'90 Accord - adjustable coil overs, 17" rims - tried alignment, balance, etc... Is the shaking normal? All the tire places said "put stock springs back on, only way to fix it"

 

For a 1990 vehicle there could be a number of problems. Are the shocks still stock or did you upgrade? How are the other suspension drivetrain components? Are the balljoints ok? How are the driveshafts(can cause serious vibration if worn)?
Are any of the rims bent?

Any shop that tells you the lowering is the problem might not be a shop to deal with.

 

We've gone to 4 tire places & one customizing shop... Shocks are still stock... how do you check on the balljoints & the driveshafts? Only things that we've been told are worn out are the bearings... Rims aren't bent. All the tire shops said go back to stock springs to get rid of the shaking... When we went to the customizing shop we had just had the coilovers put on & weren't used to the bouncing, so we asked about the bouncing, not the shaking, but they said the bouncing was what you had to deal with when you have a lowered car... they're shut down now, so can't ask about the shaking. The rotors are about shot, any time you hit the brakes it shakes hard, and when I drive it (it's not my car), it pulls me all over the road when I'm going around turns... I just wanted to know what could be the problem w/ the car, boyfriend is getting pissed at the tire shops b/c they always say to go back to stock & I was the one that took the car to 3 of the tire shops... Anyway, if you have any suggestions, I'm totally open!

 

i gotta 90 accord dx...slamed suspension too...but mine aren't matched...i got the two fronts the same and the two rears are the same...which might make a diff. in ride. What exactually are you feeling? Just the vibration in the front right??? it might just be your rotors...gettem shaved or replaced. Mine did the same, but i dont think suspension's gonna make your car "vibrate or shake" that much. The adj. coilovers on my car's been on since i got it, but my rotors did go bad. BTW i have the 93 prelude SI rims on them...gl

 

I hope your still checking this post. First, worn out bearings will not only cause vibration in the steering wheel but they are dangerous to be driving on. Second, I see why this shop is no longer open. The bouncing in the car will be reduced if you go with a good aftermarket strut. KYB, Tokico, or Koni are three good brands to look into. Don't listen to the tire shops. They will tell you to keep stock because that is the way they keep their warranty numbers, plus they are trying to get you to spend uneccessary money.

My suggestion is to get the other suspension components refreshened. For example, new shocks, ball joints, tie rods(inner and outer), and new bearings. While you are doing the front bearings you might as well do rotors. On the Accords from '90-'97 the wheel bearings have to be pressed out in order to replace the rotors. Then finally take your car to an alignment shop, not some tire place. There are simple test to perform to see if your ball joints etc. need replacing, but from the sounds of it they probably do.

Good Luck.

 

so when exactly does it start shaking? stopped? when your driving? etc.

 

It shakes mostly at a certain speed (don't know what that speed is, the speedometer doesn't work - usually around 2800 rpm ~ 55-60 mph), then it shakes pretty bad when you let off the gas & again when you hit the brakes. As I said before, rotors are really worn out, bearings need to be replaced, balancing, aligning, rotating tires do nothing for it!

And another thing - first tire place I took it to told me the front end was so f*cked up that they wouldn't align it (this was right after we got the damn car), & they told me we needed to replace the bearings, get a lower control arm bushing, and a new front strut. Told boyfriend, all he did was get mad at the tire place & me, not the car or the idiot he bought it from, and said they didn't know wtf they were talking about... so we took it to a place his mom wanted him to go to & they basically gave it a temporary fix, did the best they could, and told him to go back to stock springs (we still had lowering springs on it at the time). Instead he wanted to go with the coilovers so spent $200 on them just to keep the shaking and add bouncing! He's been fussing about a camber kit for probably 6 months now, do any of you think that would help? The tire places keep saying the tires are inverted, I don't know how to explain it, they're slanted, the bottoms of the tires are further apart than the tops of the tires if that makes any sense, I'm describing it terribly. But when his mom replaced the coilovers on the front end, she said he needed new shocks... however, even though he has a kick @$$ job right now, he has about $3000 to pay back to people, anybody have any suggestions on where to look for cheaper shocks?


[Modified by PlayLude, 10:48 AM 1/23/2003]

 

Your b/f sounds like a typical A-Hole... no offense.

It sounds like your front end is out of whack, have you ever checked the VIN to see if it was ever in an accident? Even a minor fender bender could throw something out of alignment which will lead to a whole host of problems like what you are talking about.

If the brakes are shot, and the bearings are shot... get em replaced. Instead of taking it to a "tire shop" have you tried PepBoys? I wouldnt recommend getting any work there but they usually give free estimates and will print up a list which you can take with you of whats wrong. You could tell em what the problem is and usually within 30-45 minutes have a list to take to your b/f and show him instead of just relaying "words" you can show him proof he bought a junker car.

Good luck though!

 

ill put 20 bucks on the drive shafts ....if it shakes and rattles when accelerating then most likely its the drive shaft..