If the strut bearings were loose, you'd hear a loud clunking sound on
bumpy roads.

The key is to run more pressure on the end that supports the most
weight, the front.

It was just a suggestion in case you were interested in improving the
overall handling feel of the car.

Yes... there is a slight pull to the left but on occasions it is noticably
pulling right. Someone mentioned it could be the strut bearings although
once again quite a bit of work to remove and reinstall everything for a
"maybe"

It's tough to say if cornering triggers the pull to change as it's not
excessive but is noticable.

Exactly... once more major things arrise fine but to date the only items i
haven't expected to go would be the transmission speed sensors and a wiper
motor, oh and the purge valve. Not too bad a list compared to some out
there haha..

much better with front/rear pressures of 36/32. The recommended pressure
of 30 psi all around guarantees severe understeer and uneven tread wear
on the front tires. You could try them at 34/30 if you like a softer
ride.

I've had them at 32/32 recently but i will try a slightly higher pressure
to see if that has any effect.

sway bar, which really helps to balance the handling.

Something that could be worth doing on a newer car but given it's age it's
a "let's see how long it last" scenerio now.

Are you sure it's not just the crowning and tire depressions on the roads?

I certainly wouldn't replace it for such minor problems.

BTW, what are you running for tire pressures? I find the Elantra handles
much better with front/rear pressures of 36/32. The recommended pressure
of 30 psi all around guarantees severe understeer and uneven tread wear
on the front tires. You could try them at 34/30 if you like a softer ride.

A common modification by Elantra owners is to install a stiffer rear
sway bar, which really helps to balance the handling. The stock 13 mm
sway bar is too soft, allows the body to roll excessively in corners and
creates excessive understeer. Most people are using the 19.2mm sway bar
from the '03 Tiburon GT, but some use the 18mm sway bar from the
standard Tib. Either way, you should see a big difference in balance and
sure-footedness on the road. These are bolt-on parts and they don't
affect the alignment or require any other changes/adjustments.

It was a 4 wheel alignment and it was done when the tie-rod-ends were
replaced.. i also took it back and had it re-checked twice.

Some force was used to remove the rear tires so this could be the culprit.
Since then anti-seize compound was used to prevent them from sticking in
the future which has worked really well.

So let's say the rims are replaced and that solves the wobble it still
brings into question the pull to the left and right which does seem to
come and go. It's not sever but it is noticable and isn't consistantly
pulling one way.

It's higher milage yes but apart from the steering issue it's been a
pretty good car and is still in very good running order. It's all highway
miles and rarely sits in traffic.

Did they do a four wheel alignment or just the front?

Then their not likely to be the problem.

That may eliminate balance as the cause.

That's not uncommon, as the Hyundai rims fit the hubs tightly. If you
clean off the mating surfaces and apply an anti-corrosion product, you
shouldn't have the problem again. BTW, the easiest way I've found to
loosen the wheels it to remove the lugs and whack the upper part of the
tire with your hand from the outside. That usually pops them right off
and won't damage anything. If the wheel is really stick, you can loosen
the lugs SLIGHTLY and drive the car a SHORT distance to break the wheels
free, then remove them normally.

Unless you really wailed on the rims with a hammer, they shouldn't be
damaged. Balancing won't help a bent rim.

The alignements were done at the dealer and another garage.. both said they
were slightly out but not by much.

The rotors had been changed not too long ago but that was well after the
problem first showed up and has had no effect since.

The wheels have been rotated so many times that i now don't know where
they were originally when the problem first started.

Now i think about it more the rims themselves may be the issue as when
they were once rotated i do remember having a heck of a time getting them
off the rear. Perhaps they were damaged at that time... although i do
remember mentioning this to the tech's and they said a balancing should
sort that out..

One thing i've yet to try is a st of new rims if only on the front to
start.

There's a difference between belt shift and uneven wear. The former
WOULD be improbable on six tires, but the latter would be very probably
if there is an underlying problem with the alignment or worn front end
parts (joints).

It doesn't take long to trash a tire if the alignment or balance is out.

Who did the alignment? I've found that shops that specialize in
alignment are far more likely to do a good job than dealers or tire
stores. In particular, chain tire stores - or any chain stores - tend to
be problematic.

If the work has been done properly, that's true. For balancing, find a
shop with a Hunter balancing machine and a technician that knows how to
use it. Again, dealers and many tire stores - chains in particular - are
lousy at this.

Unless there is a visible wobble in one of your rims, that's not the
problem.

Here are a couple of other possibilities:

- One or more of the brake rotors could be badly out of balance (I've
heard of this happening with Elantras). If that's the case, no amount of
balancing of the wheels will solve the problem, unless they're done on
the car (not common these days). Even then, when you rotate your tires,
you'll have to get them re-balanced.

- The lug nuts may be over-torqued, under-torqued or inconsistently
torqued. If they were not installed using a torque wrench, they're not
likely to be correctly torqued. A reputable tire/wheel shop will ALWAYS
use a torque wrench on lugs.

I've had several new tires on the car so an actualy tire problem is
becoming improbably. I've been told that it's a possible belt shift but on
6 tires on the same car.. how many times can you replace tires at a cost
and keep being told it's the belts.

We're talking about 4 brand new tires that have seen less than 5,000 km...
all recently re-balanced after the initial installation.

After the tie-rod ends were replaced a while back an alignment was done..
none of this work seemed to have any effect so i took it back and asked
they re-check the alignement... which they did and said was fine.

At that point the focus shifted to tires... the two rear tires were
getting old so at this point ok 4 new tires and a re-balancing it is...

Yes the problem did seem to go away but only for about 2-3 weeks at which
point the problem returns.

After visiting my dealer and another garage...no one can really give me an
answer and i get comments like "well there's not much else it can be"...
i've changed tires, tie rod ends, had multiple alignment and balancings
done.

I've been told that balancing would take care of any rim issue and that
changing rims would be pointless but i'm starting to get tired at throwing
money at a problem that isn't going away. So far it's getting close to
$1000 over the past 6 months or so.

That sounds like a bent wheel or a tires that's either worn unevenly or
improperly mounted.

That would be consistent with the low speed wobble.

That sounds like worn front ball joints or tie rod ends.

If the tie rod ends are worn, attempting to align the car is an exercise
in futility. No reputable shop would do it.

Are they wearing evenly? If the alignment is off, uneven wear will
result and cause the problem

If it's a wear problem, that wouldn't be surprising.

How do you drive the car? Aggressive cornering, wheelspinning
acceleration and hard stopping can all cause wear issues and/or internal
tire problems.

It sounds to me like the tires are the most likely culprit. If you had a
seriously bent wheel, you would feel the wobble no matter what. Jack up
the car and check to see if the tires hop or wobble when you spin them.
Look for uneven tread wear. If you see any of these, you've probably
found your culprit.

2002 Elantra with 180,000 km highway driving...

Here's the problem but my dealer and another garage have yet to solve the
problem. I'm getting tired of paying to try things without a solution in
sight...

- steering wheel wobbles at lower speeds
- at higher speeds it's a vibration
- sometimes pulls to the left sometimes slightly to the right.. sometimes
not at all.

Here's what's been tried so far:

- Tie rod ends needed changing (Possibly unrelated)
- Several allignments (thankfully i didn't have to pay for all of them)
- Several tire balancings
- 4 new tires.. problem went away for a few weeks but is back again
- Re-balance made no difference

I suggested the rims may be the problem but i've been told several times
that the balancing would sort that out... but balancing is really the fix
if it was only a high speed issue right?

Any ideas or suggestions?