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I have a 96 i30 which is 138k on it. The entire car ( not only streeling wheel) is vibrated while it drives over 70 mph. I've been an alignment shop about 4 times. They showed me the alinment is perfect now but the car still makes a vibraiton at the highway. The tire was replace a years ago so I don't think it should be replaced. What else could make the vibration?
Did you have the tires balanced again? Could have gone out of balance, bent rim? I had a similar problem had the tires balanced and it rides like a dream again.
I'm not 100% on this but alignment won't cause the car to shake like you described. Can someone confirm that or am I just citing false info.
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Did you have the tires balanced again? Could have gone out of balance, bent rim? I had a similar problem had the tires balanced and it rides like a dream again.
I'm not 100% on this but alignment won't cause the car to shake like you described. Can someone confirm that or am I just citing false info.
I'm also not def. sure but I think your correct about the alignment. Cuz when I had my car dropped and didnt get an alignment done...it rode smooth. But after I got a bent in my rim...Ive been experincing the same vibrations over 70mph. I'm getting that rim fixed though soon cuz I can't stand it anymore. My whole passenger seat shakes back and forth when I'm doing 70+.
Alignment won't cause your car to shake...like you describe anyway. My bets are on a bent rim. I had an e30 with all four rims bent.....that was fun. I didn't even need to put a quarter in.
(unlikely) Or there is something loose in your suspension. A strut bolt not torqued to spec on the axle is a terrible thing to experience.
Try getting your tires rebalanced. That is what helped my car when it started shaking at 55+. My car was a real project when I bought it but I'm glad I'm sticking with it. Both of you are absolutely right about the alignment, and I'll confrim that right now. Alignment does not cause a car to shake after a certian speed. As for checking the rims, I have no idea, I've never been into rims.
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Do yo have oem or aftermarket rims? chances are if you are riding on some stock 15's it would be pretty hard to bend them but not impossible. I bent a steel wheel about 3 years ago when i hit a curb in the ice.
If you have larger wheels, like 18's or something you have less rubber to cusion the wheel and are more likely to bend them on harsh roads. Do your tires hold air properly?
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Don't just get them rebalanced. You should get them road force balanced. This is a machine that actually simulates the vibrations that would be felt while driving..... Check this site out and find a place with a road force machine:
I had my tires balanced at good year before. The guy didn't even know what a road force machine was. He insisted that it didn't exist and balanced my tires. Well, it was complete crap. I looked up a place with the road force balancer, and my car is niiice now .
To check if your rims are bent, put your car up on jack stands and put the car in gear and watch the wheels go round. For the back wheels, just get them spinning fast with your hand and then step back. Or you can take them to a wheel shop.
Normally a bent rim will vibrate at speeds up to around 45mph or so, faster than that it smooths out and goes away. At least thats been my experience. If you do find its a bent rim and cant afford a rim for a few days you can swap the rim to the back and the vibration will go away (if its a bent front rim).
I have a 96 i30 which is 138k on it. The entire car ( not only streeling wheel) is vibrated while it drives over 70 mph. I've been an alignment shop about 4 times. They showed me the alinment is perfect now but the car still makes a vibraiton at the highway. The tire was replace a years ago so I don't think it should be replaced. What else could make the vibration?
Thanks.
I had the same issue as you (only front half of the car vibrated) so I ended up replacing control arms, tie rods, sway bar end links, sway bar bushings + high speed balance + alignment.
Go back to the alignment shop and tell them to do a high speed balance on all 4 wheels and alignment again. Regular balancing machine will not detect vibration over 70mph and not every shop has this machine.
If it doesn't solve the problem completely and your rims/tires are good, then get a complete kit of control arms, tie rods, sway bar end links on Ebay (It's very cheap there, just make sure you get it from a good seller check his feedback that people leave on control arms).
I also bought tokico blue struts +springs on ebay (not related to vibration) and strut mounts to save money on installation.
FYI, I had the same problem before. It vibrates between 70-75. It stopped when I hit 80. I had the tired balanced and rotated. No alignments done. Somehow it fixed the problem.
I've been at the Midas to check suspensions but there is no issue. It looks old but normal. After that they checked my stock wheels and tires. The tires were not balanced properly even though they had balanced three times before.
I did my balance there. There is a black guy doing alignment and balance - he is the best. They have a "high speed balance" machine, so don't waste your money elsewhere on regular balance. Also, he will check all your wheels first to check if you need balance at all.
Only 2 of my wheels had to be balanced, so I don't remember how much I paid (between $10-15 per wheel) but it's worth it.
Don't forget to tip the guy so you will not wait for a long time because they usually have customers there.
At other shops with a regular machine you will be charged $5 per wheel but it's waste of money.
