Hey guys, Ive been chasing this problem for awhile and I cant seem to figure it out. What happens is at 85 mph Ill pick up the heavy vibration through the steering wheel. Its bad enough that it shakes my glovebox door up and down and shakes the entire car. Its just straight up and down. I dont have a problem holding the car in a straight line even if I let go of the wheel. I dont have any issues at 90 mph or above or 80 and below. Its almost like I hit a bump and the driveline picks up a harmonic. I can grip the wheel really hard and it will go away until I let go.
I just recently replaced ball joints, outer tie rods and CA bushings (less than 1k ago) and its still there. Im on my 3rd set of wheels and tires on the front and its done it with all of them. Its the worst with my new wheels. Axles look good. No torn boots or anything strange looking. The car does have 160k and its on original engine and tranny mounts and inner ties.
Im on Sportlines and I do get a good deal of shuddering when I take off. Im told this is axle binding but Ive been in lower Js that didnt have the issue.
So tranny mounts? Or where should I start?
Maybe the weights fell off your rims that balance the tires. I had that happen to me. Would also check your mounts.
On the inside my car looks like a fighter jet.
trans mounts would cause more of an rpm based vibration or noise than speed only.
160k is a lot of milage for stock drivetrain/steering components. hubs are a possibility but would most likely make a lot of noise before they developed enough play to cause a vibration. and any noise/ vibration probably wouldnt go away by going faster. jack up the front and check for play in the wheels side to side and top to bottom to be sure.
axles are your other possibility and harder to diagnose if they aren't visibly damaged. if they are clicking, binding or making any kind of noise at lower speeds they can and most likely will cause a vibration at higher speeds. the boots and shafts may look fine but the internals of the joints wear over time. after 160k the grease inside the joints would be pretty beaten up and thin. thin grease would cause the cup and rollers to wear, causing play. it could develop a steering vibe while trying to maintain speed. accel or decel could make it go away. it would start at higher speeds and probably get worse and more noticable at lower speeds over time. i've seen it a few times in higher milage cars. wheels balance out fine, no damaged mounts anywhere, hubs have no play, axles look fine but then change one or both out and the vibe goes away. aftermarket axles are pretty cheap (~60 each +core) i'd start there if your bearings dont have a crazy amount of play in them.
upper and lower motor mounts. Also could be a premature wheel bearings.
I agree with making sure your wheels are weighted properly, had the same issue happen to me about a month ago. One wheel was unbalanced and it was causing the issue.
becuase your car is waiting to hit 88 mph to go back.. to the future
id balance the tires. 95% sure. I had that problem on all 3 of mine cavs if i hit 80mph. go balance em, and was done with it
I actually have one hub with less than a year on it. It was the first thing my friends suggested but it didnt help.
Wouldnt an unbalanced wheel vibrate worse as I went faster? I can roll along at 90 or 95 and not have an issue.
Axles seem like the culprit to me. Maybe Ill have to throw a new set on here soon. I get pretty good prices with my discount at Advance.
I have a bent rim on my car that nobody can get balanced, there is a wobble in the car when going 15 or slower, its fine from 15-40, in the 40-50 range there is a horrible vibration, then all the way up til about 80 its fine
