Thread: strange vibration from the front

I got a vibration from the front end on the passenger side. I can feel it through the floor, not so much through the steering. My tires are already rebalanced and the tranny was rebuilt ~10K ago. The vibration only occurs on older roads that have not been repaved in a while. New roads are fine. The car drives nice and straight to though i have not had an alignment in a while, should I get one? Can camber cause this vibration? The vibration also occurs when I make any slight left turn or a very hard or fast right turn. All motor bushings are new also. Im not sure how good the axels or hubs are, good way to test them? When I did the mounts everything looked good. Im at a loss here.

I don't think you have a problem, per se...you are just picking up the variations in the road conditions - what tires do you run? I know I've had Bridgestones that really transferred the vibrations of the road to the car.

-Swash

Bridgestone Potenza G019s. I love these tires to. The vibration is only on the passenger side. The vibration didnt appear when I got the tires, just appeared about a month ago and really hasnt gotten any worse, maybe slightly worse.

It sounds like a wheel bearing or half shaft to me - if you turn left does it get worse? Is there any noise accompanying it? Like a low growl?

It does have a slight roar to it and when it occurs it is intermitent. I was thinking an axel or bearing to. Think i would be fine for autox this weekend? It does get a little worse when I turn it gets to be constant vibration and roar.

Originally Posted by Sandman

It does have a slight roar to it and when it occurs it is intermitent. I was thinking an axel or bearing to. Think i would be fine for autox this weekend? It does get a little worse when I turn it gets to be constant vibration and roar.

That is the half shaft. As for auto-x with it...you are going to significantly increase the risk of the joint separating vs. regular driving.

-Swash

I was going to get in there tomorrow, if it doesn't rain that is, and see what all is loose, etc. I'll let you guys know, I figured that autox wasn't going to happen

Friend of mine thinks uts my axel more than likely. His Civic was doing the same thing when his axel went bad.

CV joint or axle problem. I've got the same thing going on with my '02. I think one or both of the outer CV joints are bad. Stage II axles coming up....

Autocross would not be a good plan. When I power out of sharp curves (thanks to the GMPP Suspension) I can hear something popping on the front end that goes away once the cornering load is off.

No popping yet. Just vibration and a slight roar.

What exactly should I be looking for now that I've got the car apart? I've only gone so far as to take the brand/rotor off. And can a bad bushing cause my vibrations? The ball-joint looking bushing on the front of the control arm looks quite worn.

Edit:
Got the axle pulled out. Is there anything I can do so that I can tell if its bad? Just playing with it there isn't any play in the joints. Hub bad maybe?

Put in a new axle and the vibration and its still there. Much less vibration going straight, it occassionaly pops up, its deffinately there turning botn directions now. I played with the tie rod some and its still tight, all of the boots are still intact. What am I looking at now? Hub? Tie rod?

Also noticed that it vibrates when I am braking, vibration is worse when turning left than right. Dad says he can hear still hear a popping sound but it sounds like more of a roar from the drivers seat.

Originally Posted by Sandman

Put in a new axle and the vibration and its still there. Much less vibration going straight, it occassionaly pops up, its deffinately there turning botn directions now. I played with the tie rod some and its still tight, all of the boots are still intact. What am I looking at now? Hub? Tie rod?

Also noticed that it vibrates when I am braking, vibration is worse when turning left than right. Dad says he can hear still hear a popping sound but it sounds like more of a roar from the drivers seat.

A bad hub (wheel bearing) will tend to growl - and it gets louder with speed - AND - when you turn. As for the vibration when you brake - that's a warped rotor.

-Swash

It was a bad hub, no more vibrations from anymore. The vibrations were random no matter what I was doing with the car.

On a 2000 it could be any of the wear parts. I no on mine I eventually replaced the tie rod ends, control arm bushings, half shafts, rotors and pads, bearings and etc. It seems like on higher mileage GP's when one of those parts wears out they all start to go. I think Swash is right with the wheel bearing. Also if you think you might have an alignment problem you can take it to a reputable shop and have them inspect the front end before aligning it. They will advise you of anything they think needs to be replaced. Good luck.

I'm eventually going to replace all the bushing in the suspension. For sitting at 120K I think my car is riding pretty good, nothing to rough or loose when driving. The steering is still straight and tight.