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55mph - 65mph shake

kidSVT

CEG'er
Joined
Aug 29, 2006
Messages
347
Location
stewartstown, PA
I took my '00 SVT contour across country this summer ( I actually just got back a few hours ago), and sometime between our stop in Colorado and California, I noticed that the car would shake/vibrate in 4th gear. But further observation told me that it would shake between 55mph - 65 mph, it didn't matter what gear.

I thought it may have been because of all the stuff I was hauling, but after we unloaded in CA, the shake was still there.. any thoughts?

Also, after driving 6000 miles in a week, is there anything that could be wrong with the engine, that I should look into fixing/replacing?

Thanks!
 
  • inspect tires for uneven wear, inner edge wear, wear that is more aggressive on one tire versus the others.. etc
  • rotate your tires..
if radials treads, swap fronts to rears on the same side, and rears to fronts (but go to the opposite side)
if directional tires, then swap rears to fronts on the same side and fronts to rears on the same side as well.

  • see if your shake improves or moves.
  • balance your tires
 
If it came on suddenly it could be a ruptured belt in one of the tires. You can sometimes feel it if you run your hand around the sidewall. Can be caused by hitting a pothole.
 
yea, that could be a problem. Check the sidewalls for bulges, otherwise i still think that the wheel(s) are out of balance since it is speed related.

I agree, sometimes when you get your wheels balanced the weight isnt properly pinched onto the wheel, and something small can easily knock it off, might be a puddle, might be a little rock in the road. I think they are just out of balance, its nothing serious.
 
same thing, i took a mechanics course and was told when its not balanced properly its always tryin to find its center line and it goes left and right, and u get a wobble on the car, got to get the terms properly, but deff sounds like the balance, im sure any tyre place will rebalance yur car for free or for a very small fee, but id get them done before u mess the tyre up or wear something else...
 
  • inspect tires for uneven wear, inner edge wear, wear that is more aggressive on one tire versus the others.. etc
  • rotate your tires..
if radials treads, swap fronts to rears on the same side, and rears to fronts (but go to the opposite side)
if directional tires, then swap rears to fronts on the same side and fronts to rears on the same side as well.
  • see if your shake improves or moves.
  • balance your tires
I second this. My tires have a toe out problem and as the wear gets worse the wobbling gets worse. I need new tires bad :laugh:
 
If you have tried all the suggestions and the problem is still there, change your struts and springs if it is more than 10 years old. I had a bad vibration from 55 to 70 MPH until I changed the rear struts and springs.
 
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