This has already been posted on suspension, but I'm impatient, and it hasn't gotten replies yet, so...figured I'd try it here...
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Going down I-95...anywhere above say, 70-ish mph..but more like 75 and up..the front end shakes and shimmies like it's about to fall off. Now, everyone's going to shout alignment at me...and yes, it needs an alignment. I've got a ****load of play in the steering wheel, and to drive straight I have to hold it to the left..except when I brake, in which case I turn slightly to the right. My question is...these alignment shakes..they come and go. Such as..I'm doing 72-ish, and the front end is just fine...no shimmies or shakes at all. All of a sudden, this horrific vibrating starts up..the steering wheel is shaking, my seat is shaking...the entire car is shaking like a tire's coming off. Then, it lessens, and stops. Little later, it starts up again... What the hell is this? Is something in my front end coming apart? Only new component in it is the idler arm, because I was told it was 'dangerously bad'. Everything else is original to my knowledge...
Help! I don't want something to break off at 70+ mph the next time I decide to see a movie!

 

The alignment and idle arm will probably help,

But I had another problem. I'm not sure of the real terms, but that piece on the driver side that the coil spring sits on, I think its the control arm, had a bolt that went somewhere near the firewall that was wiggling loose and when braking and accelerating made a horrific shaking.

So make sure you check all your bolts and nuts and make sure everything is tight. Has the car ever been wrecked?

I had to have my idler arm replaced back before I started working on my car myself, and it cost about $120. Merry Christmas.

 

I'VE never been in an accident in my car..but it has been in accidents from previous owners. The driver's side door has a replacement mirror on it that's been hit again..it's all scratched up, and the door below the mirror has a nasty dent in it that deformed the entire door and cracked the bottom plastic panel below it. Dash has also been taken off, and put back on but not wired correctly. (Heater blows defrost and leg warmers only, no vents) Damn previous owners.....

 

how old are your rims??? just cause they are balanced does not enusre they are straight.

rims should be changed about every 5 years. why buying usd rims is dumb, no matter how cool, once bent or warped, they are scrap metal.

 

These are the original mags from 91.

 

Um, go get an alignment? This is like saying "my car runs really rich, the air filter is 30 years old and has leaves clogging it, so should I change the air filter?"

Seriously dude, if you've got that much play in the steering wheel, the alignment shop will find it. I'm surprised you're still driving the car? C'mon man, I know you've got more sense than that... unless you -do- want to flip the car at 70+ next time you want to see a movie?

 

front end steering slop can be any number of things and most likely a combination of things all wearing out. Tie-rod ends, Idler arm, ball joints, you could even have a bad steering box- its hard to diagnose with out seeing the car in person and feeling the parts.

Vibration that comes on at speed is the result of tires not balanced or tires that are losing integrity with higher centrifical force such as older or defective tires mainly with low speed ratings. They can loose shape (deform) at higher speeds and cause an out of balance. That is not safe.

 

Jack up the front end so both tires are clear of the ground.
Take and grip your tire and try to turn it back and forth. If there is excessive play, its the idler arm, or a combo of idler arm and ball joints.

Get the car lined up, and get the tires balanced.
Do this soon before your front end falls off, your tires scrub off, and your put it in the ditch.

 

Every time i get a new car I spend 150-200 in a set of cheap rims, chrome what ever, long as they are new and straight. and Im telling ya it a ride like no other. Ive put new tires and done the balance thing, let the guy re-do the whole front end and it dont produce a ride like new stright rims.

I don't think of rims as style too much, 1 pot hole at the wrong speed and they are done.screw $2000 sets of rims unless you drive like a low rider.

Id actually like to get a new set of stock replacement wheels but last I looked, chrome was the cheapest new rime I could get.

 

The funny part is..all the local places that do oil changes, etc. are such dumbasses that they don't even notice the major bad alignment. Not one has ever mentioned it to me. All they say is "you need new tires!" An alignment will be the next thing I get....

Idler arm was replaced...and I was told I needed new outer ball joints at one point in time I believe. I think I've watched a mechanic do that tire check to my car when it was up on a lift and there wasn't much movement at all to the sides.

I might check it myself tomorrow if I get up the motivation. To jack my car, I have to scissor jack it so the floor jack will be able to raise...then raise the floor jack, and then place the jack stands. And my damn floor jack..the pressure release is messed up so that everytime I try to bring it down slowly, I give it a slight turn and THUD! The car drops to the ground or slams onto the jack stands. And it's a practically brand new Sears floor jack!

 

On my Trans Am, it would shake horribly from like 65 to 90. I got new tires, got tires aligned and balanced, and it still shook. Ready to change wheel bearings and then the driveshaft, I decided to put my new rims on it. Sure enough, after getting these new rims balnced and tires put on, no more shake. All the way to 100, not a single thing resembling shake. For the safety of my liscense, I almost wish it still shook, because 100 feels 60. But all it took was a different set of rims. I got used z-28 wheels in good shape for a total of 80 bucks with two good tires.