I have an Opel Vivaro Panel van. When I apply brakes, the steering wheel shudders quite badly. I have just had new front tires fitted with alignment and balancing. The shuddering only happens when bra

Typical behavior for a wheel is out of balance. Get all four checked. Also look for bulges on the inside of the tyres. If the camber is that noticeable, you also need wheel alignment doing as well. It also sounds as though the suspension or steering joints are severely worn, and if a top or bottom joint fails, the wheel falls out, top or bottom leaving you stranded on the road.

Warped front rotors,replace or machine flat if they aren't worn below spec.Most parts shops can give you the specs for the rotors.

Hi there, provided your tyres have been fitted correctly, like others have said there are a few reasons why you can experience what we call a shudder through the steering under braking and what normally feels worse when braking from 100kph/60mph rather then from 50kph/30mph, if you do have warped front discs/rotors they will need to be checked but a common cause for steering shudder also along side warped brake discs are the control arm bushes which is item #7 in the pic supplied and they fit into item #6, these can be seen quite easily with the front of the vehicle jacked up it is the lower control arm seen going from the bottom of the front wheel suspension assembly to forward of the front wheel to cross member/ sub frame, with the vehicle jacked you can see the rubber inside the bush itself to see whether it's cracked, be sure that when they are being replaced as is with all suspension bushes the vehicle must be rested back on its wheels before tightening the bolt item #8 as this is the normal working position of the bush and not in the jacked up position.

Several things could cause it, from bad wheel bearings to worn ball joints...
Get your alignment checked. While they're doing it, a good shop will tell you if anything needs replacing to keep alignment true. Be sure and tell them about the brakes causing a shudder. It may be related, or your brakes might need attention. Good luck.

This is due to poor settings of the wheel bearings,tyres,- check balancing once again, wheel drums/ brake pads,suspension , joints and steering.
In all the entire front suspension must be checked, the WHELL ALIGNMENT must be checked with precision and each of the wheels must be checked for damage on hub, axle or chassis.

sounds like your front end is out of alignment check your tires for wear other than in the middle and take to tire shop to see if the tires are balanced right

Front end vibration has little to do with the brake system on the car. Yes you can get some "brake shudder" when you apply the brakes when you have worn brake rotors or when the rotors are not properly aligned on the hubs. However from what you have said you do not have this problem.

Front end vibrations can be caused by a number of factors some of which are listed below:



1. Front wheels out of balance. (Common problem on many vehicles).

When were the front wheels last balanced? You will get vibrations through the car and the steering wheel at particular speeds. This will/could also occur if the wheel rims have been distorted as a result of abuse.

As a first step the wheels should be balanced and then retest the vehicle for the problem.

It can be impossible to properly balance some wheels because the tires fitted to the rims are of poor quality and contain heavy spots that are impossible to correct with wheel balance weights. If you have cheap tires fitted on the wheel rims then it may be impossible to balance the wheels properly because of the imperfections in the tyre. In that case you will have a permanent wheel vibration problem which will only be rectified by fitting good quality tires and re-balancing the front wheels.

If aftermarket wheel rims have been fitted to the vehicle this can also be a source of vibration. Some wheels on the market are poor quality and can be slightly out of round and/or have heavy spots in them which can be impossible to correct when you fit the tires and have the wheels balanced. Many people think a cheap set of "blingy" aftermarket wheels are a great buy but if they are poorly built (as is often the case) you will usually have no end of problems.

2. The front wheel alignment could be out.
If the front wheels have not been aligned in the past 12 months they probably will be out of alignment. When you have re-balanced the front wheels you should have the front wheel alignment checked and then re-aligned if it is out. However if their are worn suspension components (see 4) found on the car which need to be replaced, this repair needs to be done before the front wheels are re-aligned.

3. Worn out wheel bearings in the front hubs.
If your front wheel bearings are badly worn you can get a vibration through the steering wheel. If the vehicle has done about 100000 miles or more on the front wheel bearings they should be replaced. In any event , any competent mechanic can jack up the front of the car and check for excess play in the wheel bearings.

4. Worn out suspension components. The front end of the car should be checked for badly worn suspension and steering components.

I would recommend you take the vehicle to a competent mechanic or a suspension specialist in your area and have them check the vehicle for you.

I hope this helps.

doesnt seem like bearings to me ,could be the ABS though ,i would need to drive it really to have any idea.Ask a local mechanic for a second opinion

check the idler arm on the steering drag link

2 POSSIBLE PROBLEMS, STEERING SHAFT WEAR. MORE IMPORTANT SAFETY WISE IS THE LOWER CONTROL ARM BUSHINGS. EASY FOR A MECHAINC TO SEE AND SHOULD CHECK ON A LIFT FOR A MINIMAL CHARGE.