1985 Toyota MR2 Wheel shakes at speed - tie rods or?

VRK

MEMBER
1985 TOYOTA MR2
4 CYL
2WD
MANUAL
125,000 MILES

Greetings,

Could someone please answer:

1) why recently balanced front wheels / tires begin to shake (left/right) like very badly OUT of balance wheels/tires at speeds up to and over 60 MPH. Is it the rubber washers in the tie rods or where?

2) What does the mechanics shop book indicate as the hours to complete the needed work?

**Please answer both questions - thanks.

Thanks very much,
Victor
Carmel CA

6 Replies

JAMES W.

MECHANIC
2,394 POSTS

I can't givr you an answer on #2 until we're sure about #1. The "rubber washers" you asked about are just boots on the tie rod ends to keep dirt and water out of the joints. When the shop balanced the tires, did they say anything about bad rod ends? The most common cause of front end bounce is either bad struts or a tire out of round. You can test this theory by moving the front tires to the rear and vise/versa, to see if the shake follows. Please advise.

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Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 AT 6:09 PM

VRK

MEMBER
4 POSTS

Thanks for your response, though maybe I wasn't clear enough in my question. I delivered the tires / wheels off the vehicle when I got them balanced so the service station had nothing to inspect. There is no BOUNCE (?), Just a shimmying of the steering wheel as though the wheels are tremendously of out balance. The shocks are in good shape. What is the approx. Shop time for Tie Rod Ends?

-Victor

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Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 AT 6:24 PM

JAMES W.

MECHANIC
2,394 POSTS

Book time shows 3 hours to R&R tie rod ends Not including alignment. I might just add, sometimes a tire won't show a cord problem without the weight of the car on the tire.

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Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 AT 9:45 PM

VRK