Mystery vibration when wet

[subiesportwagon]

I just bought my first DSM a '98 gsx. Everything seems to be fine when its nice and dry out, but as soon as it starts to rain i get a vibration that i can feel in the old butt. It seems to pop up when i hit a puddle. The vibration goes away when i i push the clutch in , but as soon as i let it back out the vibration comes back. Now on top of that if i stop or slow down it may go away but as soon as i hit anouther puddle it starts again. The car is mainly stock other than a 3" turbo back from vrs. Its not lowered and only have about 79000miles on it. Oh yeah and these are just the little puddles that every road has, not huge car sinkers.
Any help or advise you all can give for the problem or how to find the proble would be greatly appriciated. Thanks

 

[luv2rallye]

Your bell housing cover didn't fall off did it?

 

[RT-AWD]

how fast are you going when you push the cluth in? my car did a similiar thing to this and it was a ripped wheel bearing. it made a loud noise and a vibration that went away when i started to stop. this only happened on rainy days

 

[Brutus]

I have a similar problem with my auto tranny 1G. When i hit a wet spot on the passenger side i get a bad vibration that I can feel under the car while driving. Mostly on 50mph or so. I figured it was water splashing on the exhaust or transfer case / driveshaft and causing a temp change vibration.

This only occurred when i drove through a wet puddle on the passengers side and I dont have a side mount intercooler or the plastic guards around the front tires to keep splash down.

But when it happened if i let off the throttle it would stop as long as i let the car coast for a few seconds (assumabliy till the culprit part dried out) and then the vibration went away. Same as if you mashed the clutch. That would lead me towards the driveline. Tranny or Transfercase.

 

[subiesportwagon]

Im going to try and put her up on a lift this weekend and i well check the wheel bearings and the bellhousing cover. And see if i can find anything else thats loose. offcourse it stops raining now.

 

[VETTE_50_TH]

I have the same problem. Its my motor mounts. The rubber is all but gone and vibrates the hell out of the car when it rains.

James

 

[RT-AWD]

wouldn't that vibrate the hell out of the car whether it was raining or not (missing motor mounts)? i'm thinking its either a wheel bearing issue or water is getting into the bell housing area causing a slip

Im going to try and put her up on a lift this weekend and i well check the wheel bearings and the bellhousing cover. And see if i can find anything else thats loose. offcourse it stops raining now.

checking the wheel bearings will be a PITA your gotta disassemble the wheel hub to get a unabstructed view so check that after the bell housing cover

 

[VETTE_50_TH]

Actually, it only does it when its rainy or wet out. Its not that they are missing, just falling apart. I think what the engine does it lurch forward and causes it to rattle on the metal of the mount and vibrate the chassis itself. Not sure how it does it, but it only happens when its rainy though. Weird?

James

 

[subiesportwagon]

I know on my nova i can shake the wheel side to side to check for bearing play, can i do that on these cars too? Or are you saying that it just might be an internal bearing thing?

 

[DSM_Nick]

In general the way to tell for vibrations is through the seat or the steering wheel. If you are feeling your vibration in the steering wheel then the source is in the front of the car and normally in the wheels. If you can feel the vibration in your seat, then it is coming from the rear of the car.

Some cause of vibration? Wheel bearings, out of balance wheels, bent wheels, bend steering or suspension components. Also the front motor mount (also called an anti-roll mount) does goes out occasionally and will cause lurching when accelerating, de-accelerating, or shifting. Hope that helps some

 

[RT-AWD]

In general the way to tell for vibrations is through the seat or the steering wheel. If you are feeling your vibration in the steering wheel then the source is in the front of the car and normally in the wheels. If you can feel the vibration in your seat, then it is coming from the rear of the car.

when i had a bad front right wheel bearing i heard a noise similar to a card in the spokes of a bike but a little deeper and the vibration i felt was in the floor and steering wheel slightly fixed the bearing and no more noise or vibrations.

did you find anything interesting after you looked under the car?

