First take a look at this article, in particular, item number 4:
https://www.2carpros.com/articles/steering-wheel-shakes-when-accelerating-or-braking
Shakes and vibrations have to be caused by something that is rotating. That leaves out tie rod ends. While a badly-worn tie rod end can allow that shaking to become worse, it never causes it.
Bearing / hub assemblies are really tough and will only become bent in a severe crash. The wheel and strut will bend first. A problem in this area can be identified by using a dial indicator along the outer edge of the wheel to look for it not running true. When excessive "lateral run out" is found, the first suspect is that bent wheel. Next would be some debris, as in rust or scale, caught between the wheel and brake rotor. When no debris is found there, the next suspect would be debris between the hub and the brake rotor. That is also identified with the dial indicator.
Another common suspect is a broken tire belt. You can identify this by observing the steering wheel oscillating slightly back and forth as you drive slowly through a parking lot. When a belt is just starting to come apart, the bouncing will only be felt at a specific speed. You typically won't notice it at highway speeds until it gets worse.
The article mentions a worn CV joint. It's the smooth, highly-polished and hardened rolling surfaces in the inner joint that develop worn spots. The rollers will bind and not want to roll smoothly back and forth as the half shaft rotates. The clue here is this only occurs when the joint is under load, as in when accelerating, and more-so when turning, as in when accelerating out of a parking lot onto the street. Locating the defective joint is real tricky, and it requires the joint to be disassembled. I can describe that in more detail if necessary. Most of the shaking is felt in the steering wheel, but your passengers will feel some of it too.
SPONSORED LINKS
Tuesday, May 26th, 2020 AT 4:05 PM
