Town & Country on and off vibration

[Cntrysthbst]

2005 town country, on interstate, cruise a 85, drives smooth, then vibrates pretty good, it will vibrate for a few seconds then smooth, then vibrate. the vibration is felt everywhere, steering wheel, seats, even the outside mirrors vibrate, at 60 we dont feel it much, at 45 nothing. we notice when coming to a slow stop or just scooting up in traffic that it seems to have a little wobble to it too.

all brakes and rotors and all motor and transmission mounts are new, struts, strut mounts, sway bar, sway bar end links and bushings are new, have had it checked and nobody can find anything wrong. no clunking noise moving the tires left to right and up and down. alignment is perfect. the tires are crappy but am thinking if it was a tire problem it would vibrate all the time and not on and off. its never been wrecked either. it is a 3.8, front and rear sway bars, long wheel base, nivomat rear.

wheel bearings? dont know but would think theyd make noise moving the tires back and forth and side to side. and hear no clunking over bumps at any speed.

any help on troubleshooting this would be greatly appreciated, thanks

[jamesslcx]

Cntrysthbst, interesting problem. If it was engine related I doubt you would feel it everywhere but I could be wrong. If it were tire or rolling gear related seems like you would feel it all the time. Hmmm, you have ruled out just about everything. How about the driveshafts, differential and tranny assembly? have you had any work done in those areas? How long has it been doing this, and anything else feel different than before? I don't get the intermittent part but does it do this everytime you drive it? Does the incident seem to be occurring ?

[Cntrysthbst]

thanks for helping,

think your right, i dont believe it is engine related either,

was thinking it was the driveaxles, i replaced both on a 2001 cause it was clunking in reverse turning the wheel, this one does not, however i figured give it a shot, i replaced the passenger side driveaxle cause it seemed to have a little more play than the drivers side, not any better at all.

the people we bought this from said they had the transmission replaced about 30,000 miles ago at the dealer. i dont know if that warranty will transfer if i have to go that route.

was thinking of replacing the hubs but they seem tight, i just replaced the sway bar and bushings again cause i thought the clunking was from that, some was, but now it only clunks at higher speeds and nothing at slower speeds.

it just started doing this a couple months ago and everything i listed in posts have been done since then. rides better with new sway bar and bushings, and yes, now i notice the on and off shake affect alittle at 35 to 45. not nearly as bad as 80 on the interstate. the steering still feels sloppy when it does this. i dont get the intermittent part either. its slowly getting worse, and yes it does happen every time, day or night.

i also noticed sometimes if im going 60 and see a cop i let off the gas all the way, sometimes but not all the times, it will clunk like a bad mount or something, if i let off and on off and on with the gas pedal at 45ish it will clunk letting off and clunk pushing the gas, not good to feel that at all. seems like i can move the driveaxle back the forth alittle more than normal but may be normal cause i have no idea how much give it should have. the transmission does shift in all gears and overdrive, and feels strong.

hitting a sewer drain in the road at 10mph nothing, at 45, a clunk, almost like the engine is lifting up. i just replaced all the mounts, checked and tightened subframe bolts, rack, etc.. i am going to have wife help in gear shifting while i get under and do some more checking, which could mean this may be the last you hear from me...lol

well i hope this helps alittle more, i will post back when i check it out tomorrow. thanks

[dlink72]

I've been having the exact same issues with ours. Wondering if you were able to pin point your problem. Recently replaced sway bar bushings, shocks, struts. Tires balanced and allignment. No improvement. I've had one suggestion which is to replace transmission fluