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Vibration

H

HoustonLX

CEG'er
Joined
Nov 9, 2007
Messages
147
Location
head out to BFE, then turn left
My car seems to have developed a vibration. I know it's driveline related as it only happens when driving. Usually start feeling it around 45 mph. It also only happens when the car is cold and goes away after about a mile of driving. It's deffinately temperature related since the colder the air temp is and the car is, the worse the vibration feels. If the air temp is in the 60's+, I almost don't feel anything. Again, even when I have the vibration, it goes away pretty quick as the car warms up driving down the road. What could this be? Car is bone stock with 73k miles.
 
does not sound like tires. he said it goes away after when car warms up after about a mile. go with tony's suggestion . my car does the same thing when cold sometimes and only at idle, almost like the flywheel is off balance but if that was the case it would do it all the time. if u fix the problem please post what it is.
 
xdetroitx said:
does not sound like tires. he said it goes away after when car warms up after about a mile. go with tony's suggestion . my car does the same thing when cold sometimes and only at idle, almost like the flywheel is off balance but if that was the case it would do it all the time. if u fix the problem please post what it is.
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The tires warm up also! When they are cold they flat spot on the bottom. Once they start to rotate they warm up and the flat spot goes away.
 
twocontours said:
The tires warm up also! When they are cold they flat spot on the bottom. Once they start to rotate they warm up and the flat spot goes away.
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Correct. But they usually don't return again after warming up. That is, the next time you start the car, that should not be an issue anymore. I had that once when I was away for 4 weeks and did not drive the car. Had a vibration and "thud, thud, thud" for about 20 minutes of driving. After that, it was gone to never return.
 
Tire pressure is fine. There were some fluctuations between them, but I topped everyone at 35 psi yesterday. This morning we had temps in the high 30's. Sure enough, still had the vibration which again went away about a mile down the road as the car started to warm up to normal operating temps. I have only had the car about 3 months. I don't recall ever feeling the problem when I first got it, but back then, the air temps were much warmer. When I first got the car, it had a slight pull to the right. I had a 4 wheel allignment done and they said the driver side rear was out of wack. They fixed that, but the car still pulled to the right. They then said the problem was one of the tires had worn incorrectly. To temporarily fix that, they simply rotated the tires. Now it drives straight and true. I suppose there could still be a problem with one of the tires. I would sure hate to have to change them as they are Pirelli's with great tread still. Even the one that is supposedly worn funny still looks great. Maybe I will have the balance checked on them and see if something is off.
 
Vibration

With the vibration occurring at a certian speed regardless of the temp would lead me to believe you have a tire balance problem. Cheap to check and is part of normal maintainence. As to the first mile of driving I think others suggesting cold tire warming up would be correct. Dan
 
i would go with all new tires and alignment. Tire balance could also be the problem as well. Just like dan said and everyone knows they are very cheap to check and will be very worth it.
 
HoustonLX said:
Tire pressure is fine. There were some fluctuations between them, but I topped everyone at 35 psi yesterday. This morning we had temps in the high 30's. Sure enough, still had the vibration which again went away about a mile down the road as the car started to warm up to normal operating temps. I have only had the car about 3 months. I don't recall ever feeling the problem when I first got it, but back then, the air temps were much warmer. When I first got the car, it had a slight pull to the right. I had a 4 wheel allignment done and they said the driver side rear was out of wack. They fixed that, but the car still pulled to the right. They then said the problem was one of the tires had worn incorrectly. To temporarily fix that, they simply rotated the tires. Now it drives straight and true. I suppose there could still be a problem with one of the tires. I would sure hate to have to change them as they are Pirelli's with great tread still. Even the one that is supposedly worn funny still looks great. Maybe I will have the balance checked on them and see if something is off.
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I suspect incorrect torque on a few of the lug nuts. That can cause all sorts of issues. Don't go spending money on tires just yet. Torque lugs to spec took care of a vibration problem on my first Contour.

I NEVER, EVER let a technician touch my lugs with an air wrench. I always INSIST on hand tightening and I watch those fuggers to make sure. They often cross thread lugs, and I've read stories on THESE BOARDS about CEGers who get shop work done & the wheel falls off because the lugs were over-tightened and snapped.
 
Like I said earlier, the vibration only lasts about one mile. After that the car purs down the highway. I am not about to go getting rid of Pirelli tires which are still in excellent condition LOL! I will retorque all the lugs and see what happens.
 
HoustonLX said:
Like I said earlier, the vibration only lasts about one mile. After that the car purs down the highway. I am not about to go getting rid of Pirelli tires which are still in excellent condition LOL! I will retorque all the lugs and see what happens.
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my car does the same thing it gets really bad then just goes away and will be fine. it does it if it sits over night..
 
To find out what it is, you could start the car and let it warm up (yeah I know that will tkae a while) and then drive it. If it still does it you will know its not related to engine temp but something to do with moving off.
 
HoustonLX said:
Like I said earlier, the vibration only lasts about one mile. After that the car purs down the highway. I am not about to go getting rid of Pirelli tires which are still in excellent condition LOL! I will retorque all the lugs and see what happens.
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in this case I think vibration can not be because of tire unbalance, or pressure, or suspension alignment because none of them disapear after one mile!
I think this could be because of engine works a little roughly and after it warms up it disapears.
do you feel vibration even when the car stops? and you run the engine?
is there any (even small) flactuation in engine rpm during vibration period?in this case it could be because of engine works roughly

if vibration come from tires and suspension you feel it just when you drive and you can feel it on steering wheel better. ( if it is from unbalanced tires you feel it on steering wheel at certain speeds).
 
Ahh Pirellis! Great tires but they have fabric belts not steel and are prone to flatspotting. Don't worry about it everything is normal.
 
i have cooper trensetters or something like that and it does the same thing i actrully drove it this time and it shakes outta no where for about a mile then just goes away like u snapped your fingers. tomorrow morning when it happens in going to slow way way down to see if slows the shaking down...
 
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