Question for newer deVille owners regarding the known front end shimmy issue

[Dan LeBlanc]

Getting very frustrated with my 04 deVille. My winter tires were done so I bought a set of summers and put them back on. Figured the wear was causing the front end vibration. So. Once the summers were on, the vibration subsided. Took the car for a safety inspection and it passed just fine. Figured it's been awhile since my last alignment and it couldn't hurt to have it done. Maybe it would help the vibration - it was pulling right anyway . Alignment shop said no go - front struts were weak, one bad tie rod end, and a broken sway bar link. Seemed odd as it just passed a safety inspection 60 miles earlier. So, I did see the Break in the link was fresh. Point for them.

Last weekend, installed new struts, mounts, springs,  ball joints, tie rod ends, and sway bar end links. Got an alignment on Monday. Wheel is off center now, vibration still there. Take it to a shop to have the tires road force balanced and they say the tires with 6000mi are out of round and not a good match for the car.

Today I had another new set of tires installed - this time Continental TotalContact - user reviews are better than the Michelins I was considering. Got it on the highway,  vibration is better, but not gone.

Called the alignment shop and explained the wheel is off center and that I'm fighting the car on the highway with both sets of tires. They pretty much said tough luck. Front end is probably messed up. Sorry, but everything is new with not cheap parts.

I have pretty much done everything in the TSB for front end shake except changing lower control arms, but 2004 was excluded in the TSB for this.

It goes to the dealer on Wednesday for a hopefully proper alignment and a key recall.

I can't think of anything more to look for. Ideas?

To top it all off, the ball joints and tie rods were in just as good shape as the new ones that went in. Has the same problem with that shop with a Town Car once, but for an aftermarket alignment shop they are the best in our town. They didn't do the realignment after the front end rebuild because I was too peeved with them.

[Dave Shepherd]

To make sure an alignment is done properly get a before and after printout off the alignment machine, this should be standard practice in any shop, if they don't have it, don't pay!! Road force balance done, collect?

[Dan LeBlanc]

Yup. Once on the old tires and found to be out of round and once on the new set. The Continentals are mind numbingly qujet tires though and take bumps very well.

[Dave Shepherd]

Gotta say GM had issues with most FWD cars of that generation, my 2003 Leasabre has the same condition with 3 sets of tires over the years, all mounted and balanced in my shop, new wheel  bearings also. Funny, a cheap set of snows on steel wheels demonstrates the least shimmy!

[Dan LeBlanc]

I must admit, I'm a bit surprised by the TSB on this.  Basically, from what I understand, this was considered normal if all components checked out as per the TSB.  Not what I would want to hear if I was a new Cadillac owner at that time.

The 2006+ had heavy revisions to the front suspension/steering components.  GM must have realized the design flaw and took moves to correct it.

When I bought the 2004, I leaned towards it vs. the 2007 I was looking at.  The 2007 was slightly cheaper because it had 60,000km more than the 2004, so, because I drive 160km round trip to work each day, I figured I'd spend the extra $1000 for a car with less mileage (was more concerned with mileage than age) not realizing the 2006+ were simply better cars.

There is one thing I overlooked in the TSB though - tire pressure is supposed to be 30psi cold.  The tire shop has them up to 35psi cold.  Not that it will make much difference, I think, but it's one more variable to eliminate.

[Dave Shepherd]

As a retired GM employee I get some inside info, it seems the extremely light weight suspension components contribute to this because of less dampening into the platform of  the harmonics created by tire /wheel forces.

[Jon S]

Dan -

I've read on the board that the disc rotor may also contribute to an out of balance; thereby, producing a shimmy. 

Do you remember in the old days when they spun the tire on the car to balance both the wheel and the drum brake?  It was a device that spun the tire to about 60 MPH and told the technician there to mount the front and rear weights.  It sounded like an Electrolux vacuum cleaner and would make the bumper shake until the technician properly adjusted the balance.

Perhaps if you could find a shop that has one of these gadgets it would precisely balance your front wheels as installed on the car.

Worth a try.

[Series75]

Dan,
Two possible cures.  I had a 2004 DES extended 6" wheelbase.   Beautiful car, and all 8 yrs I owned it, right front wheel shimmy.   First cure was new brake rotors every year.  Second cure was more drastic.   Traded it in, couldn't take it anymore.   Tp

[Dan LeBlanc]

Tom, I'm on my second set of rotors in 6 months as well.  Seems you simply cannot find a decent rotor these days no matter how much you pay.  99% of my driving is highway and brakes are seldom used.  I have two stops coming out of our village and 3 stops when I get into the city, so in theory very few brake applications.

