97_GXE

Hey everyone, I'm eventually going to take my car in again to have this reexamine, but just wondering if anyone else has opinions or experienced this before. But with not having the money yet to do any major fixes, just trying to see what to look for.

I've had this before, almost a year ago. I had 2 damaged motor mounts replaced, and that solved it for many months/miles. Then, couple months ago it started doing it again. So I had the motor mounts checked again, suggested replacing the drivers side one. But after going to my mechanic and them doing the motor mount test, they say it seems to be fine. Even a long test drive on the highway for 10 miles or so didn't produce the vibrations. They sent me off with a wheel balance (the tires only had/have less than 10,000 miles on them).

Well then, I drove it for about 150-200 miles...and it started it up again. Bad. I had to get off in a small farm town, and they concluded it was a loose rack and pinion or something along those lines, swinging around while driving...I have the write up. Couldn't get it fixed because it was thanksgiving. So drove it for another 2,500 or so miles and had no trouble. In a state with smooth roads.

Well then, I get back up north in the cold and the problem starts again. Bad. I had to drive for over 800 miles, 70-80 mph with this on and off shudder. Sometimes slowing down to 50 mph on the highway because it was so bad. Once I get back home and the car sits for awhile, no such issues driving around town or 20-30 miles on the highway for short distances.

So I'm wondering, if it's anything mechanical, wouldn't it do that all the time? I have all new tires replaced at the same time with Sumitomo Enhance. 16" Nissan Altima steel wheels, no noticeable dents as far as i know. I have another long drive coming up and debating renting a car because even though it's not doing it now, it seems to start once I'm on the road for 100 miles or so. I even took a video while I was driving which I'll see if I can post here soon.

JoshG

the video would be nice for us to see what your experiencing

bumpypickle

iTrader: (1)

I swear every 9/10 maximas you see on the road have these vibrations. My old max had TERRIBLE wheel bearings, all struts, and control arms and as a result the car drove like **** after 75mph. I always drove 55-65 on the highway (55pmh only when it is limited to that speed on cetain parts of I55, Illinois) How are all of these parts on your car fairing? I suppose new ball joints and wheel bearings might help quite a bit if they're in bad shape. Not sure if struts have anything to do with wheel shake...

Turbobink

iTrader: (2)

The intermittent nature of your symptom leads me to think it's your strut(s).

theWalkinator

Check tires again, uneven wear can cause vibrating, check wheel balance again, you might lost a weight, check lower control arm bushings, if worn can also cause vibrating.

ugufru

Check your lug nut torque. My Maxima was notorious for loose wheel vibrations after removing the wheels. Don't leave home without a tire iron. Easy to fix but will vibrate the car and sound like bad wheel bearings.

BobMax

I'd be suspicious of bad tires. Did the problem start after the current tires were mounted?

If so, I'd have them Road Force balanced. The Road Force machine applies pressure to the tires and will find belt and other pressure issues. You could also have temperature related issues so mention that to them. There's a huge difference in an RF balance vs. a standard one. They will also find any wheels out of round or out of true. Use this link to find a Road Force location near you http://www.gsp9700.com . The best choice is a smaller or specialty shop where they actually know something about tires... but check price too - they vary from very reasonable ($12/tire) to guys who charge $25/tire.

Before that, I'd pull the wheels and sand them with an orbital sander on the surface that meets the hub (keep it flat). Clean the hubs/rotor where the wheels mount with an aggressive wire wheel on a die grinder or drill. Then mount the wheels and use a torque wrench to tighten them in two stages, star pattern... firm, then about 50# in the air, then up to 86# when they are on the ground. I don't think that's actually your issue, but it's best to eliminate any concern that you can, especially when all it costs is time.

If it's not a tire / balance issue, there's the strut suggestion (could be heat elated and smooth road affected) or maybe a bushing that heats up and grows/shrinks with temp. Get someone to bounce the car while you put your hand on the strut and feel for anything odd. Watch your fingers when you do it.

97_GXE

The tires are all brand new from tire rack. The problem initially started about a year ago this time...in which case 2 motor mounts were replaced (rear and dogbone were cracked). That solved it up until winter came around again and started doing it again...a couple thousand miles after the tires were replaced.

But the thing about bushings heating up and shrinking sounds like the right direction and I think it's something heat related. I kid you not, I took the car for a test drive with my shop's mechanic and drove the car hard for 15 miles atleast, flooring it up to 2000' feet foothill inclines. The car barely vibrated and was very smooth. It just wouldn't do it.

But then, when I'm driving for 4-5 hours, that's when it wants to reveal itself. Driving around town, except mild vibrations...the car rolls very smoothly. In fact, when I was driving in Georgia and Florida, on smooth roads it was like floating on air. Then I get on these northern grooved pavements, it starts back up again.

