Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Shaking in the Front End

This evening I was driving on the highway, when I got off and turned onto a side street I noticed a wobble in the front end. I let off the gas and wobble stopped. When I touched the gas again the wobble came back. As the speed went up the wobble was increased as well. My friend that was in the car said it was the Tie Rod Ends. So in the closest parking lot we raised the front of the car. He grabbed the wheel -left and right side- and could not tell if there was any play. That would say it was not the Tie Rods right?

We had to get home so we dropped the car and proceeded onto the highway. Heavy wobble while baby shifting the car all the way into 5th. At 55 mph very lightly hitting the gas there was a slight wobble. If you got on it the feeling increased once again but not as bad as at lower speeds.

Got the car home and lifted the front up again used jack stands, blocked the back end, pulled E-brake and started engine. With the front end raised put car in first and released clutch slowly. Wheels were turning but were not wobbling. After a quick prayer.... got infront and looked with a flash light at axle... driver side was rotating smoothly.... passenger side rotating with alittle shaking... IS THAT NORMAL ???

I could not see a large difference but it was definently not smooth.

Did notice that inside of tires were BALD. Due to springs.

Helpfull info:
Intrax Springs
-No Camber kit-
-Stock Struts-
225/50/16 as far as the rubber goes.


I dont understand how this cam happen. I did not hit anything and was driving alittle faster than normal on highway but nothing that an average car could not catch.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE..
YOUR THOUGHTS ARE APPRECIATED..

Mario

It sounds like you either overtaxed your bearings or unevenly wore your tires out with the poor camber your car is running on those springs. Check the tires for cupping especially around the bald spots. Uneven tire wear can also cause the wheel balance to be thrown off a bit, but if that is the case, dont balance the bald wheels. If this is not the problem, have the bearings, CV shaft assemblies and alignment all checked out and replace those bald tires. They sound like they have seen better days and could be part of the cause for the shakiness no matter what. But the CV shaft wobble is definitely not normal. If it is shaking even a bit, that's a sign to get it checked out. No matter what, replace the bald tires and get the car properly aligned. Let us know how it goes.

Just looked at my neibors Contour. Axel does the same thing on the passenger side. Note: He does not have a wobble while accelerating.
I have read alot of threads about CV Joints, and there is some play in the wheels with car raised in front. But not like people were describing. Maybe 1.5 inches of movement. Could that still be the problem. Is there another way to check the CV joints.

Thanks again

Mario

With the steering wheel locked and front end raised up off the ground, there should not be hardly ANY free play in the wheels when they are moved up and down or side to side. Most likely cause if you get free play in all directions in one wheel is the bearings. If it were only side to side I would say look at the tie rod ends, but it sounds to me more like bearings. 1.5 inches sounds like an excessive amount of play, and is definitely enough to create that wobble you describe.

The play is when the wheel is locked, front end up and trying to rotate the passenger wheel clockwise. I am able to rotate it 1.5 inches roughly before you hear that -clunk- and the other wheel spins the opposite way. And vise-versa. Happly there is no other movement any other way thank God. Thanks to you FenderMan, I will investagate the CV Joints more in the morning and keep the bearings in the back of my mind.

No pun intended ...



Thank you for your input it is greatly appreciated... At least I have an idea now. Going to sleep will be much easier now. Tomarrow I will find out more and post my news.

Have a good night.

Hmmmm... ok, well I thought you meant 1.5 inches of play while trying to physically wobble the wheel. I am not sure how the Contour behaves but I think that as far as directional rotation the slack before transmission engagement is normal. For this kind of thing and without being able to physically look at the car, I would have to say take it to a shop and see what they tell you. That way they can put it on the lift and look at the wheels from front to back while they are being rotated to see if the tread is cupped, etc.

Anyways, do let us know what you find. I'm sorry I wasn't able to pinpoint it exactly but like I said without seeing the car firsthand it's a bit tough.

Well, I believe that amount of rotational play is normal, as mine, 97 tour sport w/ v6 & 5-speed, has the same play from the 1st day since 4 years ago, and it has been running perfectly. I guess such rotational play is from the differential.

You canâ??t troubleshoot CV joints with the car in the air.

The best way to check inner and outer tie rods is to put the car on ramps, climb under and have an assistant â??rock the steering wheel back and fourth (just enough to take up the play, you are not turning the wheel). While doing this grab the tie rods a feel for movement. Donâ??t for get the inner rods under the bellows.

Check the ball joints and lower arm bushing with the car in the air, Pull the top, bottom and front/rear of the tire and look for play in these joints.

Unless a bearing is falling apart you wonâ??t be able to see or feel a problem. You need to check the with a dial indicator. And sometimes even that will miss a noisy one.

Motor mounts, CV joints and tires can cause your problem. Do the physical checks of the front end (ball joints bushings and tie rods) first. If all looks good, swap tires front to rear, if the problem goes away get new tires.

jeff

Well I took the car to an allignment shop and they told me that I had a bent rim. They could not find anything else wrong with the car. I told him that I dont understand how the car can wobble only under acceleration and when I go 55 mph and put the car int neutral the car is smooth as heck. He kind of shrugged his shoulders. That made me feel very confident in his decision.

While I was there I purchased some -NEW- used tires. I have to fix that camber problem. Do allignments take care of that or do I need to get a camber kit?

Alignments should cover everything... camber, caster, and toe-in. It may cost a bit in parts to do your car, but if it hasn't been severely wrecked, it is possible to get everything re-aligned. Tires that wear only on the inside get hotter and are more prone to blowouts.

Also there is nothing wrong with a second opinion on your car. If you feel the mechanic gave you a bad diagnosis, take it somewhere else and see what they say. There is no harm in making absolutely sure you fix the problem the first time.