When I swapped my new rear end in this summer, one of the wheel studs was too short, so I couldn't get a lug nut on it, and then recently, while doing the brakes, I stripped two of the lug nuts. So now, three of my wheels are missing one lug nut. The car seems to vibrate at any speed above 30 mph, I notice it mostly in the steering wheel and in the dash shaking. I can't remember if this started when I started missing the lugs. Do you think the missing nuts would throw off the balance enough to cause this vibration.

I know this needs to be fixed soon anyways to be safe - just wondering if I can expect the vibration to stop.

Thanks,
Chris

 

holy cow, you're are the bravest human i've ever seen!
I'd hammer out the old studs and put in new ones. Then it'll probably be dead smooth after that.

 

Well, I know it's not good to have missing ones, but I figured with four on each wheel, it would be okay to drive for a little while - luckily I don't drive the car that much since I'm at school.

Thanks for the response though.

 

4 is fine but 5 is Obviously optimal

Just make sure the other 4 are torqued down properly and evenly and you should be fine until you get new studs

 

Well I called an alignment shop today and they said they would replace the studs for pretty cheap. But they guy told me that I am okay with just four on there, and I told him that I thought it was causing a vibration, and he said there's no way that could be it.

He said that as long as the wheels and tires are balanced, there's no way that the missing lug could cause a vibration since the tires are not balanced to the drivetrain. It didnt really seem to make sense to me the way he was saying it, but he was really adamant about it. What do you guys think?

 

My suburban has run over 70k with a lug missing on 2 wheels. Just because I've been too lazy to remember to pick two new ones up. No vib issues, they're way to close to the center of inertia, and way too little of a weight difference to be the cause of any vibration.

 

Yea the missing lugs wouldnt do it. Remember alot of import cars, and i think the 80s mustang ran 4 bolts for a while, no problems there. If you have a vibration over 30, and it carries out well into the speed curve, youve got a serious problem. With these things, if there is a vibration it WILL start to wear other components, so dont be lazy get it looked at. A couple of tests you could do at home.

1) With the car off (so ur power steering isnt working), stand outside the car, and turn the wheel, if your steering moves, and ur wheels dont, you have play somewhere in the column, steering box, tie rod ends, idler arms, thing like that.
2) Next, raise your car, go to each of the front wheels, grab it at 12 oclock and 6 oclock (with ur steering locked), and try to move it. If you have play, one or both of ur ball joints is gone.
3) Grab it at 3 and 9 (oclock), and try to move it, if there is play, ur tie rod ends are gone.
4) Just put the car in neutral, spin the wheel as fast as you can, or get a freind to spin and you watch the edge of the rim at a fixed point. If you see the rim kinda wobbly, ur wheel is warped. If you stare a fixed point on the wheel, when it spins real fast, at the edge it should "appear" as if it isnt moving at all. (hope i explained that correctly).
5) Do the same thing with spinning the wheel, but this time, watch it head on, and watch the tire. If you see a wobble side to side, you have a shimmy, if you see it going up or down, you have wheel tramp (wheel not round). This one is harder to do cuz you need to make a judgement call.
6) If the vibration only comes on when you brake, your rotors need to be machined true, or get new rotors.
7) If you rear wheels have play that i havent mentioned, get your axles looked at, maybe they are damaged. But damaged axles will emit some kind of noise before they vibrate.
8) Finally, try to feel which side or corner of the car the vibration is coming from. If you have time, Label your wheels at the back somewhere, with something that wont fade easily. 1,2,3,4 or ABCD, what ever you like, and change the wheels around one at a time. If you think the vibration is coming from the passenger front, say wheel #2, switch it with passenger rear, say wheel #4. If the vibration then changes to passenger rear, ur wheel is warped, just replace the one. And do this with the other ones too, but make sure its one at a time, and keep track of what you moved where.


Hope that helps! Get it looked at.

 

Yes, but they were designed as 4 lug hubs and wheels, so they were spaced equally. A 5 lug wheel with only 4 lugs on it is not spaced equally.

While it prolly not causing a vibration, it is a very good idea to get the stud replaced and get lugs back on it.

- Justin

 

I'd have to agree on the side of the lugs NOT being a necessity here. Yes, 5 is optimal, but from my understanding, 5 lugs over 4 is not an issue of strength that we will run into under most normal circumstances. I had a Bronco with only 4 out of the 5 lugs for about 5k miles. The biggest issue with missing a lug is uneven application of torque on those mating surfaces - your wheel to the rotor. It's not going to be a huge pressure difference over the surface because we are dealing with fairly thick materials, but it is a good idea to get all 5 on there to prevent any future issues. As far as vibration issues resulting from a missing lug, it would definitely not be on the account of throwing the whole bit out of balance... the only thing I could see would be warping. But again, that would take time to develop from such a small torque difference.

 

When you swapped the rear end out, did you also rotate the tires? Maybe you rotated a out of balance tire from the rear to the front?
Since you feel it in the steering wheel, sounds like a front tire maybe needs balanced. - Or a loose front end part...