I've gotten my 1991 Camaro RS going,and I took it out on the highway today. When I get up to around 55MPH I start to feel the steering wheel shake. It's still pretty controllable up to 65MPH,but when I get up to 75MPH it just becomes a giant pain in the ***. My arms become tense trying to keep the car in my lane,and it's scary as hell when I'm bumping around all over the place right next to an 18 wheeler. It feels like the steering wheel is receiving a bunch of feedback from the wheels hitting bumps and cracks. Is this something that's normal on these cars? I'd find it hard to be though. Is this a symptom of something else that's gone bad?

 

No, that is not normal. Could be as simple as a balance issue, possibly alignment related but I doubt it, or worn steering/suspension parts. Do you have any trouble shooting skills?

 

I sort of do. I haven't to do much trouble shooting before though. Where should I start?

 

I'd start with the basics, get your front wheels of the ground and see what happens when you wiggle them left and right, and up and down. There should be very minimal play in any direction. If it is excessive when pulling left to right, grab a second pair of hands and have them wiggle it left to right and see what is loose, worn out, and/or broken in the steering (tie rods, idler arm, etc). If it goes up and down too much there's a good chance your wheel bearings need to be replaced (not a bad idea anyway if you've never done it on your car.) Personally, I've never had it shaking that bad before, but my idler arm was worn out and the steering was pretty sloppy. replacing it made a world of difference.

 

More than one way to skin a cat. I would start by pushing/pulling on the tires on the ground. If there is a looseness, at the very least your wheel bearings need adjusted but should probably be replaced due to mileage. to check ball joints you have to lift the car by the a-arms to relieve the spring tension. shake at 12 and 6 for ball joints. 3 and 9 for steering. For steering I prefer to put the car on ramps and have someone turn the wheel back and forth slightly while I observe the steering linkage. I should all move tightly as one piece, any loose parts need replaced. If you find any play in the steering linkage, I recommend replacing it all in one shot. Once one piece goes bad, the rest are close to follow and you'll spend several months chasing them as they go bad. Also it's about $100 cheaper to get you steering linkage from Summit, Jegs, or Rock Auto.

I did my entire front suspension and steering linkage all in one shot. New a-arm bushings, Moog ball joints, wheel bearings, strut mounts (struts too), Moog steering linkage (idler arm, inner and outer tie rods, and drag link), QA1 tie rod adjuster sleeves. It was all brand new and I had peace of mind knowing that all parts were new.

FYI, I also changed out my springs for weight jacks while I was in there. New springs are not necessary but a good time if you want to change springs.

 

Ok man sounds good. I just replaced my front bearings and races a month or go,and there was no improvement. My guess would be ball joints. The car sat for so long I'm sure the rubber rotted away and the joint is full of dirt. I'll be taking a look at it all when I get some other issue fixed. Thanks again.

 

I'd swap a lot of the wear components on the suspension while you're in there. Tie rods, ball joints, check the center link, idler arm...