vibration problems

[andreyiv]

Hey guys, I got some interesting vibration problems, hope someone can help.

When going about 60mph, the car rides perfectly and I get no weird noises or vibration anywhere. If I turn the steering wheel to the left a certain amount (about 3-5 degrees) when going same 60mph, I get vibration through the steering wheel and it seems like it is coming from the right, its not only the steering wheel that vibrates either, the whole car vibrates. If I turn the wheel to the right, the same amount, I don't get any vibration, if I turn it to the left, past the 3-5 degrees, the vibration abruptly stops and only comes back when the steering wheel passes through that same point.

I tried increasing my speed and I get chassis and steering wheel vibration if I am going about 80mph and it doesn't matter what I do with the steering wheel (didn't try anything extreme), the vibration stays there, if I got even a little bit faster, it gets noticeably worse.

The front lower control arm bushings are brand new and I remember having the problem before I replaced them also (it died down, but not by a lot). I had wheels balanced also and the problem stayed.

Anyone have any ideas at all? I am pretty much stunned. I don't really have money in excess right now so replacing the whole front suspension, brakes and gas tank filler neck is not the best choice, otherwise, any and all ideas are very welcome.

 

[mclarensmps]

My car also has a few vibration issues, but its vibration under braking, so it definately wouldnt be the same problem as yours. Going to check out my brakes today, though your vibrations could be coming from unwanted contact (which is the cause of mine). Im not expert but i just thought it could be something.

 

[Wadula]

andrey, i have the same problem. i believe it is that the tires are not properly balanced. you said that all rods and control arms are fine, so do i at my car. my wobble is not really bad so i didn´t bother. when you found the solution please post it, i am sorts of curious

 

[epj3]

Sounds like tires, wheels, or control arms. Just becuase you have new control arms doesnt mean the problem was necessarily fixed (but you know that )

 

[Wadula]

yup. i still guess it is some wheel issue. the vibration only comes up when the steering wheel is being turned. it you turn it an keep the angle, the vibration quits immediatly. if the control arm would be bad, the pressure on the wheel from driving through the curve would create a constant wobble. that is why i think is the wheel.

 

[andreyiv]

Thanks for the ideas. To clarify it more, I only changed the lower control arm bushings, not the entire lower control arm and the vibration is always there as long as I am above about 60mph and the steering wheel is turned a certain angle to the left from the rest position. The vibration would still be there if I turn the wheel to that position and keep it there (like in a long turn, I would get vibration through the whole turn), so I guess I have a different problem from you Wadula oh and I am not certain that all control arms and control rods are fine, I don't see anything bent, thats about it.

I guess I might have a bent wheel up front (NYC roads are quite harsh at times) or maybe the people who balanced the wheels didn't actually balance them. I'll try putting my spare up front and see if the vibration stays. Also, could it be alignment or bad shocks? The shocks are probably about to go by now so I don't feel like getting an alignment done, replacing the shocks (if the alignment doesn't help) and then getting another alignment done.
Oh, almost forgot, I don't get any vibration at all while braking, so that sort of rules out the brakes (don't see how brakes would be related to the toe of a wheel anyway).

Once again, thanks for your opinions and I would be glad to hear some more.

 

[MADMAN]

Hi I new to this site and must say im quiet impressed has anyone thought of checking out your power steering as if its got low fluid it will have loads of air in the system which would cause this problem when turning hope this helps

 

[Wadula]

oh okay. i thouht the wobble only comes when you turn the wheel. keeping the wheel at an angle and still having the whobble is something different yes. well, i hope you get it fixed!

 

[andreyiv]

Thanks MADMAN but my power steering fluid is at the right level so , its not it.

I recently have balanced my tires yet again and the vibration improved just a tiny little bit (I think). I can see that the weight on the front right wheel has been moved a little bit, so maybe the position in between those two is the ideal position, or more likely its not balancing at all.

This saturday I took a trip to connecticut with a friend and while he was in the car, I had no vibration up until 70mph even when I tried turning it to that magical spot, the viration did not come on. Another friend of mine who is a little lighter took a ride with me and the vibration was there, so weight over the front right side affects it, so maybe shocks? shock mounts? I'm currently trying to magically come up with enough dough for a tranny swap so I'll have to address all other issues later so I probably wouldn't bring any updates until the end of summer or after that .

If anyone has any other input, I would love to hear it. Thanks guys.

 

[Papa_Joe]

Same issue

I should have read all the threads before posting mine. I have exactly the same issue. However, at any speed, it does not happen shen I turn to the right. Its only on the left turn that I have the issue. The moment I let up off the pedal it stops. arrrrrg. It has been awhile since you posted last so I am curious if you were able to fix the issue.

 

[andreyiv]

Nope, sorry, no luck. I'm sort of short on money and time lately so I still haven't taken it to a professional. Someone told me that it might be either loose lug bolts or the tie rod is coming loose; the bolts are tight and when I inspected it myself, I didn't see any issues with the tie rods. I tried moving the front wheels around to see if there is any play in the bearings, but there wasn't any play at all. Something tells me that it is either a bent rim (might have one) or bad front shocks because everything else seems perfectly fine.

Have you had anything replaced up front or do you have no clue about the condition of front end suspension parts? Maybe this way we can narrow it down.

 

[Papa_Joe]

No luck

I have no clue at this point. I will let you know if I find something out

 

[sinisterE36]

im not sure if your wheel width is the same all around but if it is try swapping your front to rear and rear to front to see if that solves the problem?
if not it could maybe be a bad ball joint?

 

[andreyiv]

Today I took a closer look at the tires and you guys will laugh but I think the right side is on backwards. I am pretty damn sure the tires are directional (even though there is no arrow and words, rotation on the sidewall, just a sign that says outside) and while the left side sifens are pushing the water towards the outside of the car, the right sifens are doing the opposite, they are pulling in water from the outside, to the center of the car. Both sides say outside on them so that should be correct but both tread patterns are moving the water to the same side which I am not too sure about. Whats confusing is that there is no V pattern to the tread, its just a / . So if you look at all the tires, you will see the tread pattern like this:
\ \

\ \
I am calling the tire company on friday and see what they say, if they tell me that the tires are on wrong, I will say horray and then preccede to seeing what sears thinks about it (they sold and installed the tires). I have been back twice with complaints of vibration at speed and my tires are still this way and no one has mentioned anything. Hopefully if I am lucky I will get 4 brand new tires since as far as I heard, you can't run directional radials in the opposite direction for prolonged periods of time and it clearly would be sears' fault, not mine.

What do you all guys think? Do I have enough ground to stand on and demand 4 brand new tires (factory negative camber at the rear, so they wouldn't do well up front nor would the fronts do well in the rear and swapping just one side would unbalance the wear pattern and the handling).

All opinions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[andreyiv]

Heh, flase hope, the tires aren't directional so they are mounted properly.

 

[PhYrE]

I'll agree with any tire balancing issues. They tend to creep up around 110kph (68 mph) as full car vibration, and a bit below that such as 90kph (55mph) as a bit of steering wheel jitter or vibration under some stressful (turning) conditions. The degree of balance it's out will determine just how big of an effect it is. Get this fixed very soon and avoid highway driving as a result, as it may stress the bearings and other components.

Also note that if your tires are worn, a snapped belt within the tire could cause them to go out of balance.

-M