the camer adjustment locator. After a few minutes of banging my head on my desk , the light finally came on. It is the dial setting on the strut rod. I also read an old thread of mine that started this whole suspension replacement thing off in the first place "ride getting harsh". But I'm still a bit clueless on the inner tie rod inspection process. The steering wheel isn't indicating any loose play with the tires. I'm thinking my camber is off, too positive I think? I'm still confused if positive means forward, negative means backwards or viceversa. But this sure does sound like "caster wobble" to me. I just can't accept that after all of these repairs, the car still has problems in this area. It's got to be a setting somewhere that's off.

anywho, was curious from that old thread, anyone know what happened to ArmyofOne? He was a nice guy! Last I heard on here, he was going to be restationed somewhere, possibly in my area down at Ft. Bragg.