Car still vibrates....please help

[bcrosby51]

This is the second post on this that I have posted. 2000 GP GT, I tried what was suggested last time both on this forum and by a mechanic....so far I have replaced both outer tie rod ends(brand new), all 4 wheel bearings, springs/struts(from Morad, so used OEM) and I just had a 4 wheel alignment done. The car feels tighter and rides better but still, every time I am turning to the right and go to excelerate, the front starts to vibrate and shimmy, on when I turn right, turning left....nothing.....what else could it be? My wife and kids ride in this car everyday and I want it to be safe for them..The faster I am going when turning right, the more it vibrates....today I think the hood was rattling it was so bad....

[SyntheticShield]

Have you checked the sway bar end link connections and make sure it has not broke or is in good shape? If not, take a look there. I chased a vibration forever in mine, though mine was straight line driving with a vibration between 45 and 55 mph, but I replace upper motor mounts, lower motor mount, tranny mount, inner and outer tie rod had TWO four wheel alignments done and still had the vibration. Turned out to be one of the axle shafts. I replaced them both so I was not able to tell which it was but I suspect that it was the passenger side and Ive often wondered if it was not the reason my differential met its demise not too long after.

Might also check your lower control arm bushings as well.

[bcrosby51]

I have not checked that. Actualy, I am not sure which part that is, where does it connect to? Hmmm..Axle shafts huh? How does one know if it is bad? I took it to a shop and was charged for a diagnostic and of course they "could not replicate the problem", which is funny because I can feel it every time I drive....I am sure they just drove it around the parking lot and said it seems fine to them...I told them they have to take it on the interstate. Also, it kind of vibrates if you are on the interstate and there is a dip and the car floats up and down, on the down side of the bounce, it vibrates??

[SyntheticShield]

The sway bar connects to the lower control arm via what is called an end link. But what you have added leads me less now to believe its the swaybar but I would still check it just to be sure. There have been instances of them snapping but I dont recall that they caused vibrations as much as a sloppy feel in turns and some thumping sounds at acceleration.

What you are describing with the floating up and down and then it vibrating on the down side, that could be a shock/strut issue, ball joint, axle or the lower control arm bushing. I dont know of anyway to isolate it or I would try an do that for you. Do you have any uneven tire wear? If so, describe that for us.

If its the ball joint, thats going to be fun to replace as they are riveted in the lower control arm and you have to drill out the rivets and they are hard unless you have air tools and an air chisel might make it faster.

Anyway, hope some of this helps out. Id pull the tire on the side that is vibrating and just look over anything and see if you see anything clearly broken, bolts missing, signs of grease somewhere, things like that. The more details you can provide the better we all will be able to assist you.

[WhiteDevil]

sounds like your ball joints are on their way out.

[bcrosby51]

Now, is the ball joint what the bottom of the knuckel attaches to? I just put the new(used oem) struts and springs in this weekend along with the wheel bearings. What would it be in this picture? Would it be right around where 5 is?

[bcrosby51]

I found the ball joints on ebay and I remember seeing the bolt and nut with cotter pin sticking up when I replaced the wheel bearing. I suppose there is really no way of telling if it is bad until you take it off. I know the out tie rod ends just floped around once I took them off...they where shot....so if the ball joint is bad, that will cause some vibration? How hard are they to replace? I have a compressor and I could buy an air chissle.

[Street Wolf]

I found the ball joints on ebay and I remember seeing the bolt and nut with cotter pin sticking up when I replaced the wheel bearing. I suppose there is really no way of telling if it is bad until you take it off. I know the out tie rod ends just floped around once I took them off...they where shot....so if the ball joint is bad, that will cause some vibration? How hard are they to replace? I have a compressor and I could buy an air chissle.

Ball joints are easy to replace if you have standard tools like a socket set and wrenches, pretty self explanatory to remove/install as well once your looking at it.


Want brand are you looking at on Ebay anyways?

[SyntheticShield]

He'll need more than socket and wrenches to get those ball joints off, Ive been through that already myself. Thost things are not bolted in they are riveted in and you have drill out those rivets or chisel off the heads of them. After that then all you will need is sockets and wrenches because replacements bolt in.

