Summer to Winter tire switch with a "surprise"

[vibolista]

Well, it's that time of the year again, so I took the Summer Wheels off and installed the Winter wheels. Not a problem. Found all the pieces and parts. Washed and waxed the Summer alloys, checked the tires for stuff sticking into them and took out all the little rocks and stuff to make sure. Then stuck two of them into the "storage room" (basement) for their Winter rest.

I had cleaned and waxed the old steels in Spring so just dusted them off... still not showing rust. All that care seems to have been worth the small amount of time that it takes. No problems... sort of.

I kept the two front Summer tires in the garage to take to a tire shop and have them balanced. I started to notice a slight steering wheel shake at 60 mph or above sometime in late Summer. To keep from messing up the tires, I kept speeds down below 60 mph. That was easily done by staying off the Interstate.

Went out yesterday for a shakedown ride with the Winter wheels on the car. Decided to go into town and took a few miles of Interstate. Got to 60 mph and guess what? Steering wheel started to shake.

Different wheels, different tires, different pressures. Same steering wheel shake.

Not the tires? Found no wheel weights missing on either set of wheels and tires.

Any ideas???

[jayoldschool]

Wheel bearing, tie rod, control arm bushing, ball joint... all are possibilities. I may be in the same boat. I've had a rumble and a steering wheel shake at highway speed. I swapped to the winters today, so I'm hoping it was a bad summer tire. If not, I will get it up on the lift for an inspection.

[vibolista]

Thanks, was afraid of that. Guess it's starting to show that 6 years of age. Not a lot of miles, but rubber components degrade no matter what the use level. Should also get an alignment. Steering fairly straight, but I've noticed a little bit of pull to right. Had to find a really flat piece of road to see if it was just the road crown. Appointment will be made to have that front end gone over.