Car Shakes During Acceleration After Lowering Spring Install

[Ski Bum]

I just installed some Megan Racing lowering Springs (-2" front and -1.9" rear) The car is by no means slammed. With stock wheels/tires I have a 2 finger gap all the way around.

Almost every time I accelerate and hit boost the car vibrates and shakes pretty severely kinda of like driving over the stutter blocks on the side of freeways.

After the install I had the car aligned and the wheels/tires are balanced.

I have heard that lowering cars with high mileage (mine has 115k) puts stress on the axles causing problems. Could this be whats happening? If so will ne axles fix the problem or I am I just stuck with stock height on my DSM?

 

[Mitsu_Dreamer]

Dude you are stressing out your axles, you may need new ones, or find a mechanic to check up on them. And anouther thing is the offseet of the car doesn't help, having a car at the same height helps too.
peace

 

[Tevenor]

Check everything you touched to install and make sure everything is reinstalled correctly, bolts tightened etc.

Does the vibration happen after you are at speed and put it in neutral ( i.e. free wheeling)?

 

[EclipseTrbo420A]

I just installed some Megan Racing lowering Springs (-2" front and -1.9" rear) The car is by no means slammed. With stock wheels/tires I have a 2 finger gap all the way around.

Almost every time I accelerate and hit boost the car vibrates and shakes pretty severely kinda of like driving over the stutter blocks on the side of freeways.

After the install I had the car aligned and the wheels/tires are balanced.

I have heard that lowering cars with high mileage (mine has 115k) puts stress on the axles causing problems. Could this be whats happening? If so will ne axles fix the problem or I am I just stuck with stock height on my DSM?

Axles, I had the same problem and made many threads on it haha. I got new cv alxes for the front and it took care of my problem.

 

[Ski Bum]

The vibration only occurs during acceleration and not all acceleration. It happens when I'm low in the RPM's and hit WOT.

I ran this by a service advisor at my Mitsu dealer as well as as guy at my local Mitsu wrecking yard and they both guessed that worn cv joints now being worked at a different angle are causing the vibration.

Just out of curiousity, I was quoted $150 each for rebuilt CV joints. Does that sound reasonable?

 

[VicBoost]

i never heard about this problem ever happening to me or other people. Is this common problem

 

[Seano04]

I have the same problem. I thought it was the motor mounts. I put the Tein basic coilovers on.

 

[EclipseTrbo420A]

The vibration only occurs during acceleration and not all acceleration. It happens when I'm low in the RPM's and hit WOT.

I ran this by a service advisor at my Mitsu dealer as well as as guy at my local Mitsu wrecking yard and they both guessed that worn cv joints now being worked at a different angle are causing the vibration.

Just out of curiousity, I was quoted $150 each for rebuilt CV joints. Does that sound reasonable?

Ok look, its sad but true. Make sure you have a $$$ reserve....just having done this job it can be really easy or super rough. I wanted to spend only 180 on the 2 front axles I spent about 500-600 after it was all said and done. going the SUPER ROUGH route.

EASY: you unbolt the brake calipers and remove the rotor and then unbolt the A arm from the frame. You tap the end of your Axle acouple of times and it slides ( wiht some manuvering of the hub) out wiht little to no trouble. Here all you need is new axles, new alxe seals some antiseize ( for inside the hub where the axle goes in and on the back of your rotors so those done get siezed. ( all of mine were siezed 186,000 miles )

SUPER ROUGH: You unbolt those first things and tap the axle...nothing you tap it some more nothing. Heres where I went wrong dont go in to the shed and grab your 8lb sledge. Beating on it like that will ruin your hub bearings and mushroom the end of the axles not allowing it to slide out of the hub if it does move at the machineshop. Next you will pull the tie rod end, ball joinits, abs sensor and pull the hub out all one piece hubs arm, hub,axle, carrier bearing, and when ever else decides to tag along. Take it to a machine shop and have them press it out. If 60 tons doesnt get it out you,some PB blaster and an 8lb sledge wernt,but if he does get it out you saved the hub( 128.00 bucks ) and the core axle (60??)

