Long story short I've been having a vibration issue and a noise coming from the front end of the car. Replaced wheel bearings last weekend and tightened upper A arm bolts (they were loose). I still get the vibration after extended periods of driving. It gets worse under braking conditions. Usually happens during the day and hardly ever at night.

Things I know to be good

-Wheel bearings
-Torque on wheels
-Wheel Balance
-Tire Pressure

Needed to check

-Alignment
-Possible axle issue
-Traction bar issue
-Aftermarket suspension components

Any other ideas what might be causing it? I'm pretty sure my braking system is good. If my rotors were warped, the issue wouldn't happen just some of the time. Thanks for imput.


Modified by HeikDiesel at 12:38 PM 8/26/2008


Modified by HeikDiesel at 8:53 AM 8/27/2008

 

Is it a fast vibration, or a slow pulse similar to what happens with warped rotors?

 

Very quick through the steering wheel while driving and is overcome by a slower wobble when brakes are applied

 

tie rods? Jack the car up and have someone turn the steering back and forth while you look for any play in any of the steering parts. My tie rods are shot and they vibrate the steering back and forth going over small bumps in the road

Now that I think about it, it doesn't sound like steering issues, but maybe your axles. Do you hear a clunking noise when turning sharp?

 

I had the same problem on my EG. Replaced rotors, wheel bearings, upper and lower ball joints, tie rod ends, axles, tried different sets of wheels and made sure the universal joint at the bottom of the steering column was tight. No change.

That left either worn rack bushings or a worn rack and/or pinion gear. If you do a search for rack bushing replacement, you'll find similar symptoms to what you've got. I sold the car before I got a chance to change the rack out.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by craigaria &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">tie rods? Jack the car up and have someone turn the steering back and forth while you look for any play in any of the steering parts. My tie rods are shot and they vibrate the steering back and forth going over small bumps in the road

Now that I think about it, it doesn't sound like steering issues, but maybe your axles. Do you hear a clunking noise when turning sharp?</TD></TR></TABLE>

No clunking noise or grease. But that noise that comes from the front end I'm thinking might be the axle. We removed the wheel and caliper from the spindle and started the car while it was on jack stands and there was a squeak from the spindle. I figured it was wheel bearings but obviously it wasn't

 

Had my wheel balance checked and one of my front wheels was way off. Must have sprayed the weight off while washing it. Keep you guys posted if anything changes

 

grrr... still there. Guess I'll swap axles this weekend and see if that fixes it

 

Axles will only cause a vibration when under a load, UNLESS they are severely damaged.

Go get your wheels balanced and tire pressures checked FIRST, then report back.

It could be a number of things, but maintenance issues need to be addressed first

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Evs-One &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Axles will only cause a vibration when under a load, UNLESS they are severely damaged.

Go get your wheels balanced and tire pressures checked FIRST, then report back.

It could be a number of things, but maintenance issues need to be addressed first </TD></TR></TABLE>

Wheels were just balanced and bearings are ok. No slop when jacked up, and it only happens after driving for awhile in heat (not at night). If I let the car sit for a few hours it doesn't act up for a few miles

 

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

Wheels were just balanced and bearings are ok. No slop when jacked up, and it only happens after driving for awhile in heat (not at night). If I let the car sit for a few hours it doesn't act up for a few miles</TD></TR></TABLE>

Could be a seized caliper? Check to see that both wheels spin freely, or that the caliper slide pins still float.

What about tire pressure?

 

They checked tire pressure when they balanced the wheels. I was getting a squeak from the right side. So even with the car jacked up, wheel and caliper off, it still made the noise from insdie the spindle. Thats why I replaced wheel bearings. Now that I know those aren't the culprit, that's why I'm leaning towards axle

 

I had a similar problem with my brothers EG hatch. Turned out to be the trans was going bad. Mainly the output shaft bearings were the axle goes into the trans. There was an extreme amount of play in those bearings i'd check that out too dude.

 

Check your engine and trans mounts for damage, with the wheels off and the front end completely off the ground see if you can wobble the caliper on either sides, if there is excessive play check your balljoints out, usually if its a balljoint itll feel like crap going over bumps in the road, if its an axle it will happen at higher speeds and youll get heavy vibration and sometimes noise, but the vibration will be in the steering wheel. If it only happens when its really hot id check your tranmission out, maybe a broken clutch,crackedflywheel, bad bearings, or it could be the axles.

Usually when a CV goes bad itll through the factory sealed grease out somewhat like what a wheel bearing does when they go bad, see if you have oily or greasy look on any of your front end components.

 

Thanks guys Ill check all that out. Hopefully it's not a transmission problem. I just sold my built tranny a few weeks ago

 

Up for a little more advice. Thing that trips me out is it only happens during the day. I drove my car 50 miles or so last night without it ever happening. Happend 2 miles into my trip to lunch 20 minutes ago

 

More imput? I've seen a few topics with guys having this same problem and it never got resolved, or if it did they never posted about it

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HeikDiesel &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Up for a little more advice. Thing that trips me out is it only happens during the day. I drove my car 50 miles or so last night without it ever happening. Happend 2 miles into my trip to lunch 20 minutes ago </TD></TR></TABLE>

Drastic temperature differences?

My rack bushing problem was pretty temperature sensitive. As the temps went up, so did the vibrations. On cold winter mornings though, no vibrations at all.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 94CivicSi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Drastic temperature differences?

My rack bushing problem was pretty temperature sensitive. As the temps went up, so did the vibrations. On cold winter mornings though, no vibrations at all. </TD></TR></TABLE>

It's usually in the high 60's low 70's here at night and high 90's low 100's during the day. I guess I'll have to check my rack out. Those wouldn't cause a vibration when the brakes are applied though would they?

 

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

It's usually in the high 60's low 70's here at night and high 90's low 100's during the day. I guess I'll have to check my rack out. Those wouldn't cause a vibration when the brakes are applied though would they?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Not sure that's cold enough to thicken up the rack grease and stop the vibrations. I'm thinking more in the teens-20's. My rack felt like new when it was that cold.

The bad rack did give me worse vibrations under braking, which is why I flipped my lid after I replaced the steering knuckle and everything attached to it, but didn't solve the problem.

 

Bad lower ball joints will cause a vibration and often go unchecked for this type of problem. Same for tie-rod ends, though more obvious.
Ive had bad ones that didnt 'clunk', which is odd, but not unheard of

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by pdiggitydogg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Bad lower ball joints will cause a vibration and often go unchecked for this type of problem. Same for tie-rod ends, though more obvious.
Ive had bad ones that didnt 'clunk', which is odd, but not unheard of</TD></TR></TABLE>

This might sound kinda stupid but I haven't done much suspension work. How do you tell if a ball joint is bad besides it leaking grease and having excessive slop?

 

I only ever go by excessive play, myself. Pop the joint and check it out, only takes a few minutes, using the 1/2" ratchet method.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by pdiggitydogg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">using the 1/2" ratchet method.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I assume your refering to this?
https://honda-tech.com/zero...age=1

 

bingo