Lateral vibration/shaking in front suspension?

[Jamison]

Every once in a while, while driving at highway speeds, i get a fairly pronounced shaking in the front end. It is a side to side, lateral shaking, then will go away. It also appears while under a hard braking situation. It comes and goes and is getting worse, or more frequent. Does anyone know what this may be, and/or how to fix?

[old_man]

Sounds like a case of the "death wobbles" Do a search. There are numerous things that can cause this.

Just a hint, when you are trying to explain what is happening on a vehicle, it really helps if you can give the number of miles, year, motor, trans, tires, lift, and any other info. All of these things can help us know what types of causes to suggest. Otherwise we are just shooting in the dark.

Tom Houston
Loveland, Colorado

[Eagle]

If it shows up under hard braking, my guess is that you have a combination of tire balance problems and warped rotor problems.

[89xj]

could be a worn steering stabilizer. the problem with a new stabilizer is that it might just mask another problem like what Eagle said.

[Jamison]

Ok, sorry about no specs. It is an '89 Limited, 4.0 V6, 87,000 original miles. It is completely stock, I have not had the funds to do anything to it yet. Also, the shaking is most pronounced in the pedals. Any other thoughts would help.

[Jamison]

Make that straight 6, not V6.

[89xj]

if its in the pedal then its probably warped rotors. since its an 89 i would replace the rotors, they are not expensive. you should also look into getting new control arm bushings. i found that new bushings made a big improvement in the steering.