I can't figure it out, I'm stumped so I thought mabey someone here could steer me in the right direction. I have a vibration that comes and goes, alomost feels like a wheel out of balance, sometimes it is non-existant and sometimes it is very noticable. Seems to be in the front as it can be felt in the steering (most of the time, but sometimes not) I'm posting now because tonight I almost pulled over to check things out because it felt like one of my wheels was gonna fall off. I was doing about 65 and the vibration started, I let off the gas and coasted down to about 35 and it seemed to get worse the slower I went, the worst I've felt it yet actually, then it gradually dissapered, I hit the gas back up to 65, fine the rest of the way home... Any thoughts on what I should look at first (start throwing money at first) o No:
I have a bunch of old posts on this subject. I had a mystery vibration that only appeared in a specific rpm range and most noticably when off the throttle. It drove me to the point of almost selling my car. It turned out to be exhaust vibration. I had headers, 2 1/2 inch exhaust and flowmasters. To solve this I tried: Pinion angle adjustment (had to get new rear adjustable control arms) Balance of the drive shaft and measuring of shaft to insure it wasn't too long or short Rebuilt rear end and new gears etc. Transmission diagnostics Total engine rebuild (Turns out I had spun two cam bearings anyway and was ribbed off by the previous "expert" builder anyway) Several harmonic balancers The solution to my problem was a Dr. Gas x-pipe as recommended by the Parts Weasel. Fixed the problem and I fell in love with my car again. There are numerous posts and responses by very knowledgeable fellows on this site. Do a search and compare symptoms. More information about what, where, when may help some experts diagnose your problem. But as you can see, you can certainly spend alot chasing a problem like that. Harmonics are a dark science.
I had my wheels balanced when installed, and had a vibration. SO I had them re-balanced. Still had a vibration. So I borrowed an old bubble-balancer from work, bought stick-on weights from the web, and balanced them myself. According to the bubble-balancer, the tire store balance job was waaaaay off. And it is confirmed, as now I have no more vibration. If I didn't have access to one, I'd buy one from a supply store. They aren't that expensive and they're good to have.
Vibration Some things to suspect/check: Check the fan clutch/water pump. These can go and give some really nasty shakes with no coolant leaks. Check your shocks. Bad shocks can be ok until you hit a bump, then allow the wheel(s) to oscillate up and down until you slow down. Then it's ok until you speed up and hit another bump. Check for sticking brake calipers. One sticky caliper can make for some odd shaking. Jack up the front end and check for play in the wheel bearings, tie rod ends, ball joints, etc. Also the obvious tire belt separation, out of balance etc.
