Vibration On My '92' 400

[JTF NJ]

92 LS 400 70k. I am having a vibration in my steering wheel at higher speeds. The car was ot used much in the past 5 years. Could it be balancing,alignment or worst senerio struts(budget tight like the rest of us). Anyone have simular issues?

[1990LS400]

IMO, the first thing to do is have your tires/wheels balanced on a road force balancing machine. If the tires are older than 6 to 8 years consider replacing them -- opinions vary on the number of years after which tires become unsafe. If you can't remember when an alignment was done, a four wheel alignment might be in order. If there is a suspension component problem, it might show up during an alignment.

[landar]

I agree with Jim. First thing to check or replace would be the tires. They are often the biggest contributor to vibration. You can do a little test by swapping wheels, front->back, back->front(keeping rotation direction the same), and see if the vibration changes in any way. If so, that would be a indicator that something is not right with the current tires/wheel combination, possibly balance. Most tire shops will say older than 5 years and tires are nearing the end of the trail especially if you have a less expensive brand/model of tire (read: cheap).

[curiousB]

ditto. I'd start with wheel balance and see if that does it. The clue here is vibration at higher speeds. This is the mechanical resonance condition that "amplifies" the vibration at a certain (resonant) speed. Seems to always be in the 55-70 MPH band for these cars.

If that doesn't do it search of steering column vibration. Some have posted a fix for that here.

Lastly it could be worn out bushings in front end linkages but that would probably have other symptoms too so I am less convinced in this last one.

[AZ Mike]

I am experiencing the same vibration on a '99 LS with 80 k miles. I have Michelin XSEs that are still in good shape with plenty of tread that are about 5-6 years old. I wouldn't call these tires "cheap".....is it more likely the tires, or alignment or steering/suspension components?

[curiousB]

get tires balanced. As they wear they can go out of balance. That is why some places (like costco) offer lifetime free balance for a set of tires.