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Steering shaking

chevy_guy

Full Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2004
Messages
40
I sure hope someone here can help me. I have been dealing with this problem for a couple of years now but its just getting annoying. I have a 2004 2wd avalanche 1500. My problem is when the truck sits /parks at one spot for a long time a day or 2, the steering will be loose when it is first driven. When I mean loose I mean the steering wheel will shake violently back and forth on a straight a away. After about 10 minutes of driving, the shaking will go away and will not come back unless the truck sits over night again. I have changed out the pitman arm, Idler arm and the dealership promises me that after changing out the steering mid shaft that it will go away (a year ago), and it has not. The wheels are balanced and aligned. No unusual wear on the tires. The next thing im looking at is the unit that the idler arm bolts to. It connects the idler arm to the frame but i do not know what it is call. Do you think that could be the problem. Thanks in advance. I did a search on the site but it seems that everyone is referring to the steering mid shaft.
 
Oh, I also forgot to mention that the front pops when i make turns. Feels like im driving a old person and the joints are popping as i move. (Sorry, not trying to be mean to old folks, Im almost there) LOL
 
What brand of tires do you have? The reason I ask is, I had the exact same problem and it was due to the tires. I bought 20" GM accessory rims and Pirelli Scorpion ATR tires for the summer. After installing them last spring and driving the next day I had the same shaking in the steering wheel for about 2-3 miles, then everything was fine. This happened each time the AVY sat overnight. I did research on the tires, and the majority of the people had the same situation. In fact, these tires are factory installed on the Ford trucks and owners were not too pleased about hopping down the road after taking delivery of there new vehicle. The tires develop "flat spots" after sitting for a time due to the soft composition of the rubber. I called Pirelli and was told this was a normal situation due to the makeup of the tire. I almost hesitated to put the wheels / tires back on this spring but decided to give it a try once more. I now have a few thousand miles on them and have no problems whatsoever; they apparently broke in so to say. Maybe that is the same situation you are dealing with. Hope this helps.
 
Popping when turning- Ball joints or tie rod ends loose. Try another front end shop cause they should spot this right away. If is the tires i would be suprised because it would vary with temperature too. (worse in colder months).

Avalon


 
i would not suspect its the tires and rims. I changed it out to aftermarket 20 inch rims and tires and the shaking did not start till a year later. About 2006. I then put the original rims and tires back on suspecting the same thing but the shaking continued. I had the dealership checked out the whole front suspension and they came to the conclusion it was the steering mid shaft, which did not help. Does anyone know the name of the part that the idler arm is bolted to? the aluminum piece that bolts on to the frame and connects to the idler arm on the bottom. Its on the passenger side of the suspension. Could this be the problem?
 
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