Very hardcore vibration at 40 MPH. Already searched..

94sentraSER · 10-27-2003, 10:20 PM

So gradually this past year has been very numbing for my SE-R. Had my head gasket blow, starter is taking a sh*t, have a crazy vibration at 40 MPH that makes driving unbearable to the point that i don't even want to drive her any more....I kinda wanna just get full coverage and just drive her straight into a wall, but i won't.
Anyway. I have a really bad vibration at around 40 mph regardless of what gear im in, and if i was a betting man i would bet on a bent axle. But! which axle is bent? How can i tell? If its the right axle will the vibration be more on the passenger side? I just got my front struts replaced and i have yet to get an alignment. Just did a engine swap ( for the 2nd time ) and the vibration was basically the same before.
When the temp. is cold outside the vibration is really bad, when its kinda warm the vibration isn't so unbearable.....any ideas?

I really wanna keep her if possible, otherwise it may even be lights out for her, collect the insurance $$$ and look for another car...I have a 94 B13 with a 10:1 swap.....no play in the wheel bearings, no play in the tie rod department. I just can't tell if one of my axles is bent.....TIA

Wicked R · 10-27-2003, 10:24 PM

could be motor mount...

cheers-
erich

94sentraSER · 10-27-2003, 10:27 PM

really? I didn't know that bad mount would cause a vibration that bad....But if it was a bad mount then wouldn't it vibrate that bad even at idle? It doesnt vibrate at idle at all even when i give it gas while out of gear....and it happens at all MPH but its very bad at 40 mph...im really hating my car right now, and the only thing on my mind is putting her out of her misery...seriously...

Wicked R · 10-28-2003, 12:32 AM

Dude... its torque that causes the engine to shift, thus why it does not do it at idle and in neutral, when you put load on the motor, it causes the motor to flex... check your mounts, I can see it being the tranny mount more than anything... But I could be wrong as I always am...

Cheers-
Erich

NX$paniard · 10-28-2003, 01:28 AM

bent wheel/s??? youd be surprised...

redrims · 10-28-2003, 01:56 AM

can't a tie rod cause vibration?

94sentraSER · 10-28-2003, 08:16 AM

I'll be checking my mounts today, i have the ES inserts for my torque mounts that i have yet to install. i didnt see any play in my wheels , and to answer about bent rims, i installed my stock wheels and the results are the same...

Harris · 10-28-2003, 02:57 PM

Hold on, you said you haven't done an alignment yet. Maybe thats the reason why you're having the bad vibration. Does it get worse at speeds above 40 mph? If so, you need an alignment buddy.

BTW, the ES inserts are going to give you vibrations when you install them, but you only feel it when the car is stationary.

94sentraSER · 10-28-2003, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by harris81

Hold on, you said you haven't done an alignment yet. Maybe thats the reason why you're having the bad vibration. Does it get worse at speeds above 40 mph? If so, you need an alignment buddy.

BTW, the ES inserts are going to give you vibrations when you install them, but you only feel it when the car is stationary.

Well it doesn't get worse per say, but it is bad. I think at 40 mph regardless of what rpms is the worst...and when im doing 80 mph on the expressway, i feel a " rrrmmmm rrmmmm rrmmmm rrmmmm " sound. i can even hear it in my ashtray filled with change....it really sucks man.....ggggggrrrrrr

jonboyracing · 10-28-2003, 10:10 PM

does your SE-R have limited slip.. if not you can lift the front wheel off ground with stands.. and hold one wheel at a time.. and see if it is one side that way you can check and look at axles same time.. may take few people to perform this .....

sr20de · 10-28-2003, 10:31 PM

Worn mounts would vibrate at idle, too (depending on how worn they are). Mine were so worn that they would vibrate extremely loud at idle.. warm or cold.

My NX vibrated when I drove it, too (aside from the motor mounts), and it needed an alignment bad. When I got it aligned, it doesn't shake/vibrate as bad, but it still shakes.. but there is little to no vibration.

If I were you, I'd get an alignment, get my tires balanced, and check my mounts. I'd do all of this first.

94sentraSER · 10-30-2003, 07:50 PM

Well i think my problem might be a bad wheel bearing but im about to search to see the symptoms....thanks to all...

johnand · 10-30-2003, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 94sentraSER

Well i think my problem might be a bad wheel bearing but im about to search to see the symptoms....thanks to all...

I agree w/ sr20de. Do the easy and obvious things first. Go get an alignment first. Then get the tires balanced. If that doesn't solve it, then did into it more. Wheel bearings can cause vibration, but usually make a low grinding noise when going bad. Did you happen to move your car around w/ the axles out when doing your motor swaps? If so, you probably trashed the wheel bearings. Then need to have the axle in them if you move the car.

pray4boost · 10-31-2003, 04:35 AM

it may be that your wheel is just out of balance. I work in the auto center at sears and see this all the time

san-man · 10-31-2003, 07:16 AM

To see if it is the wheel bearing, you are going to have to jack the car up. Turn the wheels to the side (either left or right) and put the car in neutral. From there, go to one side and turn the wheel slowly; they are suppose to turn with a small amount of effort. However, in some point during the rotation if it happens to get stuck in a certain spot or get a little harder to turn at that spot then it is the wheel bearing. If it turns good the whole way with both tires than it is not the wheel bearing.

It kinda sounds like the same problem I had the only thing is that with me the vibration happened at about 60 mph and would move between 55 to 70 from time to time. As written above, that is what I did to check the wheel bearings in my car. Hopefully it helps out.

Creagach · 10-31-2003, 02:27 PM

he said there was no play in the tie-rods or wheel bearings, it's not unheard of to have a car's wheels improperly torqued (too tight) that can cause vibrations, i haven't seen an sr20 that vibrates at high speeds because of motor mounts though, seems that the motor would be bucking around at city speeds and rpm/shift changes as apposed to freeway speeds, i could be wrong though.

streetdraggr · 11-02-2003, 01:37 AM

How new are the tires?? That can also be factor or maybe even a bent rim?? Take it in for an alignment and have the check all the suspension parts, but sound more like a worn bushing... when cold it's worse than when it's hot

nx2000racer · 11-02-2003, 02:11 PM

i say if your tires are old or cheap.. they're shot

94sentraSER · 11-02-2003, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by streetdraggr

How new are the tires?? That can also be factor or maybe even a bent rim?? Take it in for an alignment and have the check all the suspension parts, but sound more like a worn bushing... when cold it's worse than when it's hot

YES!!! thats exactly what happens!!! When its cold outside the vibration is unbearable. when its warm out its not so bad. when it rains its not bad either....im gonna get an alignment done and see how that helps.....i kinda want to fix my oil leak 1st ***....can't be my rims because when i swapped em with my stock rims it was the same result....i know it isn't my motor mounts because when i drive and shut the car off while driving , the vibration is still there so i ruled out bad mounts....i thought it could have been my wheel bearings because i have 17" rims......what do ya think?

BenSR20DE-T · 11-02-2003, 02:56 PM

jack up the front end and shake the wheel(left and right) side to side and up and down. also while it's jacked up put the car in gear then let it roll then have someone check ur wheels if it's warped or if you got bad tires. side to side(bad ball joint) up or down(bad tie rod/strut mount.

Ben