You can use the ones off ebay, thats what I did and have not had any trouble out of them but you can also get MOOG ball joints. They are a bit more expensive but built a bit better too, and some may disagree with this, but since there is a pair of them, one on the drivers side and one on the passenger side, Id replace them in a pair too. The advantage there is they are both new and then they both have the rivets out of them so if they ever need replaced down the road its a whole lot easier.

You'll also may need a ball joint separator, its a U shaped fork looking thing that separates the ball joint from the tapered fitting in the knucle. Ive seen C-clamp type things used before but have not yet personally tried them.

The diagram you have above is not of a Grand Prix at least not one from 2000, but your ball jont will be in the area of #5 in the diagram. However, in the GP at least, they are mounted upside down and the shaft of the ball joint goes into the knuckle and the mounting flange bolts to the lower control arm.

You might want to post a link to the ball joints you are looking at too just to make sure you are getting the correct ones.

[bcrosby51]

I prolly won't buy them off of ebay..I was just trying to see what they looked like. I will just go to Autozone or somewhere local. Looks like I will be doing them next...they have about 150,000 miles on them, so I will replace them whether that is the problem or not. Thanks for the help guys. Do you think I'll need an alignment after doing them?

[SyntheticShield]

Just replacing the ball joints? Probably not. At least I dont think so.

[bcrosby51]

Just replacing the ball joints? Probably not. At least I dont think so.

What do you mean?

[BADAZGTP]

I wish I could be of more help, but what these guys have already said would also be my guesses also. A easy way to check your ball joints is jack one front tire up off the ground about a inch or so, slid a bar underneth the tire and try to lift up on it. If they a worn out or damaged, you'll see the tire move slightly and feel they slop in the bar. If bad enough, you can hear a slight pop. If you have a friend handy, either you or your friend look under the car at the control arm bushings and the other try to move the tire foward and backwards. If the bushings are bad, yo should see some play in them and feel some excessive movement in the tire. Hop this can help you out some. Good luck.

[WhiteDevil]

if you dont have a pry bar or an extra set of hands, jack up each side individually and use your muscles to move or try to move the tire towards and away from you from top to bottom.

this was my old blazer
ball joint failure






my wife was driving at the time, scared the **** out of her, and could have been alot worse had she not been entering our subdivision

[bcrosby51]

So, I finally gave up trying self diagnosing it...I took it to a shop..again... and told them to drive it until they figured it out...they just called and said that both axles are worn bad and that is causing the shaking...$465 for both replaced...is that good? I am tired of messing with it so I just told them to fix it. So, now I have new axles, struts/springs, wheel bearings and tie rod ends.....now watch the engine or tranny blow!!!

[justwhisen]

have you ever heard, DONT speak it into existance?

[BADAZGTP]

Truthful words.

[FormulaW66]

every time I am turning to the right and go to excelerate, the front starts to vibrate and shimmy, on when I turn right, turning left....nothing.....what else could it be?

I have this same exact problem

...they just called and said that both axles are worn bad and that is causing the shaking...$465 for both replaced...is that good? I am tired of messing with it so I just told them to fix it.

Did this Fix it???

I just got the car a few months ago. (all stock 120k miles) vibration started in right accelerated turns. checked under car to find the large driver side inner CV joint ring came off. Looked inside it was very dry. boot was still good, so for a quick fix I repacked grease new ring and vibration decreased some but still there. im thinking i need new axles. the price did seem good to me. just want to know if it fixed it.

[FormulaW66]

I have this same exact problem





Did this Fix it???

I just got the car a few months ago. (all stock 120k miles) vibration started in right accelerated turns. checked under car to find the large driver side inner CV joint ring came off. Looked inside it was very dry. boot was still good, so for a quick fix I repacked grease new ring and vibration decreased some but still there. im thinking i need new axles. the price did seem good to me. just want to know if it fixed it.

Got 2 new (rebuilt) Axles, fixed problem. 190 bucks installed