shimmy shimmy

[thomas]

Hello All,

New to the site and looking for expert advice. I have owned a 1996 850 wagon for about 18 months. Bought it from a "trustworthy" used car lot - it had been in one accident but had my mechanic give it a thorough inspection and gave it his seal of approval and could not find any evidence of structural or frame damage. Having had it inspected, I obviously did not do a very diligent test drive, as it was only until later that I noticed a rather pronounced "shimmy" (felt primarily throught the steering column) that shows itself around 105-115 kph (65mph+/-) and eases of a bit at higher speeds than that.

My first assumption was tire balance or wheel alignment - both have been done to no improvement. My mechanic suggested it could be due to the cheap tires that came with the vehicle, so I switched them with some new "h-rated" tires per his recommendation. Still no better. My mechanic is a bit stumped and his only suggestions entail rather costly 'experiments' with no guarantee of improvement (upgrade wheels to machined alum. rims, or replace something to do with the steering column if I remember?)

Anyway, wondering if any of the experts here could offer some suggestions. Or is there likely some invisible accident damage the inspection missed causing this problem?

Thanks in advance for any help!
Cheers, Craig

[JJ]

I have a 2000 S70 with the same exact problem. I have seriously replaced everything - engine mounts, tires, rims are perfect, struts, strut mounts and bearing, lower control arms, outter tir-rod ends and still the same shimmy. The only thing left to replace are the subframe mounts. I am almost 100% certain that the rear left subframe mount on my car is broken - the one right under your foot on the car. You can feel every bump through the steering column and the shimmy on the floor. It has to be it! Post a reply if you ever figure your problem out.
JJ