 

[VETTE_50_TH]

The problem with a wheel bearing being the cause is that usually the steering wheel doesn't vibrate, the whole car does because the wheel isnt spinning correctly. And every symptom i have ever read or been told is that there is a horrible screech that goes along with the vibration of the car. So, it just leads me to believe you dont have a bad wheel bearing. Check you axle nut and make sure that tight.

James

 

[Ninharu]

I have had a similar problem as you and i have the same exhaust set up as well. I finally narrowed it down to the driveshaft rubbing against my exhaust at some point. I guess when the hangers get wet it becomes loose and shifts from side to side. Its especially bad when i go around turns and especially left ones. All i did was pull the pipe further away from the driveshaft and it solved my problem. For me it was more so a loud noise than vibration. but i could still definately feel it. Give this a shot.

 

[jdd1231]

Strange.If your feeling it in your seat I'm thinking driveline or rear end related.Ive never seen tires vibrate from being wet.Pushing the clutch in,making it go away, tells me its related to the drivetrain,not wheels or tires,since those are still spinning.

Very strange problem tho,I admit WTF

 

[RT-AWD]

i didnt have a loud screech, i did when i broke the axle but thats another story. the wheel bearing just made, like i described, a sound like a playing card in the spokes of a bicycle. exhaust rubbing is possible OP any updates?

 

[knochgoon24]

i didnt have a loud screech, i did when i broke the axle but thats another story. the wheel bearing just made, like i described, a sound like a playing card in the spokes of a bicycle. exhaust rubbing is possible OP any updates?

If you really want to check, you can grab at 12 and 6 o'clock and wiggle the tire. 3 and 9 o'clock wiggle would be tie rod end.

Also, with a wheel bearing, you'd usually only get the sound when making a turn. I know, I've had 3 bad wheel bearings (216k miles on the car. 3 have failed in the last year. Just replaced one tonight. )

I wouldn't describe the sound of a bad wheel bearing as a card in the spokes of a wheel though. Mine all just made a grinding noise when cornering. And it wasn't a screech.

 

[Brutus]

I know the OP asked for any opinions but come on.

He said it only does it when wet and in gear/accelerating and the vibration is fealt in the seat of the car, not the steering wheel.

Wheel bearings, lugs, tires wouldnt change in wet or dry conditions. ESP wheel bearings .. when they seaze, you know it! It literally sounds like your wheel is trying to grind itself off.

His problem comes when he drives through a puddle and goes away when he decelerates or engages the clutch. (giving the parts time to dry) This is a driveline problem, or maybe exhaust.

Have you checked the car yet? Id look at the driveshaft bushings, rearend or exhaust to make sure it cant rub anything. I wouldnt rule out motor mounts, but I just dont see them getting wet and causing a problem that you wouldnt notice when dry. Give us an update please.

 

[jdd1231]

the only thing that makes sense to me is the clutch itself getting wet.I cant see water effecting anything else to this degree making a vibration.......

 

[subiesportwagon]

Ok this might be dumb but what is the bell housing cover? Is it like the torque coverter cover on an old chevy?

 

[VETTE_50_TH]

Bell housing is what bolts to the motor. Where the clutch fork, pivot ball and TOB hang out. Its the large round part of the tranny immediately to the left of the engine on turbo cars.

James

 

[luv2rallye]

The bell housing cover is at the bottom of the bell housing and covers up part of the flywheel (and clutch behind it since the space around the flywheel allows water/dirt/etc to reach the clutch). Looking under the engine towards the tranny (bell housing), if you can see the flywheel (thing with teeth around it), your cover is missing.

 

[subiesportwagon]

I just took a look the bell housing cover is on there. I havent got a chance to put on the lift yet, but its been dry th epast few days and no vibration.

 

[VETTE_50_TH]

Push on the motor and see if you can move it around at all. Check the roll stop, front and back.

James

 

[subiesportwagon]

I shook the engine and almost no movement at all.

 

[Defiant]

Do you have a 200-horsepower arm?

It takes a bit more than shaking.