Front end Vibration

[MelectroK]

I believe this is a Drive Line question.

I have a vibration in the front end. I feel it randomly when im driving but always start feeling it bad between 65 and 80. It feels exactly like an out of balance tire. I can feel it in the steering wheel and on the floor boards. I can look at my windsheild and see my radar detector slightly bouncing. I cant figure out what it is.

I have had tires rotated and balanced multiple times. I tryed a diffrent set of tires and rims on all four corners at the same time. I have also done all brakes (pads, rotors, and calapers), and it is still there. All the suspension has been replaced since the problem began. Including ball joints and what not.

Could it be a wheel bearing? I dont feel any slop in the wheel and I dont hear the grinding like they get.

Both halfshafts are farly tight. Just a normal amount of play.

I know the problem is speed related not rpm related so that means the problem is from differental out.

It dont get worse or better if you drag the motor or pull from the motor by use of the throttle so I dont think its a motor mount. Plus I did that motor mount test where you watch under the hood and torque on the motor.

Does anyone have any other ideas and know how to check it?

Thank you.

 

[greenbeanmtx]

you and me have the EXACT same problem. I started a thread on mine yesterday too. Ive done the same stuff you have done and from the exact speeds your speaking of and from the same places mine is vibrating. Its enough to make my radar move up and down and if i take my arm off my console(89 console) it vibrates too. Ive had them balanced and rotated 3 times now with only minor improvement. Im wondering if our c/v's are bad? I havent replaced my struts yet although it will be soon( mine are sitting in my room ready to go on). Whatever this is i hope someone can shed some light on it because its very annoying. I feel for ya i really do

 

[MelectroK]

I checked the cvs with the halfshafts visually and didnt see any problem. They have some back and forth play but there going to.

 

[qiksho]

How many miles on your current hubs and c/v's?

I have had the same problem you describe multiple times on different SHO's.

Twice it was c/v's and three times it was hubs. Other times it was out of balance tires.

The c/v's for me were VERY hard to tell. The last one I found was on my 92 with 145k on it. It was the passenger side inner joint that was bad, atleast I think so. I could move the joint's back and forth with one hand on the shaft on both sides. Now I could "feel" a slight sticking when they were together and didn't want to come apart as easy as the other side/joints. Keep in mind it was very slight and to me "felt" like metal on metal, almost like there was a groove cut in. Now a mechanical buddy of mine didn't think it was bad, nor did my dad (who has LOTS of mechanical experience). I bought the c/v because it was the only possible thing I could find wrong...and guess what it fixed my problem.

The other bad axle I got was a replacement one from napa...lasted 300 miles before I had violent shakes.

If you want to do it once and get good axles go to www.raxles.com

 

[MelectroK]

On the other time it was the hub not the wheel bearing?

 

[qiksho]

On the other time it was the hub not the wheel bearing?

I said hub but I meant hub/wheel bearing. If you replace the wheel bearing it is best to replace the hub also. It is a must if the wheel bearing is bad as it will warp the hub. I found this out the hard way

If you are replacing the bearings as preventative maintenance while the bearings are still good then you "might" be able to reuse the hub without problems.

 

[MelectroK]

Anybody know any tricks to determine which one of these if any is bad?