Spacepig

My recently purchased '98 seems to have developed a slight but distinct vibration felt through the steering wheel. It is most noticeable at highway speed on some (but not all) road surfaces. 122k; no strut or bushing work that I am aware of. It is pretty subtle; I didn't become convinced that it was abnormal until I drove my father-in-law's even more recently purchased '98 (he liked mine so much he got one too) over the same roads, and noticed no vibration, despite the fact that his prepurchase inspection indication a torn strut bushing.

Any ideas on what to look for?

steveski

The obvious and easiest would be to ensure tires are correctly balanced as this is commonly the problem (as you know). However, your car has enough mileage that it may be time to replace suspension components such as ball joints, control arms, etc. as this can cause vibration and wandering.

tbilisi79

I had the same exact problem. I got new tires, balanced, checked the rims. Nothing would help.
Problem went away as soon as I changed the strut bars. Any worn suspension parts will lead to this problem.
I suggest you change strut bars, at 122k they are gone anyway.

steveski

Good point. You mentioned strut bars - can they cause abnormal tire wear also? Isn't the camber adjustment on the strut bar?

Bali26

just the bushes. Alignment afterwards. (if thats the prob in the first place)

Spacepig

Thanks, all. I'll take a look at the strut bars & bushings. Tires are pretty new (purchased by PO about 12k ago), so I'd guess they are still in balance, and there don't seem to be any obvious alignment issues.