hey...ive got a '99 alty GXE with 88K on it. stock suspension, stock wheels. i had new tires put on it about a month ago. before i had the new tires put on, at speeds of 75ish+ my front end would begin to vibrate, as if the tires were not balanced or something. i also thought it was because my tires were worned. anyway..i put four new tires on, balanced and everything, and it still vibrates. any ideas? bad tie rods? bushings? what about struts? these are the factory struts which probably have about 60k+ on them b/c I used to have the car lowered with tokicos. plus my car rides rought especially over bumps. any ideas/suggestions? also, what is the life span of factory struts??? ive done the push down a couple of times on the front and see how long it takes for the car to stop moving and it stops after one push. thanks.
hey...ive got a '99 alty GXE with 88K on it. stock suspension, stock wheels. i had new tires put on it about a month ago. before i had the new tires put on, at speeds of 75ish+ my front end would begin to vibrate, as if the tires were not balanced or something. i also thought it was because my tires were worned. anyway..i put four new tires on, balanced and everything, and it still vibrates. any ideas? bad tie rods? bushings? what about struts? these are the factory struts which probably have about 60k+ on them b/c I used to have the car lowered with tokicos. plus my car rides rought especially over bumps. any ideas/suggestions? also, what is the life span of factory struts??? ive done the push down a couple of times on the front and see how long it takes for the car to stop moving and it stops after one push. thanks.
check your rims sometimes when they get balanced the weights might fall off
i bought new 17in rims and at about 55 the car would shake like crazy found out the wheels were aligh. wrong,(after paying 100 bucks to get them aligh.) weights were placed on the outside of the rim not on the inside. got it fixed and the car runs mint
check your rims sometimes when they get balanced the weights might fall off
i bought new 17in rims and at about 55 the car would shake like crazy found out the wheels were aligh. wrong,(after paying 100 bucks to get them aligh.) weights were placed on the outside of the rim not on the inside. got it fixed and the car runs mint
no noise its just a steady vibration when i get up to a little past 70mph...which gets annoying on long trips. almost like something is loose in the steering but im not sure...
the "push down" method isnt a very reliable method. instead, try visually checking each piston on your struts to see if there is any leaking or seepage around the piston where it goes into the strut body. you can also take the vehicle for a short drive and touch the body of each strut. a worn strut will be much hotter than a good one will be. not sure the exact life expectancy of a strut, but i would say that with constant driving on your average roads, 60k would probably be close to a good change out time. i would also check your tie rods, ball joints and bushings in the front end for wear. a good alignment shop can do this for you. dont get vibrations confused with alignments though, vibrations are usually the result of a bad balance or worn parts. does the vibration go away at speeds faster or slower than 75? you could have a bent rim as well if you have new tires and the problem still exists.
ok. I'm new to the whole front wheel drive thing so please correct me if i'm wrong. It sounds to me like your have a small front end alignment issue. I'm not 100% sure since my girlfriend has a 2000 Contour and at 75 she gets a small rumble too. I agree with Asleep_94_Altima though, the push down method is "ok" to some degree but really not an appropriate way of testing your struts. Definately take a few seconds to check what Asleep mentioned. If you get nothing else out of checking you at least know what kind of shape everything is in. GL with it
why did you post this question an hour after you had already posted it in another forum? if you had read your original post, i have already attempted to help you. these threads are now merged. please dont double post.
I have the same problem but my 98 SE has 130,000 miles and the struts are original. The vibration is not constant. Sometimes it goes away while running at a constant speed with cruise on. After a while it will comes back. Also, it is worse when in the inside lane of the interstate when the vehicle is leaning more to the left. The when I go back over the crown between lanes and the vehicle is more level, the vibration lessens and sometimes goes away for a short time and then comes back. Weird huh!!
At 70mph and up, when I go to neutral throttle the vibration gets worse and I can feel a mild mechanical vibration that resembles front end shimmy and I can feel a mechanical knock in the floorboard, gas pedal, and steering wheel.
I've replaced tires, rotated tires, replaced both axles, and had numerous alignments. Tie rod ends ( inner and outer ) are good, ball joints are good and the steering is tight - no pull or wander.
I can't think of anything else that would cause this vibration. The only thing that has not been replaced is the struts. Could it be the struts?
Also, I just read another thread that suggested that the control arm bushings could be worn, especially the left ones if you've ever had a power steering fluid leak. Hmm. Will have to look at that tonight when I get home.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Last edited by Trudge : Nov 21st, 2005 at 04:52 PM.
Vibration @ 75mph+
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