Putting it back in you will need new ball joint boots ( might as well when your in there check the condition of your ball joints ). maybe grab a tierod end too. If you can't get the axle from your hub then you will need a new hub and in that case the new arm the hub goes in ( junk yard if you want to skimp out) and you will have to remove your A arm from the old arm that holds the hub. Boots can be bought at the dealer and I forget where on line.

ALL in all I hope your axles arent siezed. GOodluck man.

 

[Ski Bum]

Ok, so replacing the front axles should hopefully solve the prblem.

Whats the worse case scenario if I wasnt able to replace them right away? I can safely assume that the axles have 115k miles on them. They are definitely well worn at even stock ride height. Aside from the classic clicking of a blown cv joint what else could potentially happen?

 

[EclipseTrbo420A]

I would not drive around shaking like that. I would take eh springs off and get aligned again then save up for the axles and do it all at once because you will need aligned again. GOodlcuk.

 

[Ski Bum]

I would not drive around shaking like that. I would take eh springs off and get aligned again then save up for the axles and do it all at once because you will need aligned again. GOodlcuk.

Aside from the annoyance of a vibrating car, what could become damaged if they werent replaced right away?

 

[Ski Bum]

Could it be the driveshaft wobbling within the carrier bearings? I figured I'd try the silicone carrier bearing fix and see what that does, couldnt hurt I guess.

 

[EclipseTrbo420A]

Could it be the driveshaft wobbling within the carrier bearings? I figured I'd try the silicone carrier bearing fix and see what that does, couldnt hurt I guess.

oh man I was in denile also..., but its not going to go away unless you get the ride height up or the CV joints in. They are spining at a new angle now so its gonna vibrate.

As for harming stuff I can see the bearings in the axle cups getting eaten ( not like it matters now ),But as for the shaking just think about it all the stuff on your cars is getting that shaking so I dont know if you would want that going on...I didnt.

 

[Ski Bum]

oh man I was in denile also..., but its not going to go away unless you get the ride height up or the CV joints in. They are spining at a new angle now so its gonna vibrate.

As for harming stuff I can see the bearings in the axle cups getting eaten ( not like it matters now ),But as for the shaking just think about it all the stuff on your cars is getting that shaking so I dont know if you would want that going on...I didnt.

I understand that any form of shaking or vibrating isnt good for the car. On top of potential problems its just plain annoying to not be able jump on it whenerver I want.

I'll just plan on replacing the axles then as well as the carrier bearing fix, might as well.

Can you recommend anything else that would be worth replacing while the axles are out?

 

[EclipseTrbo420A]

I understand that any form of shaking or vibrating isnt good for the car. On top of potential problems its just plain annoying to not be able jump on it whenerver I want.

I'll just plan on replacing the axles then as well as the carrier bearing fix, might as well.

Can you recommend anything else that would be worth replacing while the axles are out?

Axle seals, if you want your ac compressor out...do it then. Might need to pull the T case for that also. Then just check all your suspension components. That way when you get an alignment you wont have to replace anything else soon after. Anti Sieze EVERYTHING under there also....theres this stuff called undercoating for sale at napa, it sprays out as think black rubber....get rid of the rust in your wheel wells and then spray this stuff over it its like a new undercoat. GOodluck man.

 

[oldman]

Have you done a wheel alignment yet after the install?

 

[Ski Bum]

Have you done a wheel alignment yet after the install?

I had the car aligned about a week after installing the springs. I thought it may be a good idea to let the springs settle before having it aligned. Also during the install I replaced the stock bushings on the rear lateral links with the http://www.dmotorsporte.com/prod01.htm rear camber kit. I also put in some Ingalls eccentric camber bolts up front.

