It has done this a few times in the last couple of days. The first time it did it, I thought a tire had blown. It shook violently for about 5 seconds and then stopped completely. It didn't do it again for the rest of the day. Today the steering wheel just shook a little going around curves. It has new ball joints and idler arm. What could it be? Tie rod? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

Improperly balanced wheels can cause vibration, though if yours is only doing it once in a while, then that might not be the problem.

 

It won't be, an intermittent violent shake can be a loose steering component moving back and forth and sticking in place or a PS/gearbox issue. Best thing to do is jack up the front and pull on the steering and front suspension parts and see if any of them are loose.

 

Thanks! I'll jack it up today and check it out. Any other suggestions? I thought for sure it was going to be a warped rotor, but it's doing this without touching the brakes.

I've got to get this repaired soon. Rain, sleet, or hurricane, I drive this car everyday and work on it almost as much!

 

tires, worn motor mounts, trans mounts.

i replaced them all and never a single problem again.

 

I think I found the source. The tie rod on the passenger side spindle has play in it. What all do I need to repair this? Would that cause intermittent steering wheel shake?

 

Yup! That could easily do it, though the best thing is to replace the entire steering rack instead of just one part so you know everything is new. Best thing, take the pin off the top, make sure the nut was tight (Some people will somehow get a pin through a loose castle nut).
Other then that, replace it+get an alignment. One extra thread can modify the toe. What I do usually though is take off both rods if I'm ghetto rigging and get new ones+a sleeve and just try to get them the exact same length before putting them on.

 

I have a pickle fork, but the haynes manual uses a different tool. Will the pickle fork work or should I use something else? Is a torque wrench needed? I will definitely be ghetto rigging this!

Thanks!

 

a pickle fork will work fine, however keep in mind that you'll pretty much wreck the boot for the part your ripping off so don't try to take anything off that you won't be replacing. Also, pay very close attention to see if there is any movement in the idler arm.