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Minor vibration at 70+

L

Liquid_force

CEG'er
Joined
Oct 12, 2007
Messages
148
Location
Lawrence, KS
Had the car a couple weeks now --
Originally when I got it, it had a pretty substantial front end vibration above 60.
I put a nice set of GY's on it last week, I've replaced a cv boot (and completely cleaned/lubed the joint), replaced both end links (one was broken), and replaced front rotors/pads.
The vibration's about 75% solved, but at around 70 it still vibrates slightly.

Could just be that I'm still used to the feel of my old 2.3T tbird :cry: . That car was silky smooth at 130.
 
Liquid_force said:
Had the car a couple weeks now --
Originally when I got it, it had a pretty substantial front end vibration above 60.
I put a nice set of GY's on it last week, I've replaced a cv boot (and completely cleaned/lubed the joint), replaced both end links (one was broken), and replaced front rotors/pads.
The vibration's about 75% solved, but at around 70 it still vibrates slightly.

Could just be that I'm still used to the feel of my old 2.3T tbird :cry: . That car was silky smooth at 130.
Click to expand...

Vibrations really can be a huge number of different things. Most common are Warped rotors, Unbalanced tires, or a bad alignment.

My money is on the balance, its extremely common to get a shop thats balancing machiene isnt working right and always balances a rim just barely off, it happened to me every time I went to discount tire, I would always end up fighting with them about it and they wouldnt ever do anything.

Two smaller factors are Tie rod ends and lower control arms, these wear out kind of early on contours, thankfully you can order tie rod ends for cheap at batinc.net or at autozone.

How many miles are on the car? I really want to say that its probably your tire balance, but I cant be certain.
 
My money is on the balance, its extremely common to get a shop thats balancing machiene isnt working right and always balances a rim just barely off, it happened to me every time I went to discount tire, I would always end up fighting with them about it and they wouldnt ever do anything.
Click to expand...
Sometimes, the road surface can be wavy, if it shakes wherever you try it, have the tire dealer do a "high speed" balance, try to do it to 1/8 ounce or less, and be sure the tires are running true. New tires shouldn't shake.
 
It's a nice set of Eagles - GT hr's maybe?? - done at a GY shop.
I've never had a problem with a fresh balance - even after a couple times when I've bought used tires from a cheap shop on the po' side of town. I guess it's a possibility though.

GY did tell me the alignment needed to be adjusted, but I figured I'd get the front end back in shape first then watch for an alignment special somewhere.
I just didn't think alignment was generally related to vibration. I thought that was more of a tire wear problem or pulling to one side or the other.
 
A little development in my troubleshooting process...

I went to the alignment shop -
they put it on the rack and immediately showed me a worn wheel bearing, the PS left wheel moved (12-6) quite obviously. So we decided it wouldn't be wise to have it aligned until after replacing that bearing.

I rounded up my tools and bought a bearing, but when I started the work I found that the axle nut was no where near the proper torque. It took a good revolution, maybe two to get 200ft/lb.

So I held off on my brg replacement.
Unfortunately the vibration hasn't been noticably improved.
There are no other handling issues at all - no noises in turns, and everything's great up to 65 or so.

I guess I'm still at improper balance?
 
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My situation is very close to yours. I just sold my 88 TC for my 2000 CSVT. When I first got it, the tires were pretty shot. There was a bit of a vibration, but not terrible. I got new tires, and that helped a little, but there was still something.... Then I replaced the LCAs, THEN got an alignment and now it drives perfect. It goes perfectly straight down the road and no vibrations at all.
Take from that what you want. :cool:
Erick --
 
LauraSVT said:
That's where I'd go. LCA bushings aren't shot, are they?

Was the Fox Bird your favorite car? I've always liked the Aero years very much.
Click to expand...

The bushings LOOK ok. They're cracked a little, but they're all there.

The TC...ya know - I liked that car a lot. My parents owned it from '90 with 27k, and it got handed down to me in 98/99 with 140k.
It's hard to really know how nice a car is or isn't unless you drive other stuff. The more cars I drive the more I realize those were just great driving and comfortable cars. Fast, semi-quick, excellent handling especially for a big HEAVY car, and decent mileage on top of it.

I don't DISlike the 'tour, but the bird was a different animal in about every way.
 
dlphnfn said:
Then I replaced the LCAs, THEN got an alignment and now it drives perfect. It goes perfectly straight down the road and no vibrations at all.
Take from that what you want. :cool:
Erick --
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip. I'll start with the rebalance.
Looks like about $140 for the LCA's with hardware - which seems like the smart way to go vs over $100 for the LBJ's and bushings seperately, plus a LOT of work drilling out the old BJ's.
 
It's been a while, but I finally have a follow up...

I finally got it back into GY for a balance/rotation/alignment.

The vibration hasn't been cured.

It's wierd -- I took it directly from the shop to the turnpike, which is brand new asphalt. The vibration fades in and out, it's minor, but just enough to be irritating. It will be smooth for a few seconds, fade in - last a few seconds, and fade out...
Gone at 50-60, but at 70+ it's non-stop.
WTF is going on??
If it had all kinds of problems I probably wouldn't care, but it's so close to "right" this is eating at me.

I guess I'm back to LCA issues. BJ's and/or bushings? Can I do some wiggle tests to diagnose?
 
Liquid_force said:
It's been a while, but I finally have a follow up...

I finally got it back into GY for a balance/rotation/alignment.

The vibration hasn't been cured.

It's wierd -- I took it directly from the shop to the turnpike, which is brand new asphalt. The vibration fades in and out, it's minor, but just enough to be irritating. It will be smooth for a few seconds, fade in - last a few seconds, and fade out...
Gone at 50-60, but at 70+ it's non-stop.
WTF is going on??
If it had all kinds of problems I probably wouldn't care, but it's so close to "right" this is eating at me.

I guess I'm back to LCA issues. BJ's and/or bushings? Can I do some wiggle tests to diagnose?
Click to expand...

The o'clock test that Tony advocates would be one place to start. If you end up doing LCAs, your busings and ball joints are included, so if that's your problem, fixing it will be one stop shopping.
 
it is somewhat true. i just ordered a rear roll resistor (transmission mount might help) cause the one on my car is shot. i have been experiencing this vibration you speak of in my car as well. right about 70 mph it will start vibrating and at about 80 it stops. i drove from KS to IL with it and it didnt change which if it were a wheel bearing it would have over a 900 mile trip. does your car buck when you let off the throttle? accelerating hard? these are some of the symptoms i have maybe they will help. i have a vibration under mid to heavy acceleration but i believe that is just worn struts combined with the bad roll resistor.

good luck.
 
95pgt-t said:
what:shrug: you didn't know..?? roll resistors are the answer for everything thats wrong w/this car:laugh:
Click to expand...

uhh :confused:
I've never heard of a "roll resistor", and I've been dabbling in auto repair/maintenance/mod for 6-8 yrs.

roll resistor = transmission mount??
Hmm, learn something every day :)
 
Its one of the weird terms I just learned from these cars too. I'm used to having three "motor" mounts and a tranny mount in the back.
 
Good advice have been given in previous posts.

I will add my experience with steering wheel vibration. 55-70 or so. Changed front struts and springs to no avail. Finally, changed rear struts and springs (after numerous balancing and maybe one alignment?) and it has been smooth since then. Note that the struts and springs looked and tested (using the push down and let go test) fine. The struts and springs were more than 10 years old.

How old are your struts and springs?
 
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