wheel shake

[thechaddyboy]

i have noticed whilst driving at 60 / 70 mph that if i hit a small bump in the road the steering shakes a bit, would this be the wheels need balancing or just a character of a 4 x 4 ?

[keef]

Not too likely to be balancing as that should be apparent without bumps.Are your steering joints good and shox o.k?This isn't surf specific just general.

[TonyN]

Could be the steering stabilser, its a small shock thats connected between the steering rod and chassis, just like a normal shock stops the truck bouncing, it does it for the steering.

[thechaddyboy]

not too clever when it comes to shox etc, so i couldn't say - on normal flat surfaces it's not a problem at all, in fact it's a dream to drive, but just drove home from work on the parkway and hit a re-tarmaced lump in the road & i nearly filled me pants cos' the surf shook a bit unexpected, tried putting it down to being high off the ground a bit.

[TonyN]

it shouldn't do it, My money is on the steering stabilser, but could be any thing on the steering, do a search for idler arm for other info. give all the steering components a tug, all the ball joints etc, may need someone to do a 'mini MOT' on the front end, as sometimes wear only shows up when its jacked up and you can get a crowbar between the ball joints.

also check the front shocks, wheel bearings, wheel nuts, etc.

[andycook]

out of interest how would you check/test for a knackered steering stabiliser?

[TonyN]

out of interest how would you check/test for a knackered steering stabiliser?

Just like a shock, take it off, and give it a pull/push, the rod should move all the way in and out smoothly, with lots of resistance. (like a mega Bullworker! )

If the chrome rod is rusty and pitted or its leaking oil, its for the bin.

Procomp do a good, cheap replacement kit, I'd be tempted to change it anyway once you get to 80k miles or so, definatly if you go bigger than 31" tyres.