What would cause my steering wheel to shake when taking a left corner at speed (50mph up)?

phils95cobra

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I have an 06 GT 5-speed. When I take long sweeping corners, like onramps that have a left corner to them, if I go any faster than 50mph while in the turn, the steering wheel will shake substantially. It may happen a bit when going through a right corner at the same speed, but not nearly as badly. I have checked all of my front suspension and it seems to be tight. She goes down the road straight with no vibration at any speed.

The wheels I have are 19" 2017 Mustang wheels with almost new tires, but it did this with my previous set of 19's (SVE Drift) as well.

Before I get an alignment, is there anything I should check? Or, could the alignment (toe, camber, etc.) be the cause of the issue?

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Phil
 

Juice

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Bad RF tire? Swap the two front tires and test.
 

Dino Dino Bambino

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What he said, but a worn right front ball joint would also cause the same symptoms. Also consider the possibility of worn hub bearings on the same corner, but those would make a lot of noise first before getting to that stage.
 

Kohaku

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Jack up the front end. Grab the RF wheel, and check for play. Do the LF too.
Could be a bearing, ball joint, tie rod...
 

Lime1Gt

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A good front end shop is going to check the parts involved in steering and suspension before doing the alignment. They won't want a come back from worn parts. They also make their money selling them. If you know how, you can check the front end yourself before going to them. Then you'll be able to question them about any parts they say are worn you feel aren't. I would also lift the car, before seeing them, and roll the tires to check for belt separation, especially if any curbs or deep potholes have been hit. And as suggested above the wheel hub bearings can be checked loose or roughness.
 

phils95cobra

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Thank you all for your advice! She has around 175k miles on her. I replaced the controls arms at around 105-110K miles. I guess it could be a tire and I will try swapping from front to back to see if it helps as the rear tires are a different brand than the front. I know the previous wheels/tires did it badly as well, so I am leaning towards suspension issue. The strut mounts and springs are new'ish as well.

Thanks again all!
 

Wingrider

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At that many miles it can also be a front wheel bearing and don't always make noise on failing. I get that vibration/shudder and have to replace them about every 18 months due to tracking my car. As others have said you can usually check it by getting the wheel off the ground and try wiggling it by holding it left and right, then top and bottom. It shouldn't wiggle. They should be replaced if they haven't been yet anyway.

Good news is it is an inexpensive fix and easy replacement since they come pre installed in fresh hubs.
If you want hardened studs, here is a set I buy when I replace hubs on my 2011 GT500-
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/fms-m-1104-a

Here is what looks like the stock part-
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mof-hub273/make/ford/model/mustang/year/2006
 

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