shaking at 60+

ASSISTANCE Suspension, Brakes & Wheels
1

So I’ve just got done installing skunk 2 springs, kyb shocks, es bushing kit, es trailing arm bushings, type r rear sway bar, new ball joints, new tie rods, and new front rotors. Got an alignment and everything is in spec. Tires are worn pretty bad and unevenly from previous drop and bad alignment.

Problem only occurs when im going straight ahead at 60 + getting worse the faster I go. Steering wheel starts to get a real violent shake and it seems to shake the whole car once im going 70 or more.

I have recently replaced the driver side axle. I just checked both axles and the midshaft , they seem good. How much movement should there be in the axles while trying to shake them by hand anyways?

When I checked the rotors one of them seems to only be making contact with the outer part of the pad. I have also only put about 50 miles on these new rotors. Should I wait to see how they are after putting a few more miles on them or get them turned?

I already know I have a torn driver side engine mount and i believe all the others are in good condition. Would this mount being torn have an effect on my axles lifespan because there is a pretty good shake at partial throttle?

Thanks in advance for your opinions and by the way despite the few problems loving the setup for the price, thing corners like a beast.

2

i would say get yourself proper rubber first… that’s guaranteed to be the biggest vibration problem… how are you “shaking” these axles? up/down, in/out? make sure all your brake lines aren’t pinched and are clear of your tires and suspension… did you do the brakes yourself? easiest thing to do to check the rotors is to just jack up the car and spin the wheel… see if there’s a hard spot every now and then… that’ll tell you if they need to be turned… and replace the mount asap… it’s easy to do and it’s not that expensive… you can even buy the inserts for even cheaper, just replace it quick as it’s there for a reason lol… hope this gives you a good start on things…

3

I had that with my daily, when I got new tires it magically went away. Maybe yours are out of balance or possibly cupped?

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[QUOTE=jcbaker06;2009222]Problem only occurs when im going straight ahead at 60 + getting worse the faster I go. Steering wheel starts to get a real violent shake and it seems to shake the whole car once im going 70 or more.

I have recently replaced the driver side axle…

When I checked the rotors one of them seems to only be making contact with the outer part of the pad…[/QUOTE]

I was having the same problem after changing a bunch of stuff… Coasting shake at 110kph in the steering wheel that made the car feel unstable, and just got worse the faster I went…

It’s worth double checking the safety related stuff… Suspension bolts, Bushing, Tie-rods, brakes, ball joints, rims (for out of round and cracks), Tires balance/roadforce and general condition (not so much tire tread, but rather the wear pattern and sidewall buldges/carcas seperation)…

But generally speaking to point you in the right direction…

If your @60mph and braking and your steering shakes and you feel the brake pedal pulsate then you would look for warped rotors…

If your accelerating past 60mph and you notice a smooth ride into a shake at a known speed and past that speed it smooths out, but comes back again at a higher speed (still accellerating)… then you would want to look at your tire balance/roadforce first. (Tires tend to shake at certain speed intervals)

If your coasting at 60mph and the steering is shaking (with all the safety stuff pre-checked out and ok)and you slow down until it smooths out, then accellerate hard past the speed that was shaking and it’s ok until you let go of the throttle and return to a coasting situation then you should look at your Axles… Are the Vibration Dampers missing or damaged? there should be one on each axle.

CV axles tend to click when the outer joint is worn out in corners and click on striaght line accelleration and compression braking when the inners are shot… haven’t changed one when it’s not making noise for a vibration before, but it could happen I guess.

My problem was the axle vibration dampers. I changed both shafts and did notice the new ones didn’t have dampers but didn’t really think much of it since there’s a lot of cars that are ok without’em.

BTW, Left and Right have different part numbers.

5

did you change both inner and outer tierods?

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If you say one of your motor mounts are torn… I’d say change that first and see if the problem is still there… that’s a problem that should be fixed before going on ahead…

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My tires are badly worn on the inside not cupped and I never had a problem with them before as well as my wheels. Ill try rotating them and see what that does because I dont have money for new tires at the moment.

When I brake there is no vibration or shuddering. When I spin the rotors there is no catching or grabbing either.

When I checked my axles I was wiggling them up and down, there was a small amount of movement. Should there be any at all?

I only changed my outter tie rods.

Where are the vibration dampners located on the axle? I didnt have this problem before I did all this work so would the axles be the source of the problem. There is also no clicking of the axles at all.

As well as the engine mount it was torn before I did all this work and these problems were not happening. Ive tried filling the mount with silicone but it has rippped again. It wasnt window weld but it was a 3m product I believe not as hard of a silicone. I will try and get a new mount as soon as possible.

Thank you for all your opinions and help, it is much appreciated. I will hopefully be able to get some time later today to test the slowing down and speeding up, as well as coasting, partial and wide open throttle. Also rechecking bolts, brake lines and rotating tires.

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So I checked all bolts and brake lines all checked out fine. Rotated the tires shaking went down a lot and now its seems to be coming more from the rear so now im saving up for new tires.

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awesome!,… I’m glad you found it!

just to answer your question… axles usually do have a little movement… and they become noisy when the joints or the inner bearings in the tranny (holding the inner axle cups) are bad. :wink:

It’s usually not the axles… My situation was only the 3rd time I’ve encountered this. The first time took me days to figure out! But I learned what to look for on my road tests…

peace.

10

Have the balance of your wheels checked out. That’s exactly what my car did and it was the balance being out of wack.

11

for that speed… its unbalanced wheels/tires. just cuz they might have weights on them doesn’t mean its still balanced. even .5 oz can make a difference and its always around 55-65 mph.

12

i had this same problem constantly on freeway 55-the faster i went 60-70…vibrating whole dash, steering wheel shake… at the time i bought new wheels w/ rubber. got it all rebalanced and mounted w/ an alignment. then viola no shaking… there was a noticeable little shake but NONE like how it use to shimmy/shake/vibrate before. mechanic told me hubcentric rings could be used but its not recommended…

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The rubber peice in the center of the new axle shaft is the Vibration Damper.

This is a rather rare problem, but Aftermarket re-worked parts are more likely to be a problem… If you don’t have them and you don’t have a problem, don’t worry about it. but if you have a vibration you cant get rid of, then you can use my descroption for identifying an axle vibration…

I’ll explain whats happening for those that are interested.

By cruising at a speed well under the vibration point and accerating hard you are creating a torsional load on the axle shaft that prevents it from vibrating, and will feel smooth at speeds past the point it normally vibrates at. Then when you let go of the throttle and resume coasting at higher speed the torsional load is released and the shaft will begin to wobble.

Loose suspension can act like this aswell since you are creating forces on components that can prevent worn parts from moving around uncontrolled.

Please aways check your suspension steering and wheels bearings for play when you do maintenance on your car.