2002CamaroSS1982

iTrader: (12)

Hey all, first of all I opened a thread a few weeks ago about a shake in the front of my daily driver 2002 Grand Prix GT about the possibility of it being a wheel bearing. Well I changed both wheel bearings, both were in pretty dire need of it but the shake is still there.

Symptoms:

Front of the car shakes/shimmys, it is very noticeable so much so that you can actually look out over the hood and see the visible shake.

It gets much worse under acceleration, at a crusing speed it is much less intense but still noticeable, basically gets worse under acceleration

What I have checked:

Both wheel bearings have been replaced, both front tires look fine (no waves) the rear passenger does have a bit of a wavy look to it but am not getting a shake from the back

Brake rotors are good

What else could this possibly be? Could it be something else in the drive train or could it be something as simple as a bent rim? As bad as it is im hesitant to think I bent a rim that bad.

I am much less familiar with a FWD set up but could it be a bent axle?

Any suggestions would be great.

RedHotG8

iTrader: (1)

Worn tie rods will cause a front end shake.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

Ball joints, CV joints, have the tires re-balanced.

I'd check the balance of the wheels first. You could have lost a lead balancing weight, etc.

Elthesh

iTrader: (1)

Just because the tires look good, does not mean they are. I had a set that looked fine, and no alignment, wheel balancing or anything would get rid of the pulling and vibration from those tires. I then bought a full set of Firestone tires online, up from whatever it was the shop had sold me, and all my issues were fixed.

T.Williams

i had the same problem bout two months ago i replaced them got a alignment and tires balanced it is like a new ride

2002CamaroSS1982

iTrader: (12)

Thanks for all the input guys. Will probably just look at a set of new tires, have it aligned and balanced, and start there.

Tobias05

iTrader: (1)

have you swapped wheels front to back?

My friend had an old POS kia and one of his front tires had a huge knot in the tread and the car rode horrible. we swapped it to the back and the ride greatly improved.

...he got a new tire a week later.

Tim94gt

iTrader: (2)

What speeds does it shake at?

If over 40mph, it's usually the tires.

RobRomero

iTrader: (1)

Hey bro I just had the EXACT same problem and it turned out to be a separated tire....not sure if that's your problem, but it's something to consider. I couldn't actually see that the tire was warped, but under acceleration you could sure as hell tell. It didn't matter whether the tire was in the front or back of the car. The tire blew out and I put a new one on. Walllllaaaa no more shake.

-Rob

sscamaroburn02

iTrader: (14)

maybe swap tires front to back and see if it improves. an easy starting point.

2002CamaroSS1982

iTrader: (12)

Sounds good guys, I will give it a shot.

It also does happen above 40 but shakes ALOT under acceleration and does get a touch better while I have the cruise on but still a noticeable shake.

joshp14

iTrader: (5)

As said above, take a long look at the tires. Put it on jack stands and put the car in gear and watch the tires as they spin. You will be able to tell visually if the tire(s) are bad.

If the problem is much worse under accel I would be looking at drive axles. You really wont see a tire poblem get worse under acceleration. I'll bet if you load your car up with your friends it will get worse.

RobRomero

iTrader: (1)

""If the problem is much worse under accel I would be looking at drive axles. You really wont see a tire poblem get worse under acceleration. I'll bet if you load your car up with your friends it will get worse.""

Untrue my friend. I'm not saying that it may not be an axle issue. However, I slapped on some used tires a little while back and found out the hard way that one had separated inside. I can tell you for fact that it DOES shake worse the faster you go.

-Rob

2002CamaroSS1982

iTrader: (12)

Well since the tires sound like the much cheaper option at this point I will start there, if it doesn't improve I'll look elsewhere.

joshp14

iTrader: (5)

I'm afraid you don't understand. Obviously a shake would get worse the FASTER you go. Depending on the nature of the vibration, some get BETTER the faster you go. In his case, he stated that its worse under ACCELERATION. Which to me says the vibration gets worse only UNDER ACCELERATION....meaning only when his foot is on the go pedal.

I have found and fixed hundreds of vibrations so I'm not going to get into the complex hz and freq readings, first, second, and third order vibrations and such. I dont consider myself a expert, but by no means a joe schmo.