Any time the car goes over about 55 mph, the front end begins to shake and vibrate violently. At lower speeds the steering wheel vibrates, but it's still driveable.

Is this just an alignment issue, or what? I checked the tire pressure and made sure all the wheel lugs are tight, and everything was fine.

 

have your wheels balanced

 

Sounds like a bad tire. Put it in the air and check the tires for lumps.

oh BTW vibrations are never alignment issues. Pulls or tire wear are. People need to understand that alignments aren't the miracle cure for everything.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MENACE &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">oh BTW vibrations are never alignment issues. Pulls or tire wear are. People need to understand that alignments aren't the miracle cure for everything. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Damn, that would make it easy... heh. It needs an alignment anyway, since it pulls right.

But I'll check the tires.

 

Sounds like a tire problem, if the steering wheel is wobbling at low speeds its more than likely a tire problem

 

Pull With a Vibration, Is a bad tire 9 times out of 10. Sometimes you can have a tire that is out of balance, and mabye some negative castor. But normally its the tires. you might not beable to see the defect in the tires. Most of the time you can but sometimes yoyu cant. if you cant, Just swap the front 2 tires and see if it goes the other way, Thats how i do it at work.


<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by FBS &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Damn, that would make it easy... heh. It needs an alignment anyway, since it pulls right.

But I'll check the tires.</TD></TR></TABLE>
I concur.

 

do u have any tire wear cause if u don't and it pulls its caster and alignment will not fix that the only thing alignment will cure is on a stock crx is toe in or out

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SFlCrx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">do u have any tire wear cause if u don't and it pulls its caster and alignment will not fix that the only thing alignment will cure is on a stock crx is toe in or out </TD></TR></TABLE>

Rear toe, can cause the car to Dirft, and sometimes feel like a pull. If a tire wont fix it, Get a alignment, the technicain should check to make sure the car is tight anyways, and they have to drive it to see if it does in fact pull or is if drifts, or follows the crown in the road. And check for vibrations. Doing all this is something any good shop should check for, and it will help them figure out the problem. Some places, will just set the toe and send it out. So make sure you tell them the problem, and make sure they test drive the car. If they dont, Take it somewere else.

 

try rotating the tires first to see if the vibration in teh wheels goes away if it does you know you need tires if the vibration is still hard in the wheel you know you need something else

 

We had the same problem in a subaru and it ended up being a bump on the tire.

 

Also, take the time to check out your tie rods. I had the same problem on the highway with my CRX. I began to get tire wobble and heard strange rattling sounds. Come to find out, my tie rod bushing were shot. They won't be able to give you a proper alignment without your tie rods in good shape.

 

Vibrations can be HORRIBLE problems to deal with. The reason? They can have so many causes. Causes of vibrations include:

1. Wheel(s) out of balance
2. Bad tires (cupped, bulges, etc)
3. Bent rim
4. Worn balljoints, tie rod ends, or steering rack bushings
5. Bad axle
6. Bad or loose wheel bearing
7. Bent hub
8. Worn or deteriorated bushing(s)
9. Improper alignment
10. Warped brake rotor (usually severely so)

Also keep in mind that your vibration can be caused by SEVERAL of these issues simultaneously. For instance, a moderate, sustained vibration from, say, a worn steering rack end bushing can cause wheels to throw their balance weights, increasing the problem. This can then cause further vbration-induced wear. Problems such as these are particularly of concern on older cars (such as CRXs), which may have age-related wear or damage in several of the above places. As was the case with my vibration problem, you could very well find yourself addressing alot of these issues, with the problem going away little by little as they are addressed.

 

my friend drove his rex without the front crossmember b/c he was in the middle of replacing it with a traction bar and said that the car shook like crazy when he drove over 35 mph.

 

maybe it could be intermediate shaft thats what happened with mine also got new springs and shocks/stryts, and it went away

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by StorminMatt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Vibrations can be HORRIBLE problems to deal with. The reason? They can have so many causes. Causes of vibrations include:

1. Wheel(s) out of balance
2. Bad tires (cupped, bulges, etc)
3. Bent rim
4. Worn balljoints, tie rod ends, or steering rack bushings
5. Bad axle
6. Bad or loose wheel bearing
7. Bent hub
8. Worn or deteriorated bushing(s)
9. Improper alignment
10. Warped brake rotor (usually severely so)

</TD></TR></TABLE>

11. loose lugnuts

^^also, the easiest to fix and check.

 

Theres a general rule that applys the everything, K.I.S.S Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Most of you are thinking to hard, Check the stuff that is normally the problem. Im 99% sure its a tire. Im a mechanic i do this for a living. While alot of other things can cause a vibration, the fact that it does it at a low speed, Indicates its a tire, or even a bent rim. Whatever the case it will more than likey be visable.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by StorminMatt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Vibrations can be HORRIBLE problems to deal with. The reason? They can have so many causes. Causes of vibrations include:

1. Wheel(s) out of balance
2. Bad tires (cupped, bulges, etc)
3. Bent rim
4. Worn balljoints, tie rod ends, or steering rack bushings
5. Bad axle
6. Bad or loose wheel bearing
7. Bent hub
8. Worn or deteriorated bushing(s)
9. Improper alignment
10. Warped brake rotor (usually severely so)

</TD></TR></TABLE>

this should be stickied..

 

I had this issue and i checked those basics and then checked the tie rod and it wasn't fully tight. tighten that up and the bad vibration at freeway speed or heavy accel went away.

 

another item not on that list is a steering rack end bushing. i think the vibration from that is more noticeable under deceleration, but that would be something to look into also, and its a $10 part.