well title says it all really. i have a convertible, and the frame and hardware and the car in general just starts to get really wobbly (i don't know how to explain it really) and the ride is not smooth the faster i go. not as noticeable until im on the freeway and try to go above 70. i have newer tires, new front and rear struts/shocks, and new front suspension (lower/upper arms, bushings, ball joints) so should i just take it in and have it looked at, or can anyone give me some idea if it might be something else? like i said, only noticeable at high speed. It would be great if i could diagnose this before taking to mechanic so i have some weight behind my argument.

thanks.

 

alot of possibilities here

failed struts, weak ones will allow bouncing of suspension

a frozen u joint will cause vibaration shaking due to driveline being bound up every revolution

i had this very issue with my S10 when i got it it had a frozen locked up u joint and had a horrible vibration shaking in it and it ended up bending the driveshaft permanently damaging it

the rear half one anyways(two piece driveline) i ended up taking 1.5" out of a full size chevy van driveshaft and putting it in the truck

but i didnt weld the yoke on exactly perfectly straight after cutting the length out of the tubing(oops) so it has a shaking at about 50 and above hmm..


if you want to eliminate the tires as the possibility then take your flat palm and feel all the way across the tread of the tires all way around them and feel carefully for any bulging or dipping of the tread

if you feel any then it has one or more separating belts in it and this causes shaking viabrating, or worse

pretty common issue with tires and ive seen it many many times over the years mot recently on a buddys 97 grand prix, he had two of his tires do this, very badly too, major bulges in the tread that you could see very obviously with just a quick glance even,

 

wow, guess ill have to check it out or have it looked at.

 

It could be your tires are out of balance. That waves in the tires Phx is talking about is what mainly happens on fwd cars "dog-tracking" the back tires due to the toe out/in being off to much. I'd take it to a tire shop and see if the wheels and tires are out of balance first. That's what I'd put my money on.

 

sounds like you need wheel blance some times the weights fall of if they where installed correctlly

but more specific where is the wobbling coming from or where you feel it comming from need more info then thats theres alot of possibilities

 

As stated, check tires first, make sure they are balanced.

If that doesn't fix it, look at the driveshaft.

 

ive got a vibration over 70 as well when i installed a set of wheels, already got a balance so idk,

 

If it started after you installed new wheels then thats where your problem lies.

Either they are Not balanced properly, someone over or under torqued them, if they are aluminum, they need to be retorqued,

or,

You have a bent wheel.

 

Its pretty simple

 

Just curious...because I am having the SAME issue at 70+ mph....

How do you check for a bent wheel? I would think that over time the structural integrity of anything tends to deteriorate....It would probably not take much deviation from normal specs....but how much bend is too much?

 

Basically to check for a bent wheel you look at the lip of the wheel where the wheel weights go and see if there is any abnormal bends in it. Most of the time it will be pretty obvious but can be missed.

Also, if you take it to a tire shop they will put it on the balancer and that will let you know pretty easily. Bent wheels dont spin easily on the balancer and "hop" which is usually what lets you know that there is definitely a bend in there. Again, this is only if your positive you have a bent wheel and cant find it yourself, which is unlikely.

And you can not balance out a bent wheel. You "technically" can, but only in the sense that the balancer will say it is okay. You still will have a vibration. In the sense of a bad enough bent wheel, there is really no other option than to purchase a new wheel.

 

Or have someone follow you and watch the wheels, you can usually see a bent wheel wobble.

 

balancing the tires fixed it. forgot to reply to this thread after i got it fixed.