For the alignment I requested a specific range but Les Schwabb wasnt able to bring it there. This is what I ended up with:

Front:Left
Camber: -.8
Toe: 0
Caster: 3.1

Front:Right
Camber: -.7
Toe: 1.32
Caster: 2.6

Rear:Left
Camber: -1.7
Toe: 3/32

Rear:Right
Camber: -1.9
Toe: 3/32

The toe is fine but the camber and caster are not where I wanted them to be. The left caster is a bit more than the factory range I think. I think thats whats causing the car the slightly pull to the left.

So other than some of the adjustemts being slightly off, I wouldn't think the alignment would be causing the vibrations I'm experiencing.

 

[Ski Bum]

Ok, so today I installed new axles up front, new ball joints, tie-rod ends and replaced the tranny/transfer case fluids. From reccomendations here as well as other places the axles were replaced to stop the vibration caused from putting stress on worn axles from lowering springs.

The installs all went smoothly and the front end of the car feels great now. Turn in feels quicker and steering response has improved. The general feel of the front suspension has gotten much better. However, there is a clicking sound coming from the front right wheel. It seems to become more noticebale when turning to the left. Speed does not matter and amount of turn doesnt either. The frequency of the clicking increases and decreases with the speed of the vehicle. I jacked the front of the car up and turned the wheel in both direction roating the wheel and the only rubbing I could see is on the transmission splash guard only when fully locked to the left.

What could it be??

 

[Newlogics]

Ok, so today I installed new axles up front, new ball joints, tie-rod ends and replaced the tranny/transfer case fluids. From reccomendations here as well as other places the axles were replaced to stop the vibration caused from putting stress on worn axles from lowering springs.

The installs all went smoothly and the front end of the car feels great now. Turn in feels quicker and steering response has improved. The general feel of the front suspension has gotten much better. However, there is a clicking sound coming from the front right wheel. It seems to become more noticebale when turning to the left. Speed does not matter and amount of turn doesnt either. The frequency of the clicking increases and decreases with the speed of the vehicle. I jacked the front of the car up and turned the wheel in both direction roating the wheel and the only rubbing I could see is on the transmission splash guard only when fully locked to the left.

What could it be??

CV joints. My car was doind exactly the same after receiving a pair of rebuilt CV joints. It went away in a week or so. Looks like joints needed to 'rub-in'. Rebuilt isn't new, so these things will happen..

 

[Ski Bum]

CV joints. My car was doind exactly the same after receiving a pair of rebuilt CV joints. It went away in a week or so. Looks like joints needed to 'rub-in'. Rebuilt isn't new, so these things will happen..

The axles/cv joints I installed are brand new, no rebuilt units here. Aside from the wheel bearings, everything connected to the knuckles and transmission is new.

Could it be the rear axles causing the vibration and now they need to be replaced as well?

After driving it some more the vibration isnt as pronounced as it was yet still present.

 

[Newlogics]

The axles/cv joints I installed are brand new, no rebuilt units here. Aside from the wheel bearings, everything connected to the knuckles and transmission is new.

Could it be the rear axles causing the vibration and now they need to be replaced as well?

After driving it some more the vibration isnt as pronounced as it was yet still present.

Make sure your carrier bearing on the drv. side axle is bolted up to the block securely.

Is there still clicking noise, or just vibration?

 

[Ski Bum]

Make sure your carrier bearing on the drv. side axle is bolted up to the block securely.

Is there still clicking noise, or just vibration?

I'm pretty sure the clicking sound I was hearing was the dust shield for the brakes rubbing against the rotor. I sort of hacked it a bit trying to get the ball joint separated from the knuckle. I bent it back into place and the noise seems to be gone.

The vibration is still present during hard acceleration from low RPM's.

 

[Ski Bum]

After weeks of letting everything settle the vibration was still present. It usually occured when in 2nd gear at low rpms under acceleration. I just decided that that was enough, and reinstalled the stock springs. The vibration is gone, completely. So either my car is just allergic to being lowered, the rear axles needed to be replaced or the car was too low. Either way I am actually enjoying the car alot more at stock height. I dont have to be as careful driving around and the ride is SO much more compliant. I do miss the look though, the rally height just doesnt do it for me