Vibration in Steering wheel at highway speeds

[ibbobud]

Car: 94 Laser N/T 1.8L 5-speed

Problem: Vibration at speeds over 55 mph felt only in the steering wheel. Sometimes it worse than others.

Observations: Vibration does not change with rpm only with speed, vibration seems to almost go away when depressing the clutch. Had a decient set of tires installed and balanced. Car has been sitting for over a year. Does not shake when applying brakes. Does not vibrate at lower speeds. Have not had a alignment done, and back tires that were took off showed signs of misallignment.

Thoughts: Vibration not changing with rpm tells me its not a balance shaft issue with the motor, vibration stopping when clutch is depressed tells me its not the tires, no vibration during braking tells me its not rotor issues.

Can anyone advise me on what else to check to resolve the problem? Im thinking its either cv axles, motor mounts (unlikely), or hubs causing the vibration.

Please advise!!!

 

[motrmaniac]

my cars doin the same thing. i think mine is the struts they are all destroyed on my car and my driver side axle boot broke and theres no grease in it any more so im changin the axle and doin struts all around. i also just had 4 new tires mounted n balanced.

 

[ilikespeeding]

Check the lugnuts. Couldnt hurt.

 

[TunaTalon]

If the vibration is related to speed and not RPM the problem is after the transmission.
If the vibration goes away with the clutch in, it is related to the transmission of torque, not wheel balance.

Test by going on and off of the throttle (gently) at the speed where the vibration is noticeable. If the steering wheel shakes while on throttle, but not off throttle, then the problem is somewhere in the drive line. If it vibrates the same on and off of the throttle the problem is in the tires/wheels.

If the problem is with the tires/wheels the vibration will peak at some speed and decrease at higher speeds. The speed of peak vibration is where the frequency of the tire rotation is the same as the native frequency of your chassis. This is a cheap way to test the stiffness of your chassis.

 

[ilikespeeding]

I know one time I left lugs loose on my DD and it sounded just like that. Above 45, it would shake and only on throttle.

It's just not everyday that you throw balance off on axles. But yea, like tunatalon said, there's probably anothe problem.

 

[ibbobud]

Well today i jacked up the car to test for any play in the wheels, and on the drivers side i have about 1/4 inch play left to right, and it looks like the play is in the tie rod end. I have read that tie rod ends can cause that kind of vibration. also there is a small tear in the outboard cv joint on that side but not clicking.

 

[mentalTSiAWD]

Make sure you don't also have vertical movement in that wheel. It could be the hub bearing. But if you have no vertical and only lateral movement then check your tie rod ends closely both inner and outer. I just fixed both on my '97 talon.

 

[andy4g63]

It could so many things, it is hard to say. From my experience, I had to rebalance my wheels 3 times after I changed to a manual steering rack. After the 3 time, vibrations disappeared. It was just a very bad wheel balance/the first two times/. And my rims and tires were brand new.

 

[ibbobud]

from what i can tell it was all horizonal movement. no vertical at all, or at least none that i can feel. Im going to take it to the guy down the street who does alignments and have him align it and check taht tie rod end. Could the tie rod just need tightning up?

 

[TunaTalon]

When my tie rods were going south the alignment would shift from toe-in to toe-out when the steering was loaded from cornering or braking forces. It felt like I was driving on ice.

You can't go wrong by keeping the front end in alignment.

Of course with cars as old as ours there is no guarantee that there will be only one problem at a time.

 

[anteversion]

It's your worn tie rod end. making the front wheels to be out of alignment. Sometimes it can lead to worn ball joint too. check them all at both front wheels with the car on jack stand and a pry bar or something to check the loose.

 

[rodent]

Also look at the CV Shafts. When I inspected them they felt fine in the car but as soon as I took them out, you could feel the play on one. My car vibrated badly when on the throttle after 50mph. Soon as I let up or pushed the clutch in, it went away.