So like it says in the title, the car/steering wheel kind of vibrates when I have the wheels all the way to the left or right. It doesn't do it in normal turns or when driving straight, only when parking or backing out. Any ideas?

1990 Camaro IROC-Z 5.7 350

 

The following is from How to Tune and Modify your 1982-1998 Camaro by Jason Scott:

"The problem stems from high forces transmitted from the steering box to the chassis, especially under low-speed cornering, such as when maneuvering around a shopping mall parking lot. Fat performance tires present a great deal of resistance at low speeds, which imparts considerable stress into the steering system, and ultimately attempts to rip the steering box from its mounting surface--especially during "full-lock" turns, where steering torque is greatest. Over time, these forces weaken the chassis surface around the steering box and can result in torn metal.

"Whether the chassis is weakened or torn at the steering box, the result is the same--steering actions are delayed while the chassis flexes, leading to unresponsive and erratic steering. Ironically, though the damage stems from low-speed steering, the resulting problem is far more serious at high speeds than low ones.

"It is possible to repair the damaged area, though the best solution is to avoid the problem in the first place by installing a brace that reinforces the steering box mounting area."

Even though you have a Wonderbar (aka 'steering box brace'), I'd suggest not going lock to lock to avoid the issue.

JamesC

 

So is there anyway to fix this issue before it becomes even worse or do I just have to deal with it? I mean I understand not going lock to lock but it happens when I am simply parking or making a narrow turn

 

Perhaps you should get the car up, do a visual and some poking and prodding.

JamesC

 

I have a similar issue with mine, but my driver side tire or something starts to squeal like its rubbing something making left hand turns, doesn't even have to be a full lock turn.

 

If the vibration is stemming from the front tires actually slipping or dragging, my car does this too. It's actually really bad in my case. I believe there are a few things causing this:

1, Our cars have a large scrub radius. The tires are not pivoting about their centerline, most of the outside edge of the tire gets dragged as you are turning the wheel, probably most noticeable at low speed

2, Our cars have built in anti ackerman which means that the further you turn, the more the wheels toe in. This is opposite of what you'd want in a tight slow turn since the inside wheel has a smaller circle that it's traveling around. So the front tires are going to have to slip to some degree. It's probably worse with lower profile or stiff sidewall tires where the tire carcass wont deflect as much.

3, A tight rear differential is going to exacerbate the car's desire to keep going straight

There's probably more at work here, I think caster makes it worse too because you are then weighting one tire a lot more than the other in conjunction with the above (1 and 2)

 

Thanks guys. Some good info. Sounds like an issue I cant really fix except to try not to make the situation worse.

 

Get an alignment. It might help, also something others havn't mentioned is the possibility of the power steering pump/lines causing the issue. I had a similar problem, ended up being a power steering line restricting flow at full lock turns. it caused a vibratio9n felt through the entire car.