1G Vibration at freeway speeds - comes and goes

[Speedstyle]

1991 Eagle Talon TSI AWD Auto. 62k miles, all OEM parts.

When I purchased this all original Talon it would have a highway vibration at 75mph. At the time of purchase the car already had new tires installed and new brake pads and rotors. I chalked it up to maybe the tires were never balanced. A few years later the vibration completely went away and I was able to test out the top speed with no issues.

Fast forward to this Spring and now the vibration has returned at around 65mph. Both times the vibration is bad enough that you can't sustain any higher speed without it becoming pretty bad. Tire pressure is always checked when the car is brought out of storage in the Spring and the car drives straight, and brakes do not cause any vibration in the rotors when applied at high speed. I did however notice some brake noises yesterday when pulling into my storage unit. I am leaning towards a stuck brake caliper slide pin? That's the only thing that I can think of that might be causing the vibration to come and go and not be consistent. If the tires weren't balanced I would imagine the vibration would never go away, if the drivetrain or suspension bushings had some sort of inbalance it would also never go away.

What are your thoughts?

 

[SpankyStokes]

I would check the carrier bearing for the drive shaft.

 

[Speedstyle]

I would check the carrier bearing for the drive shaft.

Thanks for the reply. Am I just checking for play/movement in the carriers? This is my first time working on an AWD vehicle.

 

[Dericsh]

Does it get worse while accelerating (better when you let off the gas)?

 

[CKOPOCT]

For the carrier bearing you are looking for any kind of friction, catching, or play that would indicate the bearing has worn internally. If you've ever packed a wheel bearing or felt a hub bearing that has a "sticking spot", that's indicative of a wearing bearing and could be the cause at high speeds. A strut going bad could also cause it, and that would be highly dependent on road conditions. Hub bearing and brake issues also come to mind. In addition to what @Dericsh asked (which will help to indicate if it is drive train related or not), can you isolate which wheel it's coming from? Can you feel it coming through the steering wheel (front wheels), or does it come up through the seat first (rear wheels)? Do you feel it predominantly on one side (wheel/suspension/brake/axle related) or does it come from the entire front/rear half (power train related)?

 

[Speedstyle]

Does it get worse while accelerating (better when you let off the gas)?

No issues at all while accelerating at partial or full throttle. It's only once you reach a certain speed and it remains constant.

Just confusing because it had no issues at all last summer for roughly 2 summers of driving and now the problem has returned.

 

[Speedstyle]

For the carrier bearing you are looking for any kind of friction, catching, or play that would indicate the bearing has worn internally. If you've ever packed a wheel bearing or felt a hub bearing that has a "sticking spot", that's indicative of a wearing bearing and could be the cause at high speeds. A strut going bad could also cause it, and that would be highly dependent on road conditions. Hub bearing and brake issues also come to mind. In addition to what @Dericsh asked (which will help to indicate if it is drive train related or not), can you isolate which wheel it's coming from? Can you feel it coming through the steering wheel (front wheels), or does it come up through the seat first (rear wheels)? Do you feel it predominantly on one side (wheel/suspension/brake/axle related) or does it come from the entire front/rear half (power train related)?

I will look into these in more detail the next time I drive it and let you guys know what I find. It feels more through the steering wheel rather than the seat. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[Dericsh]

No issues at all while accelerating at partial or full throttle. It's only once you reach a certain speed and it remains constant.

Just confusing because it had no issues at all last summer for roughly 2 summers of driving and now the problem has returned.

That seems to rule out axles then. Only thing I can think of is I wonder if the tires are flat spotting in winter storage, this is why it goes away after a while.

 

[1cleangsx]

Dude you found a heck of a deal on that car! Looks beautiful too I would suspect U joint/carrier bearing as well, assuming the drive shaft is original like the rest of the car I’d bet it’s do for a rebuild, but congrats on that find, you got the better of the 2 years for a 1ga as well I’m jealous

 

[Speedstyle]

Dude you found a heck of a deal on that car! Looks beautiful too I would suspect U joint/carrier bearing as well, assuming the drive shaft is original like the rest of the car I’d bet it’s do for a rebuild, but congrats on that find, you got the better of the 2 years for a 1ga as well I’m jealous

Thank you, I'm proud to call this one mine now. I found it within 30 minutes of the person posting it online after looking for many years for a good condition 1G....day after day searching online. The owners manual in the glovebox has the original owners name printed on it and her address. A housewife who basically just drove it to the grocery store and errands.

The only thing that has failed so far is the power steering got a leak and the TCU failed due to bad capacitors. I bought a new TCU and it's been fine ever since. Starts right up, idles perfectly, never overheats, all the gauges and buttons work. This thing is more reliable than my daily driver was if you can believe that. The undercarriage is the worst part, being from the rust belt. Luckily the city where this Talon was located does not use salt on their roads so that mitigated some of the rust damage. The paint is is excellent condition and only the black wing window trim has faded.

It's currently running on a 3 inch downpipe to factory exhaust with K&N air filter, the rest is stock. Sounds great and runs amazing for a 13g car. The exhaust manifold developed a crack this Spring so I am swapping a 2g ported manifold with a 14b this summer.

I just need to figure out this high speed vibration first. It could very well be the crappy tires installed and the fact that it sits for 6 months a year in storage.

 

[Speedstyle]

That seems to rule out axles then. Only thing I can think of is I wonder if the tires are flat spotting in winter storage, this is why it goes away after a while.

The tires are cheap tires and it sits for approximately 6 months out of the year in storage(November through April). That might make sense because when I first bought it, it had also been sitting for over a year actually. When I had no vibrations the last 2 years the outside temperatures were quite warm 85-90F so maybe they are stretching back to normal with the higher road temperatures after driving for a few months in the summer.

 

[mitsubishikid]

The jxb carrier bearing is a nice upgrade and easy to install vs a stock carrier bearing i guess if yours is bad i would suggest looking into installing one of them instead, my 1g talon had an odd vibration not too long ago and I also hardly drive it, but turned out one of my rear brake pad had separated I replaced my rear pads and reset my parking brake and it feels a lot nicer now.

 

[CKOPOCT]

Flat/heavy spot in tires is possible, but I would think you'd feel it more than just at high speeds. To isolate, swap the front and rear tires. If the vibration changes you know the problem is in the wheels.

 

[Speedstyle]

The jxb carrier bearing is a nice upgrade and easy to install vs a stock carrier bearing i guess if yours is bad i would suggest looking into installing one of them instead, my 1g talon had an odd vibration not too long ago and I also hardly drive it, but turned out one of my rear brake pad had separated I replaced my rear pads and reset my parking brake and it feels a lot nicer now.

The JXB install looks 10x easier than the stock carrier. I will look into this upgrade. Thanks for the tip!