SO FRUSTRATED! How many mechanics does it take?

[mexitydye]

About a year ago I was having a horrible time with my alignment. I took my car to 3 or 4 places before a Chevrolet dealership fixed it (I was frustrated and told them I didn’t care how they had to fix it, just get it done).

Fast forward to 2 months ago, my car was driving alright, but I noticed one rear tire was losing air. I took my car into the same Chevrolet dealership to have it looked at; I also needed a tire rotation. I left the dealership with a plugged tire and a rotation. I then realized that my steering wheel was shaking at around 60mph. Thinking the rotation did something to my car, I took it back to have the tires put back to where they originally were. This didn’t help.

I then took my car to a small-town tire shop. They balanced the tires and said it was perfect. No. This didn’t help.

I then took my car to Midas. They painted some lines on my tires and rims and told me that my tires were slipping on the rims, but that there wasn’t anything they could do for it.

I then took the car back to the dealership and they kept it for 2 days. They did not find anything wrong, other than the balance, which they supposedly corrected. However, they did say that my after-market rims did not fit snugly on the hub. They sent me home with a car that shakes violently at 60mph.

I then make an appointment at another small-town tire shop. They had my car for a day, balanced what they said to be my way-out-of-balance tires. They said it was perfect and to come and get it. This didn’t help! They then suggested a hub-centric ring (around $8 ea.) for each wheel. This is supposed to help make sure the rim fits nicely on the wheel hub. They installed these rings and I left. I discovered the next day that my car drives worse than it did when the problem originally started.

A lot of time and money is being wasted on what it seems should be an easy fix.

Any suggestions?

[RicochetRandy]

I would try picking up some steelies from a junk yard, swapping them with your fancy rims, and see if that does anything.

[05Aveo]

I would first jack the car up and see if you have slack in each of your tires. Move it up and down and side to side. Watch the tire rod ends and the ball joints and see if they play around and check the bearings to see if you have slack there too. If not that then I would check and see if they motor mounts are worn out.

[milesvinson]

I then took my car to Midas. They painted some lines on my tires and rims and told me that my tires were slipping on the rims, but that there wasn’t anything they could do for it.

Gee dude, how much hp and torque are you churning at the wheels? 600? LOL! I've never heard of that before except at the drag strip.

Seriously though, I feel your pain. It can be hard to find competent mechanics sometimes. I agree with 05Aveo. It sounds like something is worn.

[Thymeclock]

I would try picking up some steelies from a junk yard, swapping them with your fancy rims, and see if that does anything.

I agree. The tip off from your post is this:

I then took the car back to the dealership and they kept it for 2 days. They did not find anything wrong, other than the balance, which they supposedly corrected. However, they did say that my after-market rims did not fit snugly on the hub. They sent me home with a car that shakes violently at 60mph.

What did you expect them to do? If your improper rims don't fit the hubs as they should, you will experience exactly the condition which you are describing: severe vibration.

[milesvinson]

After reading your post again, I am led to suggest investigating two possibilities.

For starters, I'd check for a broken belt in the tire which has been plugged. Also check for broken belts in the other tires. A tire with a broken belt may be balanced out on the machine but as soon as the belts shift again the tire will vibrate again. Sometimes when you plug a tire the belts will break.

Second, as to your rims. They where not a problem before, most likely they are not now. Centering rings merely allow the rim to hug the center hub, centering the tire until the lug nuts are snugged. All of my aftermarket rims have them installed. Even w/o them the rim will not shimmy around as long as the proper lug nuts are used and the wheel has the proper hole spacing. (An exception to this would be the older style rims with elongated holes like they used in the 1980's. Those definitely benefited from the centering rings.)

BUT all of this said, the rims may in fact be the culprit. The rims need to be checked for any bends or warping. This has been a common problem this winter for many drivers after hitting all of the holes left behind by all of the cold weather. To check for a bent rim the garage may need to either check the runout of the rim or totally dismount the tire and put through a spin on a balance machine to visually check for a wobble. Once again, a bent rim may be balanced out but it will still be bent and if bad enough it will still cause a vibration due to the wobble.

I'm not sure if this may be your problem, but you asked for suggestions. Hope you get it fixed.

[michaelgood03]

Definitely get the tire taken off and spin the wheel without it on. If it is bent, take it to a place that specializes in wheel repair, not a tire shop. Here in Washington we have a couple - I've used Dependable Wheel Repair. Cost about $100 to straighten the wheel out to round again.

Of course, you could just have something floating around in the tire. I've seen rags left in there before. Or if you used fix-a-flat, that will throw things all out of wack.

[Stayer]

I realized that the tire rotates around the rim. Isn't it? So the balancing ofrim does not make sense. For the start change your bad wheel on spare. Do you have spare wheel in your trunk?
If the noise and shakes is gone, then the problem is clear.
milesvinsonhas right thing about rim! If rim have damage, and eliminate damage balancing does not work, then change the rim.
Remember, maybe you can hit the big holes and damaged wheel?

[justice4kurt182]

I know this is an old thread but any tire tech should notice any tire damage or bent wheel while on the balancer. Were you able to track down the cause of your issues?