front end shakes under heavy acceleration

[Boostified]

91 talon tsi fwd. Under heavy acceleration my front end shakes. Normal driving I can't really feel it. I'm at an estimated 350whp. I have a shep stage 2 tranny. But axles are stock. I'm wondering if its a bent axle??

 

[bryanwheat]

Are you sure that you aren't experiencing wheel hop due to the tires spinning?

 

[Boostified]

No its more of a side to side. Spinning is 1st through3rd this happens In forth and fifth the worst

 

[Rsawd95dsm]

check wheel bearings and ball joints

 

[Boostified]

K I thought I might have heard a little "roaring" on the way to work this evening.

 

[Chill Kill Kult]

check wheel bearings and ball joints

beat me to it. jack up a wheel and get a buddy with a flashlight. Shake the wheel. side to side play is usually inner/outer tie rods, sometimes ball joints, sometimes control arm bushings. up/down play is usually ball joints. if you have play side to side, up/down, and almost every angle it is a bearing/hub assy'.

I was even thinking you could have a bent wheel or a wheel that is way out of balance since you didn't feel it in the lower gears, you will notice if the wheel balance is off around 50 mph through a shaking steering wheel. but unbalanced wheels won't make a roaring sound which leads me to think it's a bearing.

if it was only making a noise on turns then could be an axle but the sound would be more of a clanking sound.

 

[Boostified]

Steering wheel does shake

 

[bryzenga]

I had something similar in mid summer of this year. After having it out on the road for a couple months, I started to notice that the steering of the car would shift from one side to the other, and it deffinately wasn't torque steer. Decided to jack it up and check everything out. Turns out that the nut on the ball joint was loose, both sides of the car. Tightened 'em up and my problem dissapeared. Good luck.

 

[Boostified]

I will be checking all these suggestions out tomorrow!!! Id do it now but I'm stuck at work!

 

[SoCalK61000]

Could very well be a bent axle.........it only shakes under a load? And in every gear or just upper gears?

 

[white92talontsi]

My AWD used to do this and what I found was that the drivers side CV axle at the transmission side was extremely worn on the inside.

The axle itself was jumping around in the cup.

Hold the cup at the transmission and try to twist the axle and try the same on the wheel end cup as well.

 

[Boostified]

1st and 2nd I have no traction what so ever. And third I am spinning. I feel it in forth and fifth under heavy load

 

[mnelsen]

jack it up and try to wobble the front tires. id guess ball joint

 

[Infamous33]

If the front end is tight, I would go with the half shafts. If the inner cv is worn or binding, it will cause the whole front end to 'wobble' or shift side to side.
Under acceleration, worn or binding cv's will bind up inside the axle cup and not be able to slide while turning. The axle doesn't sit flat and the joints need to be able to 'flex' as they spin.
As far as determining which side...... Unless you can find play, it isn't easy. You will just have to take a guess or just swap them both. I would say it seems, with that kind of power, this would be a good excuse to upgrade to some DS shop axles anyway !!
GL

 

[gusu]

Could also be your motor shaking like hell from terribly worn out motor mounts.

 

[Colt4G63 also]

The inner C/V joints have worn divots into the inside of the cups, I see it all the time.

 

[wahl]

If all your ball joints arnt shot, he's correct^

 

[SpeedTech720]

Also check the "crossmember" where the rack and pinion bolt up. The rally car I worked on last year had cracked the braces and the crossmember or tunnel and the wheel would shift front to rear when under load.

 

[hugeT]

motor mounts?

 

[Empire1208]

beat me to it. jack up a wheel and get a buddy with a flashlight. Shake the wheel. side to side play is usually inner/outer tie rods, sometimes ball joints, sometimes control arm bushings. up/down play is usually ball joints. if you have play side to side, up/down, and almost every angle it is a bearing/hub assy'.

I was even thinking you could have a bent wheel or a wheel that is way out of balance since you didn't feel it in the lower gears, you will notice if the wheel balance is off around 50 mph through a shaking steering wheel. but unbalanced wheels won't make a roaring sound which leads me to think it's a bearing.

if it was only making a noise on turns then could be an axle but the sound would be more of a clanking sound.

Check everything suspension related. Inner and outer tie rods as well.. and could be the axles too...