Vibration in Pedals and Steering Wheel

[super80e]

On my 2000 Intrigue, when at any speed i can feel a vibration kinda like clunk clunk. I mean you cant hear any noised but u can feel it I can feel it better at lower speeds especially at around 10-20 and seems to get lost in the road noise at high speeds like above 60. Does it when coasting and when in gear. You can really feel it in the brake pedal if you just barely put your foot on the pedal, but i cant feel any pulsing when acutally applying the brakes. You can also feel it in the gas pedal. Could this just be a bad tire or possible a warped roter? Im not sure where to start any one have some ideas?

Thanks Super80e

[atoyota4x4]

Do you feel the vibration while at a complete stop? If so, put it in neutral and see if it goes away. If so, my guess is bottom motor mount. This broke on my 2000 at the end of last year and gave me those type of vibrations. I was hesitant to believe that was the problem but it was. I replaced the top motor mount to. Very easy to do yourself and that part is very cheap. Its just a rubber coated bushing. Knock the old one out of the bracket mount and press the new one in.

I let a local shop replace the bottome one so if you have it repaired at a local shop, get ready for about a $400 bill.

[super80e]

Nope I only feel the vibration while in motion...never when im just sitting there. Im praying its something easy and thank you very much for your post

[burijon]

Hmmm...I would guess either brake rotors or wheel hubs if you only feel it at speed. Check all your brakes and see if it looks like the pads are grabbing or not. You might have to pull the calipers off to see the back pad as that is the one that usually grabs(Murphy's law).
My mechanic diagnosed a bad wheel hub for me and he was amazed that I couldn't feel any vibration at speed. The hub is not too hard to replace(if that's what it is). The ABS plugged right up to it and not computer reset was needed.

Do you have wheel weights on all your tires?

[super80e]

Thats a very good question, i did a visual exam but totaly forgot to look for wheel weights. Ill definatly do that tomorrow and post the results. i did notice a ridge on the top of the rotors not that big of a ridge but thats the first reason i thought it could be the rotors... Ill let you know what i find...its gonna be a bit before i can pull the calipers cause of all the darn cold weather...thanks for the info, if anyone else has ideas ill be happy to hear them

[Jimmy Olsen]

Originally Posted by super80e

On my 2000 Intrigue, when at any speed i can feel a vibration kinda like clunk clunk. I mean you cant hear any noised but u can feel it I can feel it better at lower speeds especially at around 10-20 and seems to get lost in the road noise at high speeds like above 60. Does it when coasting and when in gear. You can really feel it in the brake pedal if you just barely put your foot on the pedal, but i cant feel any pulsing when acutally applying the brakes. You can also feel it in the gas pedal. Could this just be a bad tire or possible a warped roter? Im not sure where to start any one have some ideas?

Thanks Super80e

I had the same problem. I could feel the brake pedal pulsing. Replaced both front wheel hubs and it solved the problem. Sounds like your front wheel hubs are about to go.

[super80e]

is this an expensive replacement, and is it a DIYable project?

Thanks

[Jimmy Olsen]

Originally Posted by super80e

is this an expensive replacement, and is it a DIYable project?

Thanks

The wheel hubs are expensive. parts and labor cost me over $600, which include alignment.

I haven't worked on cars for 20 years. probably could be a DIY project for somebody who as some experience in front-end work.

Take the car down to a front-end shop and get their opinion....in fact, take it to a couple or 3 of them.

[super80e]

I did a wheel check today and noticed that the right front wheel does not have a weight on it. Is it possible that wheel is out of balance and causing the whole mess?

[LittleHoov]

Getting the wheels/tires balanced would be cheaper than replacing the hubs, so that might be a good start.

The wheel hubs are expensive. parts and labor cost me over $600, which include alignment.

I haven't worked on cars for 20 years. probably could be a DIY project for somebody who as some experience in front-end work.

Take the car down to a front-end shop and get their opinion....in fact, take it to a couple or 3 of them

Its a pretty easy DIY job, if you can handle changing the brakes, you can handle changing the hubs. http://baize.sys-techs.com/wheelbearing.html This link has good instructions, and used to have good pics, but they dont seem to be available anymore, but the written instructions are still good.

It really is an easy job, you just need some jackstands and basic hand tools, as well as probably a good breaker bar, and you can borrow the 34 or 36mm (i cant remember which one it is) from an auto parts store. Same thing with the torque wrench. Most places will give you a full refund if you bring them back within a certain period of time as well.

The parts are fairly expensive, I think the el cheapo hubs are right at 100 bucks off ebay or the like. Personally I picked up a low mileage used OEM one from Ed Morad and it hasnt given me any problems so far, and Ive had it on since August. 60 bucks with a 90-day warranty, cant complain. An alignment shouldnt be necessary when just swapping out the hubs, you arent taking anything loose that would need to be re-aligned. Ed Morad will ship you an entire steering knuckle with a hub in it, I removed the hub from the knuckle he sent me and put it on my car, that simple.

I agree that taking it to some good wheel shops is a good idea, dont necessarily go to the major name brand places either, ask around and check out some of the local expertise.

[Jimmy Olsen]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Olsen

The wheel hubs are expensive. parts and labor cost me over $600, which include alignment.

I haven't worked on cars for 20 years. probably could be a DIY project for somebody who as some experience in front-end work.

Take the car down to a front-end shop and get their opinion....in fact, take it to a couple or 3 of them.

i should also add that they replaced 3 tie-rod ends. Not sure what they cost or how much labor it told. As I recall, the wheel hubs cost about $160 each new.

i worked on cars for many years so appreciate handing over my credit card when they are done.

[super80e]

today i took off the wheel that had the weight missing and there is a weird looking roughed up spot on the tread that is lower than the rest of the tread, think there is a good chance that the weight is missing in addition to the bad spot on the tire could cause these symptoms?

[panzer dragoon]

you tire may have broken a tread so you now have a flat spot. =The wires in the tire break and the area goes flat (no support)

-replace this tire and get a new pair. -This is the problem and your clunk-clunk. Eventually the flat spot gets larger until the whole tread rips off the tire = usually cars don't throw treads like a 18 wheeler does.

probably hit something on the road that damaged the tire and ripped off the wheel weight. But the loss of a wheel weight alone could be the issue -depends on the tire/rim and how out of balance everything is originally. One good pothole could have done the damage. The old cheap radial tires ~$30 were notorious for breaking and getting flat spots.

[super80e]

Yep, that was what it was, a bad tire. Got the tire replaced today and that took care of the issue, thanks to everyone that posted thier help!