hey guys,
i get a stupid vibration in my steering wheel going from a complete stop up to 40 mph. i recently got new wheels,tires, alignment ,front driver axle and the wheels are balanced correctly. i have complete access to a wheel balancing machine so i know its good. its getting very annoying and i cant figure it out. someone please point me in the right direction on what to fix,thanks.
rogroc325@yahoo.com

roger

 

how much of a shake? Had a few cars do this when rack and pinion went out

 

rotors maybe ??

 

rotors are fairly new and plenty of meat left on the pads. the steerting wheel shakes a lot, at least about half inch of vibrating play. after 40mph the vibration is gone. i do notice it more during low rpm's

 

he might be right... cuz i have the same problem... when i go over bumps or a pinch in the road the wheel shakes and vibrates up and down.... i cant figure it out... could be teh rack and pinion.... also check all ur suspension components.....

 

if it is the rack and pinion,will the vibration also happen when im on a smooth road? this vibration occurs on every road im on.i even tried it on the highway in the middle of the night from a dead stop. thanks for the info and please keep them coming.

 

anyone else have any more insight please.

 

aftermarket wheels and tires added? if so are they hubcentric or were canter rings added?

 

I would be thinking that your rotors are the cause, to tell take your wheel of and rub the rotor with your finger and see if it's smooth or it has wavey grooves in it.

 

Did it vibrate before the new wheels,tires, alignment , and front driver axle?

 

i just noticed today that the vibration comes and goes. more noticeable when im in 2nd gear accelerating. i feel it on the seata little also if that helps.

vibration has recently started after the wheels have been on for a while. hub rings were put in place.

can slightly warped rotors cause vibration in the steering wheel even if im not pressing on the brakes?

thanks again for the feedbacks guys. im gonna tighten the bolts for the claipers,bolts for the struts and center hub nut that hold the cv joint in place this weekend. anything else i should check or tighten up?

 

a mechanic told me that my rack and pinion is starting to go. but as someone said above,this is noticeable on flat roads and not when i hit bumps. mechanic also said motor mounts are good.
even though i changed the axle, can it possibly be a bad axle i got? mechanic also said that the passenger axla looks good but it could be going internally.any truth to that also? thanks again fellas

roger

 

well i'm trying to deal wut my vibration also but today i ask the mechanic about the rack opp. also and he say its weak or getting weak after my alignment was done ..it was vibrating the whole front ....when i reach 65 and up...so i brough it back and he chek the align. and re balance the wheel...it was ok ...try it again still the same so we ...rotate to tire ....rear to front ...now the it shake in the rear....conclusion ...bad rim ....try that..

 

thank for all your help.

 

i have the exact same situation w/ the wheel vibrating when i accelerate in 2nd gear, or at lower speeds.

 

Rims are definitely NOT bent. i went to get a second opinion by a more trusted mechanic, and he said my rack is starting to go and the drive axle that was changed before is no good. he told me the part of the axle that goes into the drive train is loose. he couldnt really tell but he said he was able to wiggle it around ,and said the axle was probably a defected one.

-anyone ever experience a loose axle that connects to inside the drive train?
-does this seems as the possible culprit before i change out the axle?
-How much does it cost to replace the rack and pinion?

 

I just lowered my car two weeks ago from stock suspension to ground control coilover with HP Tokico shocks. I dropped it down to 3 inches. I have the same problem in 2nd gear with about 3000 rpm. Once I drove my car faster the vibration went away. One of my friends told my that since I dropped my car so low my axle is a little bend. It's no as straight as before I lowered it. He also said that once the speed gets faster the axle eventually will straight by itself and the vibration will go away. I'm still trying to find out how to fix the problem.

 

same problem here.98 max se. just changed springs and got worse. and it does it worse when i am turning and accelerating in 2nd. only does it every now and then.lowered it last night and it got way worse and getting it aligned tomarow moring at 8. the rack thing seems to be what i think it is. we'll see after i get it aligned

 

well i got my lower ball joints replaced cuz they were shot. it helped a little bit on the vibration but there is still vibration on the right side of the car. thats what the mechanic said. he didnt say that it was related to the rack and pinion. he cant seem to figure out why the steering wheeel is vibrating,he already tightened down the front end. arghh!!

 

help please,any other ideas guys? thanks in advance

 

If its not vibration while braking check your harmonic balancer, it should have all the rubber on it and without the belt it should spin freely.

If it shakes when braking it may be warped rotors or hotspots. Your rotors may be new but are the warped??? The rotors also can vibrate the car when brakes are not applied, but when there this warped its usualy visable by eye. Hope that helps i didnt read the entire thread.

 

oh yea check that your pads are wearing evenly also, im tired and going to bed, peace!

 

So I'm not alone here...

I've been noticing a shake in the steering wheel as I pass through 2500rpm in 2nd since I rebuilt my suspension. I haven't lowered it - it's all stock.

What's the harmonic balancer? I haven't seen that in my manual.

The drive axle sounds feasible. I got remanufactured ones - I wonder if there's any problems with the parts they reuse. Anyone got thoughts here?

First person to solve this one will be a hero!

 

i have the same problem. ive heard so many things but im not sure whos right. the higher my car revs the more it vibrates and i mean IT VIBRATES.
they said it could be my engine mounts , my transmission , axles , all sorts of stuff. IF ANYONE can find out YOU would really make my day. i mean my whole front end SHAKES. i did so many alignments and balances its not even funny.

 

I think we have three separate problems here.

1. jedinite120's original problem of low road speed vibration. He feels the vibration accelerating from 0 to 40 mph mostly in 2nd.

2. my problem which is an engine speed vibration felt at 2500rpm mostly in 2nd gear but also in 3rd slightly.

3. high road speed vibration 60mph+

Jedinite: can you confirm that your problem is road speed dependent i.e. you feel it all through 1st and 2nd gears. If so, we'll stop hijacking your thread and start our own.

 

i feel it slightly in 1st gear right when im about to shift to second and then throughout 2nd gear up to about 40 mph. when i step on the clutch during 2nd gear to shift to third,the vibration goes away.
im also curious about this harmonic balancer thing,where is it located?

my rotors are not warped and pads are wearing evenly. the mechanic did tell me that the motor mounts are good and the axle is good. this is after i got my 2nd opion from another mechanic.

 

If the vibration is occuring only during accelleration and not while your just coasting or stopping then the problem is in your drivetrane.

 

here's a typical acceleration profile:

1st:0-20mph (??? - 4000rpm)
2nd:20-40mph (2000 - 4000rpm)
3rd:40-??mph (2500 - ???rpm)

If I drive this profile hard (75% throttle+) then I get the same feeling as you, vibration all through 2nd, smooth in 3rd on up.

I agree it has to be drivetrain, CV-tranny-engine. I replaced my front and rear engine mounts bacause of this to no effect. I'm thinking of doing the side mounts as well just because I can't think of anything else.

I know we have marginal transmissions, is there any transmission failure that would start with this kind of vibration?

 

bump,anyone have other insights on this please?

 

update-
im now starting to feel the vibrations in 3rd gear as well. i also notice the gas pedal slightly vibrating when im accelerating and then cruising on the highway. this is really becoming bothersome and im thinking about getting rid of the car. though i would hate to do that.

help please,someone must have solved this or have some more answers

roger

 

what about the hub bearings?

also,i had the ball joints replaced on both sides. how do i check the LCA and what do i actually have to look for? are tie rods connected to the axles?thanks