ncgs

I recently got a 2000 GS300. Earlier today, I had to hit the brakes very hard while on the highway. Afterwards, the steering wheel now seems to vibrate slightly, and shakes at high speeds. Could this be brakes/rotors? Or is it more likely to be suspension related? Ball joints, control arms, something of that nature?

604GS400

Have you replaced your caster arm bushings yet?

jegyed

I second that. The hard braking might have stressed it just enough to cause a problem. For example I had my 430 running like butter and decided to nail the throttle and that was all it took to need two new motor mounts.

SaiyanGS3

iTrader: (8)

Read the suspension sticky above, which has all of your answers. I replaced all of my suspension parts last year; search my posts.

ncgs

Thank you all for the responses. I am looking into replacing the whole front end suspension, as it's pretty old at this point.

TrueGS300

Some other suggestions to check, and for a smooth ride in general: Check or have checked the condition of the tires and see if they are good enough to have balanced. They may be out of balance or missing weights. If you have cupping on the tread, you may have suspension issues such as bad struts, ball joints, caster arm bushings etc. Don't waste time or money balancing old, dry-rotted, cracked, cupped, bald edges, worn past wear bars, or otherwise bad tires. In the tire inspection, check for separation issues. If they are old enough, the hard braking could have caused one to start coming apart. I'm referring to the steel belts inside. This would create a bulge that you would feel as a shake in the steering wheel. Seems like the likely issue to me. Brake pulsation is only experienced when braking and you should be able to tell if that is it's own issue. However if you do have a tire separating, braking can amplify the feeling. Try to determine if it's the same shake, but worse, or if it's clearly an added brake pulsation. You may want to replace the front pads/rotors if you are feeling vibrations when braking to help get back to smooth operation. But I'd start with checking the tires and feeling for an abnormal bulge or raised section on one of the front tires likely.

ncgs

Thanks for this info. Braking is smooth, and the pads appear to have plenty of life left in them. The tires seem to have a decent amount of tread left, but the wheels have definitely seen better days. I will inspect the tires and wheels closer though. I saw weights on all 4 tires though, so I don't think it is a balancing issue.

BayAreaLex

Just remember, far far far too many people on this forum have chased suspension ghosts and spent small fortunes for nothing when all they needed is a modern road force balance at a reputable shop.