Member
My car is an 89 auto. I do not drive it much these days. A couple days ago, I was driving home on the freeway and the car started shaking, first at the steering wheel, then it seemed like the whole front end. I slowed down and it subsided and then stopped. When I gave it gas again, it started to shake again. Fortunately I was just about to exit. So I rolled to a stop at the exit but when I started up again, it started moving fine for a little bit and then started shaking some more. I eased up on the gas and it stopped again. I was able to get home without anymore shaking.
This was not the first time it happened though. 3 weeks ago, it happened and I was on the freeway and it felt like I was losing power. I managed to get off the freeway. At this point, I was about 40 minutes from home. I checked the tires but they were less than 100 miles new and they were not loose. I decided to drive on to my mom's house about 10 minutes away. I got there without recurrence. I considered having the car towed home but ultimately decided to drive it home later that day. My drive home was uneventful thankfully.
Does anyone have any idea what the problem could be?
Thanks in advance.
Member
Check the lug bolts on the wheels. Also check to see if the steering gearbox mount is broken.
I suspect that when you had the new tires mounted the lug bolts were't properly torqued. It's not uncommon.
Freude am Reparieren
+1 on lug bolts. If they've been torqued without a bit of lube it's easy to under-torque them. I like to use a little schmeer of Lubro-moly LM508 copper high-temp compound on all lug bolt threads. It's a bit pricey for the little tube, but it goes a long way. I also use it on the wheel hub, to prevent alu wheels from siezing onto the brake rotor. It's great on brake sliders too.
I'd also be tempted to double-check the balance on the tires if the vibration only happens around 55-60 mph.
Member
definitely cannot be the tires. Actually, this has happened before I replaced the tires too. I thought maybe it was the tires because they were quite worn on the inside. But as I do not use the car much, I just let it go. Most of the time, I don't get any shaking.
Member
Freude am Reparieren
Vibration is usually a chassis problem, especially if you can feel it through the steering wheel. If the engine is cutting out on occasion it could be totally unrelated to the chassis. I'd explore other potential causes. Luckily, your car is a really late model. It will list a few engine problem codes. Try the stomp test and see if it's reporting any problems. May be a bad transmission range inhibit switch, fuel pump relay, coolant temp sensor, bad plug wire, dead injector, bad distributor cap or flaky o2 sensor.
There's a good troubleshooting guide here for the Motronic. Your '89 has Motronic 1.3, ignore the sections about the S38 motors.
Member
I will be closely watching this thread. I had a similar incident in my '85 635CSi. I was accelerating away from a stop light when the right front started vibrating. It got worse with speed (approaching 45mph), so I slowed dramatically and put on my hazard lights. It felt as if the wheel were going to fall off. Within two blocks, I caught another red light. As I accelerated again, everything was normal. I proceeded the remaining 1/2 mile home without incident. Everything looked ok. The problem has never occurred again. I have no vibrations, even at highway speeds.
Member
Was it just vibration or a little vibration and mostly sound, like a grinding or scraping sound? I had this happen 2 weeks ago at about 45MPH just after I had tires replaced. When I slowed down, it went away. When I sped up, it was back. Went back to my shop, put the car up and pulled all 4 wheels. The rotor backing plate (which is just sheet metal), on the front right was bent very close to the rotor. All I can figure is that the plate was bent during the tire change and that going faster caused air movement that deflected the plate in towards the rotor to cause the scraping sound and yes, some slight vibration. Bending it out cured the problem and it has not returned.
Good luck!
Scott
Member
I cannot speak for the OP, but mine was a vibration (almost violent), with no noise.
Member
Oh! I think I may have it wrong. The upper control arm bushings usually get ugly
when slowing down from higher speeds.
Member
oem wheels or ? If not original, might need centering rings
Member
mine is just shaking and vibration with the sound/noise generated from the shaking.
Freude am Reparieren
Did you check the brake calipers yet? If a caliper retaining bolt is loose it'll cause all sorts of fun noise, but it won't go anywhere.
Member
same here. it definitely doesn't feel like an offset wheel due to being off center. It also doesn't feel brake related. I feel that something in the suspension moved to an unhappy position and returned to a happier place. weird that is started, was really bad, then went away completely.Originally Posted by achua
Freude am Reparieren
I was thinking the steering box mount in the engine cradle, but that's usually a thunk kind of feeling, not a vibration. I've had loose calipers feel like that, but they made a lot of thunking noises too. What about the flex disk/giubo or CV joints? Wheel bearings can occasionally fail like that, but they usually make a lot of noise as the races wear out.
Member
my toy shop is filled with junk in anticipation of the hurricane headed my way. I will put it up on the lift and do some searching after things clear out.
Freude am Reparieren
That does look bad, take care. We're all hoping for the best...I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Irma hangs a hard right and heads off harmlessly into the Atlantic.
Member
^^^thanks. I'm sure that this will not be fun.
Member
Could be a front brake caliper sticking on slightly on one side. Had the vibration issue with mine. The more you drive it the more it heats up and sticks so the vibration gets worse. Once it cools down it releases. Normally caused by a sticking piston in the brakes or a master cylinder that is sticking because of age and heat. Also I have heard that it can be caused by brake lines that are collapsed inside.
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