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The problem:
An oscillation can be heard at slower speeds (~50kph) and a violent shake of the steering wheel ensues at ~90kph. Not only that, the whole car seems to have the shake.<p>Solutions tried:
I have replaced the passenger side drive shaft (complete) with a rebuilt.
Replaced drivers side 3 times with rebuilt. (First rebuilt sheared off at the lower CV joint)
New bearings in both hubs.
New tires on the front.
Transmission was rebuilt. (All new bearings - manual)<p>And now I'm out of ideas. Does anyone have any?<p>Thanks,<p>Drej

Have you checked your shocks and springs? Really sounds like you need to take it to a pro.<p>-Cybin

That's a good thought. I have been debating it for a while now as I would really like this shaking problem solved without spending too much more cash. But since the car has 170k on it now, I think getting new shocks are in its future regardless of it fixxing the shake.
If there's any other ideas, let me know.<p>Drej

Rims...<p>Well, I got one winter rims that isn't perfect. I hit a walkway with it...<p>At low speed, I can't really feel the diffence. High speed on snow, can't feel it. High speed on dry, the steering shakes..<p>Have you tried with others rims?

I haven't tried any other rims, but all the wheels were high speed balanced when the new tires were put on last week.<p>I talked to a Mazda mechanic the other day and he said that it may be a loose or faulty ball joint or something, so I will lift the car and take a look. If I don't find anything I guees I'll order the new shocks.<p>Drej

my car does that now because i got new tires on the car. I had them look at it because it was fine before i got new tires but now it shakes like a mother and i had them check everything and they said everything was ok. so in my case it was my new tires.

I just though of something it could be. When your stopping does your brakes grab a little? If so check your disc rotors in the front. No kidding, if one is warpped it could be causing you to hear it at low speeds and then start to grab and shake at higher speeds. <p>Mx-3's do this alot, there is even a Service bulletin about it.<p>To fix it try getting your rotors turned down.

Well, these are new tires which replaced old tires and nothing changed. The only idea in that respect was to take it to another shop for balancing, as maybe the balancing machine is screwed up at the tire shop I go to.<p>As for the warped disk, I replaced both rotors with new ones not to long ago and I can't feel any vibrations from them when braking.
In fact, I even checked the rims with a dial indicator and they were perfect.

hey.... ur rims are warped... or u need an alinment yah i kno bro i gotta replace my disk brakes too.. <p>[ March 11, 2003: Message edited by: ALLSPEED GiNO ]</p>

tires have shifted belts or are chopped badly

Hey boosted,
Wouldn't that show up when they did the high speed balancing? Besides, they put new tires in the front and left the two good ones on the rear. (The old ones were rebalanced)<p>Drej

shifted belts sometimes do not show up on balances. and what do u mean by high speed? most balancers only balance up to 45mph. thats usually enough to get the tires right. also an out of round tire or rim wouldnt show up either. you really have to pay attention to the tire wobbling to notice it. take it back and tell them to fix their f*ckup. customers always right

A faulty ball joint can be easy to spot if it's taken a dump, or it can be hard to spot if it's just starting to fail. If you dont know what you're looking at, let the pros have a peek. You have the steering joints, and the lower strut joint as well, any one of these will cause this problem.
Bottom line, take ur car into a shop that does steering alignment & have the ball joints checked out and soon!! There are shops around that will do free inspections. Wont cost you anything, what can it hurt?

boosted - what are chopped tires, i have the same symptoms as our friend 'drej' and my tires have a feathered effect to them, as in the tread pattern feeling raised on the edges all the way around.. is this 'chopped' similar to 'feathered'...
thanks