97_GXE

Ok got it. My iPad and this internet connection is really dragging along. Ok, so this video, MIND EVERYONE, I'm holding onto the steering wheel with phone in hand to give an idea of how much the wheel is vibrating. This isn't the actual car shaking...you can see briefly where I remove the phone from steering wheel.

97_GXE

So what do you guys think of the video I posted?

97_GXE

Thanks, I wonder about that too. Not sure how it can be go from bad to working just fine to doing what it does in the video every few hundred miles or so.

In the meantime I'm renting a car to travel as I can't risk the steering wheel falling off while going 80 mph.

max ride 41

iTrader: (4)

dude, just like anything in life you have to give maxy a little tlc so she stays running safe and straight. i replaced everything steering and suspension related from entire suspension overhaul to tie rods, sway bar end links, lca's, wheels bearings, etc. my max drove like that i'd park her until i fixed all that, cost me a pretty penny but the end result is a solid feeling car. i probably need to replace the struts again, just did all new motor mounts, gonna do my trans mount next couple of weeks, it's original to the 17 yo trans that's in the max.

BobMax

I'd still do the RF balance on the tires to see where they are and if there are belt issues. You need to eliminate possibilities. Sumitomo aren't top shelf, so they could develop coincidental issues - check at Tirerack.com and see if people are reporting belt issues with them. If you're not going to do that, at least jack up the car on stand and rig a pointer or dial gauge on each wheel. Check to see if they are round and true by spinning.

A bad motor mount would show up only when your foot is on the gas. Does the vibration keep going if you are just coasting? What happens when you step on the brake? What about if you are in neutral? Does it go away?

bumpypickle

iTrader: (1)

So have you done any visual checks/tests on your bushings yet? How are your wheel bearings? Wheel bearing will cause wheel shake. I just had a bit of a wheel shake and it turned out to be my driver side wheel bearing. Got an alignment and she's tight now.

97_GXE

Good point. When I shift into neutral the vibration stops. When I let off the gas, it eases up a bit also. It doesn't vibrate when I press the brakes (i know the whole rotor possibility, but my rotors were replaced before).

It drives fine around town otherwise and even on the highway short distances. I'm hoping to get it fixed soon because I'm moving soon and that'll be another 1,100 miles.

I'll look into the road force balance also.

BobMax

Vibration that lets up when you stop accelerating is usually (not always) related to the driveline. That would be driveshafts, CV joints, bearing/bushing into the tranny, possibly a loose torque converter if it's an auto (I don't know how the set up on these cars), etc. But, I have seen a few cases where other problems like out of balance rotors or wheels/tires reacted only under torque (acceleration). Still, I'd be checking the driveline for play.

As a side note... I can't see how out of balance rotors would be affected by heat for driving a long way unless there was a lot of braking involved.

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

That's pretty nasty. Because it comes and goes (cycles), I'm gonna say it's not a wheel tire issue. Two things to check would be the drive shafts, cv joints to be specific and the lower control arm bushings and ball joints.

97_GXE

Hey guys, thanks for replies. So coming back it seems like after 3 years of owner this car, I'll have to do my first $1,000+ repairs to it...if I decide to keep it. After it was looked over, it seems my rack and pinion is going out, my power steering pump supposedly is leaking (though I've changed the fluid a few times and it doesn't need topping off that much), and something with the high pressure lines of the PS pump.

I'm just like can't even handle All of this. This has been one of the worst couple weeks in many years. I'm being forced to move, and my car needs an overhaul. I decided I'm going to continue forward with my relocation, and just dolly my car on the back of the moving truck and wait a little while to figure it out. Def. can't risk driving it like that again for 1,200 miles. It'll only cost $700 including dolly to rent a moving truck. That means I get to keep my car and belongings lol.

That said, I am pretty ****ing sick of hearing I should sell it. I just ****ing bought $300 of new tires couple months ago, and spent $1,600 on paint/body work the year before last. (mostly insurance payout). I'm not ****ing selling my car just because it needs $1,000 of work. I don't know why people think it's that easy. Plus, I'm not trying to sell it for $1,200 or $1,500 because you won't get a car with new tires, DVD/cd in the dash, perfect paint/body and leather seats plus a strong v6 for some lowball offer someone would want to give. But because it's 292,000 miles going, that's what it probably would go for.

I rather just keep it and have a second car. **** everyone else.

max ride 41

iTrader: (4)

all i can say is because race car!! i understand not wanting to let maxy go, trust me. i've done a boat load of work to her over the almost 11 years i've owned maxy and spent ( no bs here ) over 21,000 on paint and body work, ( insurance paid for 8,900.00 out of 11,000 worth of damages ) and the other 10,000 on 2 tranny's, axles, sensors, rad, brakes, tires, 2 exhaust setups, hid retro's, 4 sets of wheels, engine mounts, etc., etc. that price seems kinda high for those repairs, and i'd watch towing maxy cause you can cause more damage if your going too fast, potholes. gl