My car vibrates!!!!
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Joined: Aug 2005
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From: Fres-Yes, California
Car: A beater.
Engine: Not enough HP.
Transmission: Automatic... I can't drive a stick!
My car vibrates!!!!
Haha.
Anyways, I was driving on the freeway earlier today, and once I hit 70-75 mph in od, my car got a BAAD vibration...
I've noticed it before - but I don't think it's been this bad before...
What could the cause of this be?
I than took it out to a road in good condition - with very few cracks and stuff in it, and kicked it up to 70-75 mph again, and the vibration was still there. (I thought it may have just been the condition of the road.)
The vibration gets so bad that the dash will vibrate - the cd player will skip - and you can just generally feel it throughout the car... But it only happens at that high of a speed..
My tires are pretty new - only 3k miles on them or so... So, I know that's not the cause. Anyone else got an idea? Or is it just the face it's a "con" on owing a 3rd gen.? Btw, it's an 84 Firebird SE 305 automatic... For those who can't read the user info.
Thaaaank you...
<333
Anyways, I was driving on the freeway earlier today, and once I hit 70-75 mph in od, my car got a BAAD vibration...
I've noticed it before - but I don't think it's been this bad before...
What could the cause of this be?
I than took it out to a road in good condition - with very few cracks and stuff in it, and kicked it up to 70-75 mph again, and the vibration was still there. (I thought it may have just been the condition of the road.)
The vibration gets so bad that the dash will vibrate - the cd player will skip - and you can just generally feel it throughout the car... But it only happens at that high of a speed..
My tires are pretty new - only 3k miles on them or so... So, I know that's not the cause. Anyone else got an idea? Or is it just the face it's a "con" on owing a 3rd gen.? Btw, it's an 84 Firebird SE 305 automatic... For those who can't read the user info.
Thaaaank you...
<333
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From: Tucson, Arizona
Car: 87 Z-28
Engine: A worn-out 305
Transmission: T-5, until it dies
Is the slot where you stick the quarters in stuck?
Seriously, I've had brand new tires have treads separating, don't rule it
out. I'd take a close look at your driveshaft and trans mount.
Seriously, I've had brand new tires have treads separating, don't rule it
out. I'd take a close look at your driveshaft and trans mount.
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Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 137
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From: Rhode Island
Car: 86 IROC
Engine: 305 TPI
Transmission: 700r4
even though your tires are newer you could have lost a weight and now they are out of balance, have them checked for high speed balance again, rule this out then start looking under the front end for an issue, this has nothing to do with the interior other than the fact that Fbody dashes do rattle
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From: mid GA
Car: 88 IROC
Engine: 305 TPI w/ l98 cam
Transmission: T5 5-speed
Axle/Gears: 3.45 posi disc 9 bolt
mine did the same thing when i got it but i put it up on the lift and the sway bar bushings were gone in the front and back. i swaped some poly bushings in there and it helped alot. also it could be the tires arent balanced correctly or bad shocks. make sure you check all that out.
Joined: Sep 2005
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From: O'Fallon, MO
Car: 1991 Z28 convertible built 3/1/1990
Engine: Cammed 6.0L LSX
Transmission: T56
Axle/Gears: custom Ford 8.8", 4.10 gears
my guess is it's the transmission/tranny mount. my transmission has been acting up lately and i've been noticing alot of vibrating too. i'm gonna need to buy a new tranny soon. it slips real bad
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From: Lubbock, TX
Car: 1989 GTA
Engine: Future: LSX Turbo
Transmission: built T-56
from a discount tire guy of nearly 2 years...its not your tires...tires being out of balance and EVEN separated arent going to SHAKE your dash....youd feel the steering wheel shake and move and possibly a shake in your seat but if the DASH and entire car is shaking look elsewhere for your problem
if the tire separation was really terrible it might be possible but ive nev heard of anyone tellin me their dash and entire car was shaking that bad and ive seen some messed up tires
if the tire separation was really terrible it might be possible but ive nev heard of anyone tellin me their dash and entire car was shaking that bad and ive seen some messed up tires
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From: Baton Rouge, LA
Car: 89 RS
Engine: 305
Transmission: th350
Your tires can cause dash to shake. On my friends 88 camaro his front tires had flat spots in them. It caused bad vibration at anything above 55.
