Front end vibration

[stix309]

I have a 1996 Grand Caravan. I had a right/left vibration in the steering wheel at about 60kph and again at 80kph and was more noticeable while braking. I thought I had a warped rotor so I repaced both rotors and pads on the front. The vibration is still there and is even worse under braking now. I'm not sure where to go from here. I was thinking it may be a tie rod end? i was going to rotate the tires to see if it is in the tire or balancing. If I am braking from 80kph the vibration gets worse as i slow to 60kph then disappears all together at about 55kph. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

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[Goofy173]

Usually, and I mean usually, if it changes at different speeds, its a balance issue even under braking.

A few things can be done to maybe isolate the problem: As you are coming to a stop from 45 kph, if you let go of the wheel does it wiggle? If so, I wonder about the quality of the rotors. If not, then get them balanced. If you rotate them, that's not good enough if the tires need balanced. You never can be sure that a rotation will change anything.

Issues with the steering mechanism can be checked in your driveway. With the van just sitting there, tires straight, no key in the ignition, grab one tire on both sides and try and move it as though it is turning left and right. If it moves any, but the other tire does not move with it, then there is a steering linkage problem. Do this on the other tire too. There should be no visible play in the wheels. Go ahead and grab the top and pull in and out and listen for any sounds. While there is always play in wheel alignment, you should never be able to visually see any play.

I used to have a set of Hoosier tires on my 87 Chevy van that needed balanced every 3k miles. Dumb but it worked. I bought them thinking Hoosiers would be a good quality, but then I found out later that they only make their own racing tires, and at least when I bought mine, Cooper was making them. That explained why I saw a van owned by Hoosier Tires that had Michelins on it.

[master tech]

Could be the plys on the tires coming apart, balance or drive axles.