Shimmy on the car (vehicle, brakes, tires, replace)

[C5Aprea]

Ive had a shimmy on my 2006, Uplander, front wheel drive with 15500 miles on it for a while.

Last week, I rotated the tires, front to rear, rear to front, and the shimmy got worst.

I went to a local shop and had them pull all four ties and re balance them. No change ( maybe a little worst )

It shimmys whether im on the brakes or not. When I had them re balanced last week, they examined the rims and found no dents or cracks.

What could it be?

[burdell]

If the wheels/tires have been eliminated as the cause of the problem I'd start looking at suspension/steering. Tie rod ends are a good place to start.

Did it come on gradually or after hitting a pothole, after a service, etc.?

[C5Aprea]

Its been there for a while. No pot holes hit. I think it's been there since I bought the car and has been getting worst.

It wasnt as bad before the rotation, but that's why I thought one was out of balance. Guess not :-(

[Jim280]

I agree with burdell, check everything in the front end. When they checked your wheels did they also check to see if one of the wheels was warped? I had a Toyota with a warped wheel (aluminum wheel ) and it vibrated like crazy.

[Franklyn]

Originally Posted by C5Aprea

Ive had a shimmy on my 2006, Uplander, front wheel drive with 15500 miles on it for a while. What could it be?

While on a rack slowly spin each tire by hand holding a screwdriver next to the tread. Check for an out-of-round tire/wheel. You're looking for the distance between the tread and the object to vary. If it does you may have an improperly mounted tire [even though it's been "balanced"}. If it doesn't THEN you can eliminate the wheels and go on to the suspension, imo.

Could be a bad front wheel bearing getting worse, too.

[C5Aprea]

To me, it feels like the tires is out of run

[burdell]

Originally Posted by C5Aprea

To me, it feels like the tires is out of run

It's possible a tire has an internal structural problem that isn't externally visible. If you have a full size spare it might be worth the time to replace one wheel/tire at a time to see what affect that has.

[Franklyn]

Easy to check, then. Just follow my suggestion.

[mm34b]

I agree with Franklyn about having the condition of your wheel bearings checked?

[the4pits]

If the vibration got worse when the tires were rotated, that would pretty much tell you it should have something to do with either of the front tires/wheels. You said the vehicle had approx. 15k on it? Is this the first tire rotation? What kind of tires are on it? I would guess that one or both of the tires are cupped, causing the vibration. Did the tires get noisier after rotation? If so you can cross the front tires to try and wear the cupping out, but usually it gets worse before it gets better.

You say it shimmys whether you are on the brakes or not? At what speed , or at what speed is it the worse?