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Joined: Nov 2002
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From: Rhode Island
Car: 86 IROC
Engine: 305 TPI
Transmission: 700r4
When I bought my new truck this past year someone had put some newer model GMC rims on it, but never balanced the tires (I mean no weights on them what so ever) and my entire truck shook at any speed over 65 mph.
I'm not saying it couldnt be any other problem, just something to check
Matt
I'm not saying it couldnt be any other problem, just something to check
Matt
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Joined: Sep 2000
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From: So.west IN
Car: 87 Formula/ 00 Xtreme
Engine: TPI 305/ v6
Transmission: struggling t-5/ 4l60E
Axle/Gears: 3.08/ 3.23
Originally posted by GodSpeedGTA
youd feel the steering wheel shake and move and possibly a shake in your seat but if the DASH and entire car is shaking
look elsewhere for your problem
youd feel the steering wheel shake and move and possibly a shake in your seat but if the DASH and entire car is shaking
look elsewhere for your problem
This is the wrong forum for this anyways.
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Member
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 328
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From: Fres-Yes, California
Car: A beater.
Engine: Not enough HP.
Transmission: Automatic... I can't drive a stick!
So, I'm taking the car in tomorrow to get the tires balanced out and stuff...
I know, or at least pray it's not the shocks, struts, front and back sway bar bushings b/c all that got replaced like... two months ago, at the very least. LoL.
But, I will check that stuff in the morning...
I'll go ahead and have a pro do it, lordy knows I'm not one at all...
Ummm... How can I move this to the right forum?
I'll post tomorrow afternoon and let people know!
Thanks guys for the answers to my questions...
<333
I know, or at least pray it's not the shocks, struts, front and back sway bar bushings b/c all that got replaced like... two months ago, at the very least. LoL.
But, I will check that stuff in the morning...
I'll go ahead and have a pro do it, lordy knows I'm not one at all...
Ummm... How can I move this to the right forum?
I'll post tomorrow afternoon and let people know!

Thanks guys for the answers to my questions...
<333
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Joined: May 2005
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From: Lancashire County, England, UK
Car: VIN=85 T/A, CAR=82/3 T/A gfx, go figure. She's a T/A anyway!
Engine: 5.0, Holley 600 cfm 4-barrel
Transmission: THM350 ??
Check the universal joints on the propshaft too (driveshaft in USA?) - if one or both of those has worn then it will cause severe vibration at relatively high speed.
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Posts: 7,015
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From: Schererville , IN
Car: 91 GTA, 91 Formula, 89 TTA
Engine: all 225+ RWHP
Transmission: all OD
Axle/Gears: Always the good ones
It would be wise to give everything a good once over first.
Busted belts/out of balance tires will make the wheel shake if its on the front. If u get a weird feeling in your feet/calves or get the feeling of a floor board'ish vibration its on the rear. It would have to be horrible to make the entire car shake, like a completely seperated tire or severely bent rim/axle. Provided your car has blanced tires from the last time, you would see the severe stuff just taking a thourough look.
70-75mph is usually a drive line type of vibration vs. a tire/wheel/axle issue, which tend to occur over wider ranges of speeds and you can see visually in the case of axles ro severely warped/dented rim/tire.
Especially when it tends to come and go repeatedly at those speeds(meaning at speed it does, but above and below it doesnt).
Check your u -joints out first, I would go so far as to pull the driveshaft and see if its straight and the u -joints are actually mounted to it straight as well. A lot of the metal driveshafts had issues from GM in all car lines from the 80-90's. Even seen some yokes that were fubared as well.
If u need to replace it, try and find a aluminum one or step up to a Ls1 driveshaft. I would recommend any one you replace it with be checked for good u-joints and balanced however.
later
Jeremy
Busted belts/out of balance tires will make the wheel shake if its on the front. If u get a weird feeling in your feet/calves or get the feeling of a floor board'ish vibration its on the rear. It would have to be horrible to make the entire car shake, like a completely seperated tire or severely bent rim/axle. Provided your car has blanced tires from the last time, you would see the severe stuff just taking a thourough look.
