Why does the front of my car shimmy and sound like a helicopter at slow speeds?

Question

Why does the front of my car shimmy and sound like a helicopter whirring down at slow speeds?

2002 Nissan Maxima with tires in good shape. I got the tires rotated and back rotors machined...as soon as I drove away from the shop I noticed a pronounced shimmy in the steering wheel/front wheels and a great deal of rythmic road noise. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

FIRST, NEED TO KNOW WHAT KIND OF VEHICLE, IF ITS AN EXTENDED CAB TRUCK YOU MAY HAVE A BAD UNIVERSAL COUPLING "JOINT" ENGINE, WHEELS, BALLJOINTS, BAD SPARK PLUGS, AND ON,  AND ON, YOU MIGHT GO TO WWW.AUTOZONE. COM AND LOOK UP THE ANS'S YOUR SELF

Answer 2

There could be several things going on: 1: Did you have the front end aligned? Alignment can cause a front end shimmy. 2: Did you have the front rotors machined as well? Rotors can warp and cause the problem you discussed. 3: Have you rotated the tires previously?  Front wheel drive cars have a propensity for "cupping". This is where the inside tire wear is uneven but not necessarily noticeable as excessive wear.  If they were rotated previously and then put back in their original location then you would not have noticed till the tires were rotated again into thier original position

Answer 3

Get tires aligned.

Answer 4

Try getting your front rotors turned or get new ones should fix problem i owned a max myself alot of time underhood, and just checking to see what made it run so nice

Answer 5

It's possible that the rear wheels are not in alignment causing them to wear funny and when you put them on the front, they track the road different and you can feel that in the steering. The tires probably need replaced and most shops will do a free alignment check. Make sure they do four wheel alignments.  Please check that the lug nuts are not loose before driving but don't crank them. Just make sure your wheel isn't falling off.

Answer 6

make sure the lug nuts are tight!!!!! if they are, i would look into the tires being bad, When they are on the rear of the car, you will unlikely notice any problems with the tires.........