ritchie1791

Here is the gist of my issue if someone may be kind to help me. I have new tires which are awesome!!!! New Bilstein shocks!!! balancing, alignment. Now I am wondering if its my bushings and which one? I feel my steering wheel shake and passenger seat shake. What can it be?!

therabidweasel

iTrader: (5)

Not a lot to go on here, would help to know when it vibrates, if wheel or motor speed dependent etc. But do you have an adjustable ta or know for sure what your pinion angle is currently set to? A telltale sign of pinion angle or other driveline imbalance is that it feels worst in 3rd gear if a4.

BMR Tech2

iTrader: (5)

You'll need to post details about the vibration before I can answer you, as mentioned above. Is it speed dependent? Is it RPM dependent? Is it coming from the rear, the floor, the front? Does it only happen under braking? Does it happen only when you're turning? Stuff like that.

- Kevin

ritchie1791

Well...I feel it when I hit 55+ mph. Shakes my steering wheel, seats shake side to side. Pinion angle I don't know it, but I know that the rear is stock except the shocks. You feel it more around 3rd and 4th gear.

ritchie1791

You can feel a little bit of vibration on the floor but that just seems normal to me. It doesn't really bother but the steering wheel vibration and passenger and driver seat shaking is what I am wondering about.

BMR Tech2

iTrader: (5)

So is everything else on the car stock, aside from the Bilstein shocks? I take it by "still there" that the vibration was present in the car before you performed the installation on these parts?

It's not normal for vibration to occur on a stock suspension vehicle. The only parts that would provide "normal" vibration would be rod-ends or the torque arm mounting to the floor, that sort of thing. With things all stock, it should be smooth as butter, because that's the way it was intended from the factory. So, if there is a vibration present, we have to track it down.

At this point, I still can't rule out driveline angle, a bad bushing, a unbalanced driveshaft or wheel. Speed dependence tells me it's a part that's rotating under the car. You're feeling it through the wheel, which means looking at the steering isn't a bad idea. I would jack the front of the car and grab your wheel at 9-o-clock and 3-o-clock and move back and forth (try both the passenger and driver side). If it's all loosey goosey, you have a bad outer tie rod. If you grab the wheel at 12-o-clock and 6-o-clock and it's all wobbly, you have a bad ball joint on your A-arm. Inspect the rack for damaged steering boots.

If you come up with nothing after this, your problem should lie in the drivetrain or wheel balance, IMO.

Let me know what you come up with.

- Kevin

bayer-z28

iTrader: (14)

Put the back end up on jack stands and let the engine roll the wheels in first and have someone look at your wheels to see if you have a bent axle or bent wheel. That will rule out the back end most likely. Unless you can take it to a dyno and have them spin it.

ritchie1791

I rebalanced wheels just to make sure and not fixed. Then I decided to turn the music down and drive and listen to details...I believe its my wheel hubs. when rolling I hear a scratchy whining noise but super low noise. Kinda sounds like air coming in, to put it better maybe when you have the heater on the defroster setting and turn it off and you hear the pssshhh noise. Wheel hubs?