Grrr.... new tires installed, still vibration.

[Subix]

I'm discouraged. Mainly because I just shelled out nearly $500 to have these tires put on and yet I still feel a minor annoying vibration around 60mph.

So, it's probably my fault for being (or trying to be) a cheap SOB and taking it to Wal*Mart to save $25 for mounting/balance/installation. (I'm sure the word Wal*Mart makes people cringe). I suppose that's what I get

Do you think the techs at Wall-E World just didn't balance them right or enough? Maybe I have a front wheel bearing going out (which I don't think because I would think I would hear humming from the front (( or do those not hum? )) and the tech at wal*mart probably would have noticed wiggling while changing the tires, right?)

Could alignment have anything to do with the vibrations at those speeds (not from my understanding). On some roads it seems to go just straight... others slightly to the left so I'm unsure if it's just the road or alignment.

I'll most likely have to take it to Car-X or something in the morning and have *professionals look at it (aka, spend like another $80) and give me their opinion... if it is balance related, I doubt Wal*Mart will do any better the 2nd time around...

What do you guys think? (besides my ignorant choice in going to walmart, apparently...)

[Wikedjuggalo]

I had that problem and though it was tire balance and/or bearing. But after getting new tires and got them balanced and rotated for life at walmart. They did a decent job no complaints, no vibration, I'd attempt to get them balanced again.

[kwren]

"Still have" Is probably a clue...
Like maybe something else was causing the vibration.
First, Wall mart should be just about as good as anyone. I am sure their equipment is fine and balancing tires is not exactly rocket science. Might get them to recheck the job. That will be free of course.
Then, if the problem continues, I would get the car up on jack stands and check ball joints and drive shaft components, suspension and other related things for noticeable wear?


Just a thought or two,

Keith

[kwren]

I always type way too slow to beat guitar picker!!

[Subix]

Originally Posted by kwren

"Still have" Is probably a clue...
Like maybe something else was causing the vibration.
First, Wall mart should be just about as good as anyone. I am sure their equipment is fine and balancing tires is not exactly rocket science. Might get them to recheck the job. That will be free of course.
Then, if the problem continues, I would get the car up on jack stands and check ball joints and drive shaft components, suspension and other related things for noticeable wear?


Just a thought or two,

Keith

I should point out that it's not nearly as bad as it was before.... it's lightly, but noticeable. Before (with my old tires) it was really bad.

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. I'm not going to dabble with any ball joints or drive shaft components so I guess Car-X would be as good as any for them to check this?

[newsvx]

Originally Posted by Subix

I'm discouraged. Mainly because I just shelled out nearly $500 to have these tires put on and yet I still feel a minor annoying vibration around 60mph.

So, it's probably my fault for being (or trying to be) a cheap SOB and taking it to Wal*Mart to save $25 for mounting/balance/installation. (I'm sure the word Wal*Mart makes people cringe). I suppose that's what I get

Do you think the techs at Wall-E World just didn't balance them right or enough? Maybe I have a front wheel bearing going out (which I don't think because I would think I would hear humming from the front (( or do those not hum? )) and the tech at wal*mart probably would have noticed wiggling while changing the tires, right?)

Could alignment have anything to do with the vibrations at those speeds (not from my understanding). On some roads it seems to go just straight... others slightly to the left so I'm unsure if it's just the road or alignment.

I'll most likely have to take it to Car-X or something in the morning and have *professionals look at it (aka, spend like another $80) and give me their opinion... if it is balance related, I doubt Wal*Mart will do any better the 2nd time around...

What do you guys think? (besides my ignorant choice in going to walmart, apparently...)

What kind of tires? Are you certain you don't have a bent rim? Some tires (Kumo comes to mind) don't seem to balance as well as others. And a bent rim will certainly affect balance / vibration.
BTW, alignment "could" have an affect of how the car feels in the balance department. Not as likely, but it could.

Harry

[Subix]

Originally Posted by newsvx

What kind of tires? Are you certain you don't have a bent rim? Some tires (Kumo comes to mind) don't seem to balance as well as others. And a bent rim will certainly affect balance / vibration.
BTW, alignment "could" have an affect of how the car feels in the balance department. Not as likely, but it could.

Harry

They are Yokohama Avid V4s. Also, if I had a bent rim (wouldn't it be somewhat noticeable?) wouldn't have the techs said something or noticed it? My gut feeling is that it's not balanced properly but I don't know enough to say either way.

[Subie59]

I had a similar problem and thought it was either the tires or the balance. Turned out that a little rust had built up around the studs. They grinded off the rust and it made a huge difference. The rims were not seating properly and throwing off the wheel...They are perfect now. Worth a try, no cost.

[Wikedjuggalo]

Originally Posted by kwren

"Still have" Is probably a clue...
Like maybe something else was causing the vibration.
First, Wall mart should be just about as good as anyone. I am sure their equipment is fine and balancing tires is not exactly rocket science. Might get them to recheck the job. That will be free of course.
Then, if the problem continues, I would get the car up on jack stands and check ball joints and drive shaft components, suspension and other related things for noticeable wear?


