I just got back from a trip to vermont and i was driving along at about 70-80mph and suddenly i got a pretty servere wheel shimmy (about an inch side to side on the steering wheel)

Well i pulled over and check my lugnuts and for any bends in the rims i even jacked it up and checked my axle nuts and for side to side and up and down play at the hub assembly Everything was fine.

I pulled back onto the highway and got up to around the same speed and the shimmy was gone. I traveled for about 1-2 hours on the highway at consatnt speed and the shimmy came back. I put the car into nuetral and other gears and the shimmy stayed. i also notice the car wanted to build boost at partial throttle as if it was under heavy load.

Note: I never beat on my car and the most boost i seen on the trip was 3-4psi as the car is untuned on stock injectors and ecu currently

I pulled over and re-checked everything I pulled back on and once again it was gone

This happen the whole way home about every hour or so for 4 hours each time i just pulled over came to complete stop and got back on the road

I havent checked the car out since i got home i am gonna get under it soon.

I am thinking at worse maybe the LSD is bad or maybe just the diff bearings.

I did notice minor axle play at the base of the tranny but never notice if they where rock solid before. I purcahse the car new and the axles have been out numourous times so they are not factory sealed

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appericated

SORRY SO LONG





Modified by NeXtLeVeL_TyPe_R at 9:00 PM 8/29/2005

 

Hmmm ... got me puzzled.

If the lug nuts are all tight like you say, the only thing that really comes to mind would be the axles.

Maybe check to make sure the axle nuts and cotter pins are secure as well.

Good luck with it all.


Modified by zygspeed at 9:15 PM 8/29/2005

 

more like

 

The axle nuts are definitly tight. What bugs me out is that most of the common causes of a wheel shimmy in my expericenes would not go away and come back.
If a wheel is bent it would stay bent or if the wheel bearing had play it wouldnt go away till replaced. Also something like an out of balance wheel wouldnt go in and out of balance. I could be wrong, but u hear what i am saying right

I dunno its just real frustrating

 

I would say that you have a bad tire, probobly a shifted belt and you should be extremely careful.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BRICKHEAD &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I would say that you have a bad tire, probobly a shifted belt and you should be extremely careful. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Yea, That would be a problem that can come and go?
Also i have falken avenis to your knowledge are those steel belted? I would think so but i dont know for sure

 

ps 3-4 psi on stock injectors and ecu is a very very bad idea.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Dr Pooface &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ps 3-4 psi on stock injectors and ecu is a very very bad idea.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Is it fast though?

That is totally messed up. Any weird pulsing on the brake pedal?

 

Sometimes a few MPH one way or the other makes a difference.
If all else is looking OK then I'd suggest getting your tires/wheels re-balanced. Helped me now and then.

The odd or interesting thing is that my SSRs all have different and increasing weights on them ranging from about 1/8th of an ounce to almost 2 1/4 oz, with moth the previous 032Rs which were mounted and balanced by the Tire Rack and then the Present Dunlop D01Js which were mounted and balanced by NTB. Neither have given me any vibration problems and I made sure to remove ALL the inside/stickie weights before having NTB mount the present Dunlops.

That being said, I have had "balancing" problems at about 75 or so MPH in my CRX before, with some not so well known tires ....

The hint here is to see if the problem varies much with speed.

 

Shimmy coming and going? That's wierd. I've had my share of shaking problems and it's usually:

- aftermarked wheel off-center (need hub rings)
- bad tire
- bent rim
- balance
- warped rotors
- loose ball joints make the symptoms worse


And yes, a few mph here or there will make a difference, it's all about resonance.

 

I had the same problem once with my 3/4 ton truck (listed in sig). We were on a hunting trip to Colorado in the early '90's and it started doing the same thing. Then it worsened to a severe pull. It was a seperated belt in the tire 35x12.5x16.5 BFG AT. New Tires fixed it. Good luck.

