car help

weaselnoze · March 16, 2006, 07:59:14 PM

shuddering.. omg its so annoying. i know my way around a car (pretty much), but i know next to nothing when it comes to suspension diagnosis. i recently had new tires put on and i asked the guy if the front tires were worn unevenly. he said just a lil but not bad. my car doesnt pull to the left or the right. drives quite smoothly until i hit 80ish and then it just shudders till about 90mph. where do i begin? i might add that the rear suspension creaks pretty badly when i hit bumps or corner hard. new shocks? could this be related?

makenzie71 · March 16, 2006, 08:08:20 PM

Does the rear shudder or the front? If it's the front you feel it in the steering wheel.

And no, old noises from the suspension are not typically related to new problems. Creaks in the suspension are usually worn bushings and aren't anything but an audiable annoyance. If your shocks or struts were blown they'd be essentially noiseless...but they'd bounce a whole lot.

What kind of car?

annguyen1981 · March 16, 2006, 08:17:51 PM

Does your car act strange when you pound the brake hard, like veering to one side?

makenzie71 · March 16, 2006, 08:19:48 PM

That'd be a caliper or hydrolic problem. Only brake related issue that wouldn't be blatently obvious is a warped or cracked rotor.

The likely culprit is an imbalance.

makenzie71 · March 16, 2006, 08:25:39 PM

Weasel, I'm stepping out so I won't be able to come back with specifics for a bit so I'll suggest that you get your wheels balanced. Tell them where you're feeling the vibs and they'll get you hooked up. When you're driving, if you feel the shudder directly in your steering wheel then a front wheel is your culprit and just have them balanced. If you feel the vibes all over the car then it's a rear and just have them balanced.

weaselnoze · March 16, 2006, 08:29:16 PM

now shouldnt the wheels have been balanced when the new tires were put on? i think they even rotated my wheels around. im not sure tho.. i feel it in the steering wheel but cant be certain if its the whole car.

makenzie71 · March 16, 2006, 09:24:44 PM

If the steering wheel is vibrating then it's the front wheels. The whole car will still vibrate, but if a rear wheel is the culprit the steering wheel will be smooth as silk. Odd, huh?

Yeah they should have balanced them first thing, and I'm not one to say they didn't, but it needs to be done again. Any number of things can cause a sudden imbalance...while I had snow tires on my 328 a truck tried to occupy the same space as me, briefly locking the front carved a nice flat spot. You may have also thrown a weight or they may not have balanced to that high of speed (some joints don't...ask).

weaselnoze · March 17, 2006, 04:49:20 AM

sorry but i may have forgot to mention that this wasnt a sudden thing. its been around for awhile

Stephen072774 · March 17, 2006, 07:01:20 AM

get your front end aligned...

makenzie71 · March 17, 2006, 11:49:11 AM

Pre-existance is mostly irrellevent. Tires, for the most part, are already balanced and ready to roll. Rims are suseptible to wear over time and are usually the culprit.

Jake D · March 17, 2006, 12:20:13 PM

I've seen that exact symptom before and it turned out to be worn out ball joints.

With the car parked, check out the tie rod. Does it feel loose? Watch the pitman arm, drag link (if there is one), and tie rod while someone slowly turns the steering wheel.

That's all I got. And it could be a balancing issue with your tires.

makenzie71 · March 17, 2006, 12:22:16 PM

ball joints and worn suspension will cause vibration and noise not specific to RPM or moving speed. Something as localized as "between 80 and 90mph" will almost certainly be specific to rotating mass.

Jake D · March 17, 2006, 12:24:26 PM

You're wrong. You see, that's not true in every case.

Again, I've seen this symptom and I had a mechanic find the problem and fix it.

makenzie71 · March 17, 2006, 12:29:47 PM

How could worn suspension cause this? Actually think about it; It would cause noise and vibration all over the band, especially with any introduced variation in road or manuevering. It wouldn't be specific to any speed or RPM. This might be somethign you look at if the car vibrated noisily on rough terain or while making turns. It would also be VERY noticeable in the steering wheel (odds are against him having a shock suspension up front).

You may have had a mechanic fix something like this once. I fix stuff like this all the time.

Jake D · March 17, 2006, 12:51:25 PM

Huh.
I would have agreed with you if I hadn't see it with my own two eyes. A slight imbalance in the tires caused a magnification of the linkage slop at speed. What my brother and I thought was tires out of balance turned out to be a precursor to a much greater problem (we rebuilt a '68 Chevy truck together). But if you feel comfortable ruling that possible cause out from 1800 miles away with even a photograph or even knowing what kind of car it is, then I guess I'm cool with that too.

coll0412 · March 17, 2006, 03:01:59 PM

Yikes.....you guys are going at it....

Lets wait and see what kind of car he is rolling, because it can also be bad bearings, your get a little slop in them, hit the resonance frequency with a slightly out of balance wheel and it feels like the car is going to fall apart.

Could be a tie-rod also, i have had the same expeireince where it was fine at low speeds, got worse as I approached 70, then as I went faster than 70 it went away.

I would recomend jacking up the car, pull on the top of the tire, and push on the bottom, if you feel play it is probably your bearings.

Do this to the right and left side of the tire, if you feel some slop then it is a steering system component, like a inner or outer tie-rod

weaselnoze · March 17, 2006, 03:55:53 PM

guys guys, please no fighting lol. so i swung by the place where i had my tires put on and the guy took it out. legally he cant take it over 60mph. he said he felt nothing but that they would rebalance the wheels. they only balance them to 70mph. when he came back he said that my wheels were ovaled. makes sense to me. i've hit a lot of shaZam! during the time ive owned the car. he put new weights on to counterbalance the imperfection. drives smooth as butter now

thanks guys for fighting over me hehe

oramac · March 17, 2006, 11:08:41 PM

It could be a ball joint, but that is usually accompanied by popping sounds up front... he doesn't mention any, just creaking in the back which is probably springs. Up front I'm voting for warped rotors. Do any frequent hard braking? I know with my Camaro, they are notorious for warped rotors up front. They heat up and warp. If you are unsure, take it to a mechanic to look at. Better to be safe than sorry!!

OH!!! Ever hit a curb? Could be a slightly bent rim too... I've had that problem as well.

makenzie71 · March 18, 2006, 01:03:21 AM

Quote from: Jake D on March 17, 2006, 12:51:25 PM
Huh.
I would have agreed with you if I hadn't see it with my own two eyes.

Unfortunately, in order for me to believe that suspension slop can maintain a specific frequency, I'll have to see it as well.

Guys, don't get us wrong, there's no argument here...just people seeking to extend their knowledge. Glad you got her figured out, Weasel!

News:

car help