I have a 1996 Honda Accord 2.2l Ex Coupe with a Manual Transmission. The engine is rebuilt and running fine. Transmission and body has over 200,000 miles.

I have been having some vibrations while driving between 60-70mph. So I went in to get an alignment the guy told me to change my upper ball joint and inner tie rod on the driverside before he could align the car.
So I changed BOTH inner and outer Tierods upper ball joints. Didnt solve steering shake so I changed both CV Shafts one had a busted boot and the other was clicking. I bought and balanced and placed new tires on the front. With no noticeable improvements to shake.
I have swapped rims around to see if there was a bent rim but didnt find anything helped any ideas...?

 

Aftermarket rims with a larger hub bore than stock, without proper hubcentric rings will cause a shakey steering wheel.

 

I dont remember ever having any hubcentric rings.

 

Could a worn Rack and Pinion allow vibrations to occur up and to the steering wheel. Could the shop that balanced my wheels have an out of caibrated wheel balance machine.?

 

i had the same 65 mph shake. replaced axles, ball joints, inner and outer tie rods, bushings but no dice.
bought the steering adjust nut tool, helped a bit but still there.
turned out to be front lower engine mounts (torque mounts).
you can fill the old mounts in with window weld for a cheap quick fix.

2 Dow U-428 Plus Windshield Urethane Primerless Adhesive Glue Sealant window | eBay

 

You had to remove them to fill them though right? Seems a replacement would make more sense if so.

 

Hell you seemed to have been right! My front lower engine mount was broken up and just hanging there!!!
the shake has reduced substantially!!
im still getting a quick vibration still but just a vibration above 60mph. Any more good advice.?

 

your other mounts and bushings are likely done for.
energy suspension bushing kit from rockauto or ebay is
an easier install. the gigantic c-clamp and adapter kit
to press out old bushings is free with deposit at
many part stores. rear motor mount is a bitch.
i bought new and window welded it. not going back
there in this lifetime lol.

 

Warped rotors.

 

I'd say wheel bearings, especially if there is no record of them being changed, they are usually done by 100Kmiles, if you drive aggressively(canyon carving) they are done by 80K. The 90-97 Accord front wheel bearings don't tend to get audibly noisy when they go bad, they don't howl.

Verify the tires are properly inflated, if the wheels are properly balanced and not bent, rotate the fronts to the back and go for a back to back drive. If no change, then it is most likely not the wheels.

Lift one of the drive wheels off the ground, make sure the parking brake is set and chock the wheels on the ground. See if there is any excess play via the 12 and 6 O'clock position. With everything clear, start the engine and place the car in gear, allow the one lifted drive wheel to spin. DO NOT ALLOW THE SPEEDOMETER TO GO ABOVE 40MPH indicated. With the opposite drive wheel down on the ground and stopped the actual wheel speed of the free wheeling wheel will be 80MPH. Because differential. You should be able to hear, if not feel, some shaking if the wheel bearing is bad. When you are done with speed testing the wheel VERY slowly bring the wheel speed down. Do not jerk or slam the brakes, the inertia of the spinning wheel can do damage if it is abruptly stopped, or even cause the car to fall off the jack/jack stand, if not twist the control arm. Very gently apply the brakes and watch the speedometer, you want it to come to a smooth gradual stop.

If one or both seem to be making some kind of noise, put that side down on the ground, unstake and loosen CV axle nut, and retighten the nut to spec. If the nut has moved farther past the original staked on portion then it is most likely the wheel bearing had excessive clearance. Go for a drive, if the car seems quieter and the shaking is reduced or gone, then the wheel bearing is most likely the culprit. In my experience, after re-tightening the car will be initially quieter and there will be a sound like you are driving on sand. If that makes sense.

 

*gives the patented mechanic's shrug*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcoh7T0WRGQ

Diagnosing Causes of Steering & Suspension Vibration

Top 5 Reasons Why Your Car Is Vibrating

cv joint - There is vibration in car (2008 Honda CR-V). Getting new tires did not solve the problem - Motor Vehicle Maintenance & Repair Stack Exchange

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/st...ing-or-braking

Mechanic?s Tale: Bad Vibes - The Car Connection

 

you may need a steering rack guide adjustment

https://honda-tech.com/forums/acura-integra-6/steering-rack-adjustment-best-thing-i-ever-did-2572614/

http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/auto/jsp/mws/srchrslts.jsp?search=sku&catcgry1=&inputstate=&src hwords=07916-SA50001&vinnosrch=Enter+VIN+Number+---

It's entirely possible your hub(s) is warped as well. This would coincide with pulsating brakes. If you have pulsating brakes you will remove both front rotors and get a lateral run out gauge tool and measure the outer surface of the hub for distortion. There should be .001 of an inch or less of distortion(ideally you want no distortion). There are how-to's on youtube for how to check lateral run out.

 

A cheap way to test if your hub is distorted, and which one, is to put the car in neutral and spin the hub after taking off the wheel and listen for sound at the pads. If the hub is distorted you will hear it rubbing as you turn the hub. This means it's distorted.

 

I got my tires rebalanced yesterday and with suprise all 4 wheels where out of balance more than 2 oz
ive notice a bit of improvement on the steering wheel shake and overall car stability.
When I got home I decided to adjust my steering rack guide which made it even better.
Now the steering wheel doesnt begin to shake until around 70 mph.
The shake comes and goes with different types of roads and mostly under acceleration
the highway from my road has been newly paved and ive noticed its when it does its worse vibrating
make any sense?

 

if when you replaced all the bad tierods you didnt replace your tires that could be your old tires still causing vibrations being worn strangely

see how they look

 

I got new tires 1 month old

 

A smooth road will show issues in suspesnsion/steering/bearing components.

If you have no records of the front wheel bearings being replaced and the car has over 100K miles, then it is most likely the wheel bearings. They are done by then.
Loosen the CV axle nuts, and retighten. Verify the tires are properly filled(a low tire will cause a wobble, check pressure first thing in the morning before driven on or the sun heats them), and go for another drive.
If you note a difference in NVH then it is most likely the wheel bearings are in need of replacement. They don't make noise like other wheel bearings, they might at best make a slight 'shhhh' sound when driving, but it is so low it may just be mistatken for a '20 yo car' sound.

 

If it has to do with going over uneven surfaces, it could be a bushing issue. You could look over all your bushings and see if they are so worn that it's basically metal on metal rattling around. That could cause the issue.

 

Update*

Replaced driverside wheel bearing and rotor and loosened up
a stuck caliper pin and the steering wheel problem is pretty much fixed!!!

Thanks for all the input. Steering feels stiffer and the overall ride is smoother.

 

Should do the other side too.

 

Both sides are now done!

 

Good to hear

 

Well my two cents... rack and pinion... costly but that is a good culprit