Just a thought or two,

Keith

Yeah Ball joints, got them replaced last week, thanks OT . But my ball joints although warn to crap did not cause the vibration. Ask OT how loose they were . Easiest is to get it rebalanced. Then go from there. And yes I know I type fast =D.

[Subix]

Went to Car-X and I'm surprised about the whole free inspection thing but before I even went in there I did some more reading up and decided to touch each rotor to see if any were hotter than the other and sure enough, the front right one was.

They took off all the wheels, jacked it up and about an hour later said the caliper is seized up and needs to be replaced along with the hose. They also said they couldn't obtain either part.

I looked on Subaru-parts but couldn't find anything. I found a link to rockauto that wants $110 without the core. They also want $111 (why 111 and not 110 is beyond me lol) to install the caliper and hose. *Car-X that is.

Does anyone here have a nice used caliper that may last a while? If so, please send me a PM with how much you want for it. Apparently I can't get these new at all eh? What about the hose?? And for what it's worth, he said he tried and tried but the caliper was seized. Whatever he/they did seemed to fix the vibration, for now... but that doesn't mean the root cause still isn't present. He said most likely my rotor is warped too but didn't know.

(Thanks for everyones feedback... got my mind churning and pushed me to dwell deeper instead of just throwing another $60 down the tube for a pointless re-balance.)

[wannarace928]

I actually just went threw this problem with my teal. I took it to a local shop and they said the caliper and hose was bad. But I had a warped rotor on the front drivers side that was causing the problem. The caliper and rotor where both new, but evidently the rotor was not seated properly and it warped. There was nothing wrong with the hose. Had the rotor turned and good as new.

Hopefully your problem is as easy to fix.

[kwren]

caliber seized is a little tough to compute.

What is seized that would allow the brakes to work correct??

seized on the shaft that is stationary and supports the moving part of the caliper that holds the cylinders, or one of the cylinders that squeeze the brake pads when the brake petal is depressed?

Finding an honest mechanic is virtually anywhere impossible... not only for cars but just about anything you can think of. Usually their "queses" prove to be worthless before and after you pay to get something done.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out out this stuff and you would think a simple diagnoses would not be impossible to achieve.

However the vibration could be one of several things and not an easy diagnosis but for a mechanic to do the seized thing is certainly questionable in my book.

Could new tires... (sounds like you got really good ones) help the vibration that is caused by a "seized rotor" at all???

Re-balance would be my first choice.

Good luck,
Keith

[Nevin]

At our shop, we always get mad when people go to Wal-Mart, just cause they should have come to us! lol

That said, the problem you're describing could be a few different things. However much everyone that's not wal-mart doesn't like wal-mart, they have perfectly good machinery and generally competent help. So, I doubt it's the fact that you went there. It COULD however be a bent rim though, it's something that would come out fine on the balancer but upon visal inspection you could find a bend or a small crack. That does happen at our shop semi-frequently.

Also, it could be a bad axle or possibly a rotor that is out of balance. The axle is very unlikely, but possible. Sometimes the rotor will flake apart from the inside out (rusting) and parts of it will just flake out and cause the rotor to be out of balance; this could also be the problem.

Those are the first things I would check for if you brought your car to me.

[Crazy_pilot]

Before I lose you with my long story, does the vibration come and go if you maintain a long curve on a highway? Will it sometimes be stronger, and then fade out, then later come back?

Being a tire monkey myself, I can say a few things about balancing wheels. While it isn't rocket science to roughly balance a wheel (well enough for a truck or big van, something with heavy ass wheels), getting it perfect for a more precise application can take a bit of skill, and the right balancer.

Here follows an overly descriptive narration about wheel balancing:

Your typical balancer will display the amount of weight that has to be added to the inner and outter lip of the wheel to bring it into balance, in increments of 0.25 oz. Getting the machine to say 0.00/0.00 is easy, but that doesn't necessarily mean the wheel is perfectly balanced. Some of the fancier machines will show a third reading, called "Total Static". This reading indicates the total single point weight that the wheel is out, and it reads in 0.01 oz increments. It is possible to have a wheel "zeroed" and still have a total static measurement of 0.30 or 0.40 oz, because the machine doesn't have anywhere to put a full 0.25 oz weight.

I had this problem when I mounted up the tires on my BBS rims. It was a busy day in the shop, so I got one of the other guys to balance them while I mounted. He was competant, but nothing special. Sure enough, first drive the car shakes from 60-65 mph. I come back, pull the wheels, and start re-balancing. The guy is ranting at me, and sure enough, the inner and outter lip measurements are zeroed. But! The total static was at least 0.3 for each wheel. To fix it I had to cut the weights down to smaller sizes than they come as and stick them on individually. Got 'er down to about 0.05/wheel. Smooth as glass.

[newsvx]

Nice description, Crazy ....
I'm dating myself, but the best balancing when I was a kid and working in a service station was an "on-car" Hunter balancer where the wheel was never removed from the car. Yeah, that was in the '60's

I would still bet money that it is the balancing job or a bent rim. The latter is sometime difficult to discern .....

Harry