I'm getting some shimmy around 70mph. I've replaced the lower ball end joints, did the turbo tie rods upgrade and new tires on a set of Fuchs. The new tires and rims helped reduce the shimmy and I checked the front wheel bearings they seemed to be good. What else on the front suspension can cause this?

Wheel balance.
Try switching wheels front and rear, see if the speed changes.

I put new tires on and had them balanced Saturday and changed the old rims out to a set of Fuchs. This reduced the shimmy by 75%. The front end was aligned about 600 miles ago.

Well,
Bad struts, bad upper strut bearings, and possibly bad rear bearings and alignment can do this.

Rich

may sound funny but are the wheels torqued properly or did the tire shop put them on ...1 over tight lug can do funny stuff
MikeC

Worn lower control arm bushings...

I put them on and torqued them to 94 ft lbs. looks like I need to plan on rebuilding the front suspension.

Thanks,
Jsaum

What's your front air pressure? Too much air in my front tires creates a vibration/shimmy above 70. 30 and above air pressure in my car creates a nasty vibration.

Are you sure its from the front end? In the steering column there are two bearings...the bearing closest to the drivers is often fatigued due to age. It moves in the bore - the fit is lousy due to the design - its a slot. If everything else fails...look to this as a possible source. Before making a whole new bearing carrier...I just band clamped this weak spot on my car. Worlds of difference...best of luck.

Tony

Some shimmy? Is it annoying or concerning? I did'nt notice it when I rode in your car. Pretty big leap going way from the 165s. The guys in the tire shop prob put 36psi in the new tires.

What year is the car? Prior to 1973, the wheels and hubs were not hub-centric and centered on the lug bolts. We had a devil of a time getting the shake out of our 71. I finally found someone who had an adapter to balance off of the lugs and I was careful to center each wheel on them and the shakes went away. If you balance off of the wheel center as most modern balancers do, it is not nessisarily the center of the wheel on these early wheels.

Charlie

69 is more fun anyway! just stay there

More annoying at this point, I'll check the air pressure.

How about a picture of the new wheels? Did they come with center caps? I've forgotten.

Try a simple thing...
Loosen all the lug bolts.
Get down there so you can see.
Slowly tighten them all up cross pattern to get the wheel perfectly centered.

First, take a ride and note the exact speed it starts to wobble, and when it stops, if there is a top end.

Then make a change to the lugs, wheel location etc...
See if that works.
If speed changed, make note and dig deeper.

Cracker mentioned another fun project to run down.
Steering shaft bearings and bushings..
Steering ujoints
And finally, steering rack pinion gear wear...and rebuild of rack

Many of us have chased all of these things down, and it's a matter of patience...

I for one have redone everything in the front of the car and finally can go fast (won't say how fast because others may not like to know) with zero wobble...
So, there is hope, but you need to go through everything...it just takes time and money

Here's a picture of the polished Fuchs and the new tires. I did get caps with the rims but they were beat up so I got a new set from 914 rubber, they look and fit great!

if your shop doesn't have the lug centric adapter, go to someone who does.

Those look great James. Well worth the drive to south hill.

You guys nailed it one of the tires was at 36 the others were 28. I also went back and retorqued the rims much better! I set the front at 26 and the rear at 29.

Thanks for all of the help!
Jsaum

Party on Garth.

26Front 29 in back....why ...softer ride? I wouldnt do that but thats JMO
Mike gotta be mushy up front

He's not axing Mike. Look at the recommended tire pressures in your Haynes.

is that 1970 bias tires info? tires are better today ive always just run my street tire at the recommended pressure or just a touch lower for a bit of a softer ride ....maybe im all inflatted

I figured it must be a German thing my 89 Mercedes calls out for the same pressure. Same size tires too! I'm guessing more grip up front.