Ariyanna

I have a 1996 ES300 with 96K miles. I've noticed a slight vibration in the front end when driving at speeds above 30 mph. I had a both axels replaced at 84k miles.Usually I feel some minor vibration or shimmy through the steering wheel but more so in the body of the vehicle. It continues up to highway speeds but doesn't seem to be more profound at higher speeds. When driving over pavement markers (those hard plastic raised circles or squares on the pavement that mark the lanes on the road) the steering seems to over-respond, pulling to the left or the right, more so than what I experience in other vehicles. After having replaced the ball joints on another vehicle replaced (Ford Explorer 2002 with 75K miles) I've started to wonder if this is the same situation needing to be addressed. The car has been well maintained . There wasn't any mention at Lexus of the need to address ball joints at that time. At the last service internal they couldn't sense the problem with vibration. The car doesn't drift to the left or right when I have my hands off the steering, nor does it drift under braking.
Does this sound like an alignment or ball joint problem? And if it is ball joints, what needs to be replaced and does anyone have an idea as to what it might cost to replace?
Could it be my tires? I have Goodyear Assurance Triple Thread V rated tires about 95% tread left.

92ES5sp

Id get your wheels balanced and make sure no rims are bent.
Lexus' almost never have bad ball joints or tie rod ends but the jerking while hitting lane markers sounds like a tie rod issue. Oh, a tire that has shifted a belt could cause a shiimy or a pull, so have them put it on a balancer and look. Its not uncommon

Even though its not related, check your sway bar end links and frame bushings.

Ariyanna

Inner and outter tie rods are brand new, also had tires balanced like 3 weeks ago so those r out. Just need to figure what it could be,

92ES5sp

K....is your steering rack bolted down tight? I still wouldnt rule out a bad tire or bent rim. Even though the balancer says "0" youd still feel a vibration

Ariyanna

Steering rack? you mean rack and pinion rack, I havent thought of that could that be a possiblity? The steering wheel does not vibrate at all at any speeds, it just pulls to the left or the right with ever I am at slower speeds going over speed bumps or bumps on the road.

maniax

iTrader: (3)

No it's not your tires....i have the same ones on my camry.....no problems

I would thoroughly check the suspension.

Check your control arm bushings, they tend to wear out over time causing a pull to the left or right. I have the same problem with my es300 and i'm going to take care of it ASAP. A little late cuz it already wore out my 1 year old ultra high performance pirelli tires. I'm so mad.


First find any problems with ur suspension, then fix it first, then you MUST do an alignment in a reputable alignment shop cuz alot of the times they don't know what they're doing even though it's computerized. That should solve your problem.

AdvanSC300

Get your tires balanced and road force test to check it for any heavy load spots...

Ariyanna

Found the problem it was my steering rack bolts were lose, had them tightened and everything is fine now all gone

AzNMpower

How do you do this? Steps? Pics maybe? location of the rack bolts? (my sleep-aid is kickin in)

92ES5sp

OH YEAH!!! Get some!!!

Ariyanna

My dad did it for me I can ask him how he did and then leave a message for u guys

maniax

iTrader: (3)

steering rack bolt not tightened huh.....sounds dangerous to me. Good thing u got it fixed!