Hi, I have a 2002 Civic ex that has been giving me problems on the highway.
It has about 105k miles on it.
When I get up to 55+ mph the car starts to vibrate and make noises.
When I brake from these speeds the wobbling gets worse.
A few months ago I rebuilt the transmission, but this was a problem long before the tranny went out.
I've been hearing the problem could be the tires being off balance, a bad tie rod, wheel bearing, bushing, struts, etc., etc.
Does anyone know what this could be?
I was going to go on a 350+ mile trip but it looks like I might have to rent a car.
I would rather put the money into the car rather than throw it away on a rental.
Thanks for any help.

 

First things first, you'll want to jack up the front of the car and test the balljoints/wheel bearings/tie rods for play (as its free, and you'll be able to find out the status of them).

Secondly, if that's not definitive, you'll want to take the wheels off and do a thorough inspection of the lower control arm bushings, and the strut itself.

Finally, if you see no problems yet, you'll want to think about getting the tires rebalanced.

 

Check balljoint. Especially, if you brake and it feels like your wheel is about to come off particularly on one side.