masospaghetti

I know normally high speed vibrations/shimmies are caused by wheels and tires (unbalanced/bent wheels or bad tires).

I have a speed-dependent vibration at highway speeds that persists between two different sets of wheels and tires. Both sets of tires were purchased new. One set of wheels is OE, the other is from an Acura TL with the same hub size and bolt pattern. I've tried switching tires front to back with no change. Vibration is felt more through the steering wheel.

I've visually looked at the wheels and there's no obvious bends in them. My OE wheels and tires were road forced balanced by Honda, the other set was a standard balancing job by AAA. In other words, I have a hard time believing that the vibration is caused by the wheels OR tires at this point.

I've also had the brake rotors replaced with no change with pricey Napa "professional" series rotors but I did notice the disc runout on both front rotors is about 0.010", not sure if that's enough to make a difference. I suppose a bad batch of rotor blanks from The China Factory could have made its way into both sets of rotors I've tried (since all of our rotors probably come from the same factory, regardless of brand) but I find this to be fairly unlikely. The rotors claimed to be mill-balanced but I don't see any machining marks on them.

The only other parts of the rotating assembly are the wheel hubs and bearings (which typically show up as low speed grinding/noise) and the CV axles, which are Raxles purchased new a couple years ago. The jackshaft has been swapped out with no change.

The transmission has been swapped out with an identical unit with no change in vibrations (leading me to believe its not the transmission, either).

TL;DR. Any suggestions at this point would be very helpful. I'm tempted to try another set of brake rotors and upgrading to the wagon rotors in the process but I hate throwing money at a problem. Maybe I got REALLY unlucky and have two sets of bent rims...

MAD_MIKE

Front wheel bearings on the 90-97s don't really get loud.
At best they may sound like you are driving on sand, but the noise is so subtle you will usually only notice it after the bearings have been changed.

A quick/easy way to dertermine if the bearings are worn is to loosen and retighten the CV axle nut and go for a drive. If the noise changes or the vibration changes then it is most likely the culprit.

If the bearings have ~100K miles on them I'd recommend changing them out.

masospaghetti

Thanks Mike...so could bearings cause a vibration like this?

MAD_MIKE

Although your rotor runout is high, you can feel .0005"(.001" would be bothersome I don't know how you drive with .01"), this would only cause problems when you are braking. It should not cause a judder just while driving.

If there was enough tolerance at a given frequency may exhibit itself as a vibration.
Check other components as well, tie rods and ball joints for excessive slack.

Just because it is new does not always mean it was made correctly.

Easiest/Cheapest/Fastest thing to do would be to retorque the CV axle stub nut. If there is a marked improvement, and the nut moved past where it was before, then the bearing is probably in need of replacement.

masospaghetti

Sorry my mistake, you're right, it was 0.001" runout not 0.010". This is measured from the outer diameter of the rotor near the cooling vanes. There is no pedal pulsation when braking.

It seems the aftermarket parts quality for Hondas is is especially bad, I've never had to deal with so many "new bad" parts.

masospaghetti

Is it conceivable that improper alignment (toe) would cause a shake? The car tracks straight but I aligned it myself using a hand tool instead of a computerized alignment.

I've been researching this but getting no consensus.

fcm

As mentioned, check the bearings and have a proper wheel alignment done.

I would also check the shocks, I had a bad vibration at about 100kmh and replaced the tiers had them balanced twice to no effect, changed the shocks and it is smooth as silk now. 94

holmesnmanny

It's possible for inner tie-rods to be bad and the excessive play could cause vibrations. Normally this would translate into eating up tires 'though. You could also change out the stabilizer bar bushings.

Also, it could need a steering rack tightening.
https://honda-tech.com/acura-integra...r-did-2572614/

Fitz Williams

iTrader: (1)

I have the same problems as described, but I will add that it has persisted across 4 sets of tires and rims (latest being Enkei), two sets of new bearings (all Timkin), many sets of rotors (all Centric). I sincerely hope you find the cause of the vibration because I am at a loss. And the vibration is definitely speed related because there is no vibration under 60 or above 70.

masospaghetti

Wouldn't slop in the steering rack/tie rod ends show up as steering play at low speed, too?

The rack was rebuilt recently by Detroit Axle although, admittedly, the worksmanship is questionable.

GhostAccord

I had a worn upper ball joint cause vibration only at speed. I wasn't able to tell it was worn any other way. it didn't clunk or rattle at lower speeds or hitting bumps and no noticeable play when unloaded. It was a weird one! Check that your upper control arms and ball joints are tight!

masospaghetti

That is weird, how did you find out about it?

GhostAccord

I took it in for an alignment and the tech told me that there was a slight amount of play in the upper arm/ball joint. I would assume it was the machine that allowed him to notice it.

tamboo

when i had this issue i checked all the usual suspects.
drove me nuts for months. check your motor mounts,
esp. front lower torque mounts. filled them with dow window weld
and all's good.

GhostAccord

Cold be mounts. However, if your engine is shaking noticeably at cruising speeds. I would look into it a bit further than just the mounts. Could be a balance issue.

I'm sorry if I missed this info already mentioned in your post. But, where do you feel the shake? In the steering wheel or your seat?

masospaghetti

I feel it more in the steering wheel which leads me to believe its in the front. I tried running the car up to speed with the front on jackstands (this may or may not be a good idea, but I did it anyway) with the wheels off. The vibration at speed was obvious. I don't think its a motor related issue since its only speed related, not RPM related. I've taken it out of gear at speed and the vibration doesn't go away.

Another piece of the puzzle: my previous 93 accord that I totalled had the same exact issue. I reused some of the parts when I rebuilt my 92, so my guess is that one of the common parts is causing the problem.

The pieces left that are common are the upper control arms, lower control arms, wheel bearings, hubs, tie rod ends and steering rack, and CV axles. With the exception of wheel bearings and hubs, all of the parts were replaced within the past two years.

I guess if a worn ball joint can cause this, ANYTHING in the suspension will a bit of play can cause it.

GhostAccord

An out of balance CV joint or axle could definitely cause this. If you had the issue in a previous chassis and moved parts to this one. I would closer at those parts.

masospaghetti

Just an update. Took the front end apart. The driver's wheel bearing is questionable, going to replace it with a Dura International hub and a Timken bearing and run it to speed.