I have found a company here in Canada that manufactures rotors here finally, so if I decide to bite the bullet again, I'll be buying the made in Canada stuff - they are slotted and cross drilled and may look out of place on a Cadillac, but if they don't warp in a month, I'll be happy.

My shimmy is right front also - not terrible but enough to shake your wristwatch or vibrate the visors a little bit.

I agree with your option # 2 - trying to convince the wife is the harder bit.  If I go this route, it'll be back to Lincoln.  My Town Cars were always fall asleep on the highway while driving smooth.  They're becoming as rare as hen's teeth around here because they never sold many new, but there are a few decent ones on the market at the moment, so, we'll see what happens.

It's at the Cadillac dealer right now for the second alignment in 10 days (first alignment was with a local shop in business for years).  They'll give it a once over, but I have the feeling they'll say, yup, all that can be done has been done.

[walt chomosh #23510]

Dan,
  Here's my story.I drove my 1955CDV for 16yrs or so and decided that I HAD to have a 70s Eldo. Searching the country for the "right" one failed....the quality wasn't what I had hoped for so I started looking at Cadillac's DTS. Doing numerous carfaxes on available DTSes showed a lot of "tire balance" problems,which seemed odd to me? Finally,I found a 09 DTS that was a creampuff.(Luxury3, 56K miles,90%highway) The PO had rplced the Michelins with Bridgestones.(he commented that he had did his homework and they were better suited for the DTS then Michelin) The door tire pressure chart reads 30PSI,which I run them at. Every once in a while,I will notice a VERY slight "feel" in the steering wheel that feels like balance,but generally the car feels GREAT.Front end shops make their money aligning front ends,not checking them and finding them "good".....my 2cents...walt...tulsa,ok
 

[Dan LeBlanc]

Well, Walt,  you're probably right. The dealer called me today and said they couldn't do a good alignment on it because the left front wheel bearing has play in it. At $560/side I'll be doing the job myself. So happens to be the direction the car pulls. Missed by two shops!

They also said the rear air suspension wasn't working and a good alignment could be done after that too was corrected.  Funny thing, when I bought the car two years ago, it came home on my car trailer. I strapped it down on the trailer through the control arms. When I took it off the trailer,  the rear suspension pumped up all the way. I found that the strap had popped the level arm out of the socket,  so I put it back together and all seemed well but always found the rear of the car seemed a bit low but would always level out with a load.

So today, I started looking for componentsomething and found a picture of the sensor. The arm is supposed to be straight. Mine was bent about 45 degrees at one end. So I pulled the wheel and straightened the arm. Now the rear looks correct and if I sit on the rear bumper with the trunk open, it will lift up enough that my feet don't touch the ground - before it would only raise slightly.

This obviously affects rear camber.

So, I'll throw in both bearings, seeing as how it seems like common sense to replace both, go back for alignment, and live with the end result.

I know I couldn't be more pleased with the Continental TotalContact tires. They are very quiet, handle well, and absorb bumps better the Michelin Symmetrys they replaced. The tire shop had them pumped up to 35psi which I noticed scrolling through my information centre. Promptly corrected that before going to work this morning.

Making incremental improvements so far. So whatever happens after bearings and alignment happens. Not doing anything further. After all, the car has 110k miles. Got to draw the line somewhere.

[Dan LeBlanc]

Well. It was the wheel bearing. The drivers side one was very difficult to rotate by hand. Passenger one was fine but replaced it while I was already set up to do the job.

Best thing is the dealer only charged me $20 to check everything out.

Pulling is gone. Vibration is 99-99.5% gone. Not going to bother with realignment at this time. I came half a mile up the road to my house without touching the wheel. Yes, the steering wheel is about 1/8" higher on one side than the other but, I think it's time to leave well enough alone.

The Continental tires have alignment indicators on them when it's time for alignment so I'll keep a close eye on those for the next little bit before springing for a second alignment in 11 days.

[Caddyholic]

Dan

Did the bearing make any noise? That is what I have experienced with FWD wheel cars. 

[Dan LeBlanc]

Nada. Nothing evident in the cabin or with the window down.