Last edited by matrix11229; 06-16-2008 at 05:31 PM.
I have the exact same problem on my 98 maxima. i have already installed new lca tie rods. I just had my tires balanced twice and as soon as i hit 70mph -75 mph my sterring vibrates and it stops around 80+mph. Please help. I got my balancing done at goodyear. i paid for the lifetime balancing already.
I have searched the way to repair the vibration for almost 1 year but nothing's now. I've got 3 times alignments and 4 times balance. Have you tried to replace brand new tires?
Some shops recommand that but another doesn't. If the new tires don't work, I would give up.
I have a question about the tire size. I have 205/65 15R tires with stock rims. I would like to replace 215/60 with the same rime instead of the 205/60. Is it fine?
I have the exact same problem on my 98 maxima. i have already installed new lca tie rods. I just had my tires balanced twice and as soon as i hit 70mph -75 mph my sterring vibrates and it stops around 80+mph. Please help. I got my balancing done at goodyear. i paid for the lifetime balancing already.
Did you check your sway bar end links ?
Most likely it's the tires. Did you try switching between front and rear tires ?
Did you check your sway bar end links ?
Most likely it's the tires. Did you try switching between front and rear tires ?
Yeah i just got a new tire installed so they moved the rear set with the new tire to the front and the front back. My car vibrates from 65-75. Also when i make a left turn i hear a pop noise on my passenger rear side. It sounds like something is loose but i can't figure it out.
herntm2,
If you use 225/60-15's you'll have the exact same diameter as the stock 205/65. I have the 225/60-15's Bridgstone G009's on my '97. No clearance problems and they look good and perform well.
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Yeah i just got a new tire installed so they moved the rear set with the new tire to the front and the front back. My car vibrates from 65-75. Also when i make a left turn i hear a pop noise on my passenger rear side. It sounds like something is loose but i can't figure it out.
You can go back to the shop that installed your lca's and tell them they did a bad job and your car still vibrates.
Regarding pop noise, probably the B-pipe is hitting the frame due to a torn rubber bushing. (that's what I had).
I've heard the noise occasionally when I try to make a full left turn. However when my car was inspected by Midas mechanic, he did say any mechanical problem.
I'll have good year check the lca and endlinks to make sure everything is bolted on tight, also check to see if the b pipe is hitting the frame. it only happens when i make i hard left turn or when i go up to a gas station that's hilly i hear the pop .
i have a '98GLE and had the exact same problem and it was ridiculous. everything in the car (steering wheel, gas pedal...etc) shook like crazy. i replaced the front 2 tires and did wheel rotating and made sure the tire pressure was 35psi in all the tires. this significantly improved the shaking but it has not stopped completely. my steering wheel is the only thing that shakes now and i am pretty sure there is something wrong with the driver side wheel axle or something because when i went over a speed bump there was a clear clanking sound coming from there. not sure what it is yet...still have to take it to a mechanic.
I had same problem between 65 and 80mph. I had a bad cv axle and lower control arm (leaking oil pressure switch ate up the bushing for lower control arm). I just had Replaced last week both control arms, one cv axle, tie rods, sway bar links,(parts $200 labor $700 new rims & tires balanced and rides great (still haven't gotten it aligned wich it needs)
Price include transmission mount (rear motor mount)
Paid $20 at Firestone to do vehicle inspection
Hope This Helps
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Last edited by MaximusTheGreat; 06-20-2008 at 11:27 PM.
As I told, the car had been in Midas where it is one of the good shops in my town. The mechanic checked suspensitions and tires. The suspensions are old, but it doesn't broken. They are working good. Actually I would have hoped to find a kind of mechanical problems because that will be easy to fix other than the tire balance issue.
i have a '98GLE and had the exact same problem and it was ridiculous. everything in the car (steering wheel, gas pedal...etc) shook like crazy. i replaced the front 2 tires and did wheel rotating and made sure the tire pressure was 35psi in all the tires
Reduce the pressure to 30 or 32psi maximum and you will have less vibration.
As I told, the car had been in Midas where it is one of the good shops in my town. The mechanic checked suspensitions and tires. The suspensions are old, but it doesn't broken. They are working good. Actually I would have hoped to find a kind of mechanical problems because that will be easy to fix other than the tire balance issue.
Thanks.
I'm not sure that your mechanic can diagnose problems that happen over 70mph by just looking under your car.
Also, struts & springs shouldn't cause any vibration unless you have bad strut mounts but it's unlikely to cause so much vibration too.
Use the search option and you will find the solution to your problem. Many people had this problem solved by replacing or highspeed balancing tires or (if it did't help completely) replacing control arms, tie rods, sway bar end links.
labor $700
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