Werid and horrible shaking
 

My car ran fine all the time till about two years ago i hit a gigantic hole on with the passenger front tire. i was going maybe 10-15 mph. i was on a road trip and about after 120 miles a horrible shaking started to occur. the weird part is it comes and goes. the reason why it was 2 years ago is it the shaking stays for a week and goes away for a couple months. as the months went by the shaking got more frequent and worse. i have looked at numerous times looking for wear and tear from a pot hole and everything else, being convinced it was the drive axle i replaced it and no change. Here is the description of it:
1) the steering wheel does not shake
2) its more shaking in the seat and by the feet( now pretty much the whole car is shaking)
3)it shakes on acceleration between 35-50 mph
4) sometimes shakes on hard braking
5)checked for play in the suspension couldn't find any
6) it is the worse going up a hill
7) while coasting no shaking.
8) it shakes no all the time but before when it came and go when you take your foot of the gas and push it again the shake would go away and then come again after a couple mins again

Any suggestions would be helpful thank you

Roman

Re: Werid and horrible shaking
 

sounds like a bent or warped wheel rim. I had something similar on a bmw and it was found when I went to have them check the balancing on the wheels. This is usually felt the most at specific speeds especially if it isn't balanced correctly mine was about 40-50mph it would shake and the steering wheel would vibrate. You let it go too long and I believe it will cause other suspension problems like ball joint, cv joint, tie rod end issues over time. You can usually rotate your wheels to the rear to help verify if that is the problem but rotating them doesn't fix it just moves it to a wheel that doesn't transmit through the steering but you will likely still feel something just will be a little different. Some shops will do wheel repair others just suggest buying a new wheel. Up to you but this check is free and easy to do so thats why I suggested it.

Re: Werid and horrible shaking
 

I have a similar problem, and its the u-joints in my drive shaft. # 1,2,3,6 are all to familiar...its more 40-70 mph though.

#4 could possibly indicate warped rear rotors.

Is this something that just started to happen instantly or did it progressivly get worse?

Re: Werid and horrible shaking
 

Had the same problem, but as you said it was not all the time it would come and go. Turned out my rotors were messed up as they had been installed backward. These were not OEM but a High End MOVIT calipers and rotors, the inside of the rotors were a mess. Once changed out, never shook again.

Re: Werid and horrible shaking
 

Typically when rotors rub due warpage etc you should feel that more when braking. I think if the rotors are bad enough and you let go of the steering wheel while braking you should pull towards the bad side, or you will see the steering wheel wobble and feel it in the pedal.

The u-joints are possible but you should be able to move them either up and down or side to side if they are bad. Also check things like cv boots to make sure they aren't torn and worn out. I was working on my front end the other day and and my driver's side boot was torn. When I disconnected the shafts from the transmission the joint on the torn boot side pretty much fell apart. I didn't get to drive the car enough recently to see what that felt like I was too busy watching my temp gauge.

Small chance it could be bad engine mounts. I still think it could be a wheel though since you mentioned hitting a pot hole or whatever.

Re: Werid and horrible shaking
 

my money is on the U-joints(universal joints)............I have similar shake upon acceleration. Im waiting for my harbor freight 6-ton press to arrive to replace them. There are 3 joints. PN 430-10 online 25 bux each from Ujointstore.com. I will post pix when i get this done. BTW new driveshaft $488 Subaruprts....rebuilt 372ebay.......:D

Re: Werid and horrible shaking
 

I believe the rear driveshaft has a non-replaceable joint. If I remember correctly, YT said something about rebuilding them with a new welded yolk and replaceable u-joint for quite a bit less than Ebays $372... you may want to inquire about it to him.

Re: Werid and horrible shaking
 

They are "non-servicable joints". They were never meant to be changed from the factory. If you do it right you can press the old staked joints out, grind down the excess from the stakes and press the aftermarket joints in... Not easy to do even with a press. For the first couple times, I would suggest buying twice as many joints as you need b/c u will break them

Tom

Re: Werid and horrible shaking
 

Thanks for all the replies. i did change all my rotors and brake pads not long ago and had the wheels balanced and rotated so can't be either of them. i will check the u joints again, might have missed it. the cv boots are good as well for i changed the passenger side about a month ago. the shaking is about the same magnitude it just got more frequent and i guess the magnitude changes of how much it shakes depending of how hard i press the gas.

Re: Werid and horrible shaking
 

I had the same problem. My drive shaft, rotors and rims are fairly new, so I don't beleive those are the culprit. I recently change all my struts, but haven't noticed if the problem went away. I'll keep you posted if that solved my problem. Check out my old locker if anyone is interested in seeing the new u-joint/yoke replaced and the optional universal replacement.

Re: Werid and horrible shaking
 

I no longer have the vibration problem. I drove it up the same hills where the problem was consistant every time (30-50 mph up hill). The only thing I did different was to install new struts front and back and changed the oil, it was low a quart.
Check your oil first.