 

OK to update. I just finished a 03 CRV tranny at work today and i checked the axle play and it is the same as mine, minor at the base. Thats also happens to be a brand new trans from honda not a reman (CRVS havent gone bad that much).

So even though i aint ruling out tranny problems thats a slight relief

As far as the problem changing with speed no it does not at all

Also i am thinking if its a bad belt in the tire the problem would happen all the time, Once the belt is off its off. I am gonna rotate the tires anyway

I dunno real wierd i am gonna make a trip to south jersey this weekend so i will see what happens after driving on the highway at steady speeds since i cant duplicate the problem driving around the city

Well anyway thanks for the suggestions i will look into them all

 

By the way anyone know where i can get rota center caps? mine feel off assumingly from the vibration

 

I would say that its the balance of your tires. Re-balance and see if goes.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by NeXtLeVeL_TyPe_R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">By the way anyone know where i can get rota center caps? mine feel off assumingly from the vibration</TD></TR></TABLE>

My buddy has some nippon caps.....

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ericlee303 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I've had my share of shaking problems and it's usually:

- aftermarked wheel off-center (need hub rings)
- bad tire
- bent rim
- balance
- warped rotors
- loose ball joints make the symptoms worse</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's good advice.

Do you still have your original stock wheels/tires, or another set of wheels/tires that you can use? If so, then swap them on for your trip to South Jersey. That way, based on whether or not it happens on your trip, you will know whether it is something having to do with the wheels or tires, or something having to do with the rest of the car.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxtasy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Do you still have your original stock wheels/tires, or another set of wheels/tires that you can use? If so, then swap them on for your trip to South Jersey. That way, based on whether or not it happens on your trip, you will know whether it is something having to do with the wheels or tires, or something having to do with the rest of the car.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

I dont have my stocks but maybe i'll just rotate the tires front to back so That should get the same desired result

 

Try to weed out the simple stuff first... Tires/Wheel balance, etc.. then check the torque on your 32mm wheel nut. It's common for the driver's side to loosen up over time, and eventually this helps in wearing out the wheel bearing prematurely. If not caught soon it could get so bad that it could ruin the Hub assembly. Most of the time you will not be able to feel slack in the bearing before it's long gone. I had mine go during a race, and it was noticable only everytime I came through a particular section of the track... telling me that you may or may not feel the shimmy, vibration, or hear anything, unless the wheel is at a very specific angle or under a very specific load. Don't just check for slack in the assembly by grabbing the wheel/Tire. Check your torque on the nut and then, if loose at all, I would pull the whole assembly and check the bearing/assembly for wear.
Here's a link to bearing replacement instructions.. by the great Willard:
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=720159
Good Luck.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by XR4racer &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">check the torque on your 32mm wheel nut.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Not a bad idea. Just make sure you have a torque wrench that goes that high, as that nut requires more torque than many general-purpose torque wrenches go.

You can also check the axle nut visually, as described in this topic (scroll down to post #32 for photos).

 

I will check that, I have a torque wrench that goes up that high I have plenty of tools I actually work as a B tech in a honda dealership. I know guys are gonna rag on me for asking for advice but no one knows everything and two heads r always better then one. I learn new stuff every day, theres things my forman dont know that i know and vice versa. I have never seen and intermittant problem like this. I have diagnosed plenty of wheel bearing and hub assemblies and ball joints and never had one that came and went.
Well anyway Thanks for the suggestions i will double check the torque cause i know i was lazy and ran it on with the gun

 

I just noticed your (turbo) sig... maybe your axles have some bad mojo. They're not that expensive anyway..

 

We're you on grooved pavement? Thats caught me off gaurd a couple of times and made me skeptical...

 

I agree with XR4Racer (great thread by the way). Sounds like the bearings are getting to hot after 3-4 hours at highway speeds.
Good luck on the trip to Jersey. Try driving at a slower speed for one segment of the trip to see if it happens.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by C-speed Ricer &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">We're you on grooved pavement? Thats caught me off gaurd a couple of times and made me skeptical...</TD></TR></TABLE>

Good question!