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Shaking at 71mph+

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kamakeraion

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Hi all, chasing this weird issue down.

Took it to a local shop who is very thorough, and just replaced a CV axle, checked tire balance, and alignment. Everything checked out great when they did that work and they rechecked it all again this week.

The only thing they found this week was some very very tiny movement in the front control arm bushings, everything else was tight. All other speeds below 71mph the car is silky smooth. Has anyone else noticed this issue at all?

Again, tire balance is great, alignment within specs, all front suspension is tight other than minor movement in the bushes of the control arms. They equated the feeling to Keep 'death wobble' if anyone is familiar. Sometimes it doesn't do it most of the time it does.
 
#2 ·
I don't know how much faith I put into it, but I understand sometimes a tire can have internal construction flaws that do not reveal themselves through normal spin balancing. I once had a set of tires that I had "Road Force" balanced, which is some fancy machine that applies pressurized force against the tire as it spins, and the tech told me he couldn't do much about that using weights... They were only half worn, but I replaced them out of desperation and the shaking went away. I still think "Road Force" balancing is a bit of a scam to charge more money, but there's probably some degree of usefulness as well.

I'm not a suspension expert, but it strikes me that minor play in the bushings that don't otherwise concern your mechanic would result in that severe of a wobble... Do you by some chance have a set of snow tires you are getting ready to put on? You might try swapping tires and see what happens. Stranger things have happened.
 
Discussion starter · #4 ·
TomKatt said:
I don't know how much faith I put into it, but I understand sometimes a tire can have internal construction flaws that do not reveal themselves through normal spin balancing. I once had a set of tires that I had "Road Force" balanced, which is some fancy machine that applies pressurized force against the tire as it spins, and the tech told me he couldn't do much about that using weights... They were only half worn, but I replaced them out of desperation and the shaking went away. I still think "Road Force" balancing is a bit of a scam to charge more money, but there's probably some degree of usefulness as well.

I'm not a suspension expert, but it strikes me that minor play in the bushings that don't otherwise concern your mechanic would result in that severe of a wobble... Do you by some chance have a set of snow tires you are getting ready to put on? You might try swapping tires and see what happens. Stranger things have happened.
Click to expand...
Thanks, you bring up a good point about internal flaws in the tires. They did have it up to about 80mph on the loft and watched all tires. I'd think it would be noticable as some sort of wobble or oddity at that speed.

I agree about such a minor play causing this. I replaced rear control arm bushes in my wife's Miata, and could take them out by hand they were so bad. They only manifested some sloppiness feel in the rear, not a wobble/balance feeling. However, older BMWs I've had have the shakes when front CABs are bad, so maybe this behaves similar to that. It's odd, since it's 100% smooth then suddenly at 71mph it changes.

I'll look at roadforce balance if I can't pinpoint something obvious for sure.

This is the only set of wheels/tires I have for the rav.

Bigphil555 said:
May be unrelated, but in one of our vehicles, we had the same issue at 70MPH+, and it turned out to be a wheel bearing on the way out.

May be worth a look?
Click to expand...
That's a good thought as well! I hear absolutely no bearing noises, and they checked them, and so did I a few months prior, so I assume they are ok as well.

I've had a few bad bearings on other cars in the past and they always manifested some kind of noise, whether while changing direction(and load on the bearing) or a roaring that never changed for years.

I suppose the hunt continues for now! Thanks guys
 
#7 ·
Mine is a 97 2dr, FWD. The steering does vibrate at 80mph, not under or over. I have not checked out the cause but next time it's in for work at my mechanic, I'll ask him to do a front end inspection.Tires are fairly new and in good shape.
 
Discussion starter · #8 ·
Thanks, I forgot to mention my tires have about 7k miles on them and are about 1 year old now.

I'm thinking of replacing the front control arm bushes at some point and seeing if it is resolved. They are cheap enough that cost isnt prohibitive.
 
Discussion starter · #10 ·
Normally I'd agree, but darnit if this car wasn't so tight otherwise. I am in agreement though. I have done all shocks/struts/upper mounts, sway bar links and bushes, and lower ball joints up front. Sounds like this is the last piece of the puzzle.
 
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kamakeraion
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