I thought about that. I was under the impression that if a wheel was bent it wouldn't balance at all. It really feel like the tires just need to be balanced. I think I might go on Ebay and get one of those wheels/tires combos. How did you determine the rim was bent? Obviously thats something you would see but I'd imagine it could be bent and not be noticable.
The last place i took to showed me, i asked before and nobody ever said anything. Your right about if the wheel is bent it wont balance. It will balance on the machine, but if you take it it off the balancer and put it back on the balancer it will be off. That's why everyplace i took it to the balance would be off even if i just had it balanced!! it will drive a person crazy!!
Just a quick diagnostic check, jack up the front of the car, and take each front tire, grasp it firmly on both sides and check for slop/movement, then grasp the top and bottom and check for slop/movement. I changed the passenger side inner and outer tie rod on mine and it elimated almost all of my steering wheel shake. Worth a shot. BTW, side to side slop is the tie rod, I think up/down slop is bad ball joints. Take Care
The balancing machine does not balance the wheel along the horizontal axis. It only balances along the vertical axis. (Horizontal = outside edge of rim to inside edge of rim) (Vertical = Top of rim to bottom of rim) If you watch someone balancing a tire, they usually hammer the weights on the outside of the rim. If the wheel was perfectly balanced on the horizontal axis, putting the weight on the outside creates a slight imbalance. Not enough to matter. But if the rim is bent horizontally, the tire shop will probably not see it. And this can create a signifigant problem in steering. Remember, people that work there are usually not experts. They get paid slightly over minimum wage, so don't trust them. Have someone drive your car at a speed which induces the shaking of the steering wheel. If you can see either front rims "wobbling", replace them. Next, determine at which speeds the steering wheel will shake. Get the car on the highway, start at 40, and slowly work yourself to 90. Note any and all differences. If it gets worse at higher speeds, alignment/bent wheel is where I would look. But if the shaking is independant of speed, I would look to the steering column. Usually there is a u-joint, and a couple of other connecters. The might be faulty. After the road tests, post back. Scott
