Hey guys, I've had this problem for quite a while and have tried almost everything to try to fix it. The problem is whenever I reach about 60mph and above, I get a pretty noticible vibration that is felt in the steering wheel, seat and floorboard. This leads me to believe it is from the front and not the back.

Work I've done so far includes: new CV axles, new control arm busings (ES poly), new lower ball joints, new tires, new rotors, new ceramic brake pads, new stabilizer bar end links and frame bushings, new strut bearing (only did passenger side since that's where the clunking noise was coming from), new steering rack bushing (only one was bad), and I check all the motor mounts and they are good.

The things that I haven't done yet are new struts/springs (plan to do these when the tax return comes in) and strut mounts (didn't think I needed them since I thought it was the bearing that wears out).

It seems to be a little more prodominent when slightly turning, and happens when accelerating, coasting, and decelerating. Vibration seems to fade away when speed drops below about 55mph. Also, it happens on any surface, smooth or bumpy, though on smooth it of course is a little less harsh.

I hope you guys can help me figure this one out since it's been bugging me since I bought my car in February.

Thanks in advance,

Paul

 

I think you may have a blown shock or strut. Maybe you can examine them for leaks.

 

I'm inclined to agree...

 

how long ago did you change the tires? if you can, check your old tires for bumps. if its been a while, check your new ones. it could indicate a bad shock/strut. feels wavy and makes the tire REALLY loud.

 

Also check if the tires are balanced, and are they regular tires or snow tires? My roomie's car used to shake when above 70MPH with snow tires on and was fine after swapping them out,

 

i had the same exact problem...right after 60mph too...when i got new rims it fixed it...im guessing you have to get ur tire balanced.

 

Had the same problem... Replaced the struts and springs with my illumina/ce set up and the problem was eliminated. The old struts were not even blown, just well used with 90k on them.

 

iRaMarine:

I bought the tires about 2-3 weeks ago and had them balanced as well as a front end alignment since I had just changed the strut bearing. When I got new tires, I moved the front ones that I had on to the back since I only got 2. The two that I moved from the front to the back were new about 4 months ago. The tires that I replaced were cupped (high and low areas along the outer edge), but I figured I fixed the problem by changing all of the bushings since I noticed that problem. Tires should be balanced since I just had them installed. I even took the wheels off (still original BBS wheels) and sanded the rust that had accumulated on the back of the rim where it mounted to the hub/rotor so as to eliminate not mounting correctly. When I did have the wavy tires, it was very loud, but that has been eliminated since I got the new tires.

Falconey:

The dust boots are all shot on all four struts so it is easy to see that there are no leaks.

n3985:

It doesn't get cold enough for snow tires here in SC.

The reason I don't think it is tires out of balance is that normally it would only happen in a certain frequency range of about 10mph, but my vibration is happening all the way from 65 or so to about 100mph, and it doesn't really get worse. It stays about the same all the way up.

I may just have to live with it until I can afford new struts/springs. I plan on getting the Illumina/H-tech combo.

 

I was just about to say the same, and assuming the place did a good alignment then it's probably the struts.

 

motor mouts

 

I checked the mounts already, they all look good.

 

I just read this thread: http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=440692

Do you think this might be my issue? I used rebuilt axels from Oreily Auto Parts when I changed those out. Could be that I got crap ones. Back before I got them, I had so many rattles and vibrations from loose suspension components that I wouldn't have noticed if they changed much after changing the axels. I did see a slight improvement when I changed my axels as far vibration, but not much.

Another thing I noticed lately is that if I come to a stop and pull the e-brake, then let off of the brakes, the back of the car dips down really low or really high depending on if I am in reverse or drive. Now, I understand how torque works and all that, but the amount of rising and dipping seems quite excessive. I also notice the front diving under braking and rising under acceleration under normal driving. It feels like the whole car is rocking front to back whenever acceleration changes. It's kind of like when motor mounts go bad and the engine rocks forward to back, except it's the whole car in my case. I did the engine mount test by putting on the brake and reving it in drive and reverse while watching for movement of the engine, though I didn't see much movement.

Hope this helps explain my predicament.

 

Did you replace your tie rods, too?

 

When I had my alignment done, I had them change the right side since the boot had been split and when I went to pick it up, he said it was definitely shot. After that, I was having the same problem of my steering wheel not centering after a slow turn and I took it back to him. He drove it around, checked the tie rods (since I thought the driver side one was shot as well), and he told me that the driver side rod was fine, ends were fine, but the steering rack bushing on the driver side was totally shot. I have since replaced it and now the steering wheel always goes back to the same place, although I still need to go back and get it straightened.

So, to answer your question, my tie rods should be in pretty good shape.

 

When you do your struts/springs, you ought to replace both strut mounts, since they are not that much more in price than the bushing itself. If your wheel was not returning to center, I would have pointed out that bad strut bearings are notorious for doing that...as well as uneven wear on tires, I might add.

Bad mounts cause the springs to bind which pulls the car in their direction. Uneven tire wear on the front, left tire will cause it to continue to track to the left on left turns...which prevents the car front returning to a straight line.

You'd be amazed what a simple tire rotation can do for handling.

I know others may feel differently, but I always cross-rotate my tires, rather than front-to-back. I get more even tire wear that way.

 

I think I've mentioned before, my tires are directional, so unless I unmount them and remount them, they aren't going to be cross-rotated. the steering wheel centering has been fixed since I changed the steering rack bushing, other than the fact that it always ends up crooked (just not straight up and down, but always in the same place). Also, I got 2 brand new tires on the front when I did the alignment.

I do plan on replacing all the wearable parts on the struts/springs when I do them in the spring. That includes: mounts, dust boots/bump stops, etc.

 

bent rim...?

 

No bends as far as I can tell.

 

i have the same problem. i just had my rim redone after a minor encounter parking near a curb. and i had my new tires balanced. im gonna get an alignemt. but im also thinking its my shocks/springs. i have the extended warranty on my car so the dealer said that they will cover most of the labor and some of the parts as it said in my contract. so as soon as this semester is over for me its time to do to the dealer for a check up and some warrenty work.