Its actually a late model car, but I think it still applies. Not continuous, gets worse between 55-65mph, shake is felt in the steering wheel, moves about an inch backwards and forwards. sometimes felt at lower speeds. If it is a ball joint, or tie rod end how could I tell if its bad? I will say that this is an all wheel drive car also, so it does have CV joints. Ideas?
First try to isolate if it is speed related or power on/decelerate related. Get up to the vibration speed and put in nuetral. Does the vibration stay the same or change? Does the vibration change when you turn and put a side loading on the front end? Try the tests under slilght power and slight decelerating by lettting off gas. This helps to check if it is drivetrain or suspension related cause. You could have worn tie rods, but I think it may be tire related, especially if it came about fairly quick. A damaged tire will make a strange vibration. Look real close at your front tires and see if any bubbles on tread or sidewall that indicate a broken belt internally. Could have also thrown a wheel balance weight. Usually a CV joint makes noise when turned sharp and some power is added. Not when going straight. You can check a ball joint by jacking up that wheel and grabbing the tire top and bottom and rocking it to see if any play, should be almost none.
That list could get pretty long. Is this something that just suddenly started or is it something that has been getting worse for a while? Have any noise, like snaps or pops when you turn? Clunks or bangs when you put it in gear or change from forward to reverse? If it just suddenly started, I would look for a thrown wheel weight, or a bump/buldge (shifted tire belt) in a tire. Tire out of ballance or out of round will usually show up quite quickly, and will cause the steering wheel to bounce up and down at 50-60 mph and sometimes at around 20-30 mph. A shifted tire belt can sometimes give you a back and forth movement of the steering wheel at very slow speeds (under 5 mph) Worn ball joints can be checked by placing a jack under the lower controle arm and lifting the wheel a couple inches off the ground and lifting the tire with a pry bar. If ithe pry bar moves you should be able to see what is moving/has slop, that would be a bad part. Chech for bad wheel bearings by wiggeling the wheel up and down. To chech the upper ball joint, left the tire with the pry bar and pull/push the top of the tire. Slop/movement indicates a bad joint. While the jack is still under the lower controle arm you can grab each side of the wheel and try to swing it front to back. However much it moves should transfer to the other front wheel, if something shifts or moves that limits the other wheel from the same amount of movement as the first wheel, it is a bad part also. Pretty much any amount of slop or unusual movement (something that "gives") in a front end part indicates bad parts. CVC joints can be checked by rotating that jacked up wheel as far as it will go, then rotate it the other way and check for slop/bounting/movement between the joint and the shaft and the transmissiom housing. If, after all this checks out good, we will have to check wheel bearings, front and rear. Gene
I'd place my $ on the wheel bearings........Ive ridden that pony more times then Id like. Gave a whole new meaning to "drive the wheels right off of it". Brandy
Tires have been rotated front to back already. It did come on quickly. Like one day fine, the next not. I thought wheel weights too, but when I rotated the tires and it still there I didn't think it was that. The odd thing is that, in trying to figure out what it is, each time I take the tires off the front it runs fine for a little while, then starts the shaking again. I've looked at all the tires, and there is no bulge in any of them. Thought wheel bearings too, but it doesn't move side to side at all. I'll do some of the other checks if I can, but I am moving soon and I can't do much. Thanks for all the help so far! I may have to actually take it to some one.
So what ya got. bad loose bearings, or bad joints, any or all of them, bad tie rod ends, bad idler arm(s), bad shocks. broken wheel? Something loose inside the tire, fix a flat slopping round causing it to be out of balance sometimes maybe? I had a FWD car (subaru) vibrate between 73 and 78 mph, not undern ot over. new 'Stones, went back and had them put them back on the balance machine and one needed a third weight, only 1/4oz, in an entirely different location from the other two weights to make it balance. that fixed it.
Usually, a shimmy that comes on at a certain speed (ie tire rpm) is a balance problem. Usually, worn front end parts don't cause a shimmy...they let the tires wear irregularly and the worn tires cause the shimmy. It's very possible that you can have worn front end parts and a balance problem. I've had lots of cars come in with tie rods falling off and BJs ready to pop out but no shimmy problems. The opposite is also true.
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