70-75mph is usually a drive line type of vibration vs. a tire/wheel/axle issue, which tend to occur over wider ranges of speeds and you can see visually in the case of axles ro severely warped/dented rim/tire.
Especially when it tends to come and go repeatedly at those speeds(meaning at speed it does, but above and below it doesnt).
Check your u -joints out first, I would go so far as to pull the driveshaft and see if its straight and the u -joints are actually mounted to it straight as well. A lot of the metal driveshafts had issues from GM in all car lines from the 80-90's. Even seen some yokes that were fubared as well.
If u need to replace it, try and find a aluminum one or step up to a Ls1 driveshaft. I would recommend any one you replace it with be checked for good u-joints and balanced however.
later
Jeremy
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From: Lubbock, TX
Car: 1989 GTA
Engine: Future: LSX Turbo
Transmission: built T-56
Originally posted by deadbird
Like the rear tires... that aren't connected to the steering...
This is the wrong forum for this anyways.
Like the rear tires... that aren't connected to the steering...
This is the wrong forum for this anyways.
i take back the not possible comment and did say at the bottom that if they were REALLY fed up it could be
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Joined: Jun 2003
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From: Ft. Branch, In.
Car: 88 formula WS6
Engine: 305 Lo3
Transmission: 700-R4
I'm having the same problem. Let me tell you what I've done so far with no luck.
Balanced all tires 3 times
replaced 2 tires for out of round
checked all rims for being bent
checked both rear axels to see if their bent
replaced steering box (was shot!)
replaced center link (it was sloppy)
checked all mounts (ok)
replaced rear trans housing bushing and seal
replaced driveshaft and front trans yoke
vibration is still there (slight vib. at 45mph and shaking the whole car at speeds above 65)
new outer tierods going on tomorrow and re-alignment next week end.
What might help me is get someone to drive my car on the interstate while I look at it from my other car. Maybe then I can see what's shaking! If you find it before I do, post it! I'll do the same! It's driving me nuts not being able to find it yet. I've been racing, collecting, and working on cars over 36 yrs. and have never had a problem like this that I couldn't find by now.
One would think that anything that would shake a car this bad would be obvious! After I get the front end straight and it doesn't help, the diff. cover is coming off and the axles are coming out.
Balanced all tires 3 times
replaced 2 tires for out of round
checked all rims for being bent
checked both rear axels to see if their bent
replaced steering box (was shot!)
replaced center link (it was sloppy)
checked all mounts (ok)
replaced rear trans housing bushing and seal
replaced driveshaft and front trans yoke
vibration is still there (slight vib. at 45mph and shaking the whole car at speeds above 65)
new outer tierods going on tomorrow and re-alignment next week end.
What might help me is get someone to drive my car on the interstate while I look at it from my other car. Maybe then I can see what's shaking! If you find it before I do, post it! I'll do the same! It's driving me nuts not being able to find it yet. I've been racing, collecting, and working on cars over 36 yrs. and have never had a problem like this that I couldn't find by now.
One would think that anything that would shake a car this bad would be obvious! After I get the front end straight and it doesn't help, the diff. cover is coming off and the axles are coming out.
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From: Chasing Electrons
Car: check
Engine: check
Transmission: check
The differential input yoke for the driveshaft can be an issue. If it has a small amount of run out the driveshaft will vibrate. Best way to check it is with a dial indicator. I've seen this problem on a couple of vehicles (one being a 3rd gen), with another guy having it written up on his web site (IIRC, a 4th gen, but with an aftermarket rear).
RBob.
RBob.
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From: Dayton, Ohio
Car: 1988 Trans Am
Engine: L98 355
Transmission: 700R4
Axle/Gears: 3.70
I'm having the same issue too. In my case, I believe I was getting vibration from two sources-the driveshaft, and another as yet undiscovered. I replaced the driveshaft and noticed an immediate change in the smoothness of the car at lower speeds (under 65). Whereas before I replaced the driveshaft I would get shaking in the seats, console and dash, I now just have it in the dash, and severely. Definitely feels like something in the front end (and my list of things I've checked/replaced is longer than I care to type).
My next target is the entire front suspension.
My next target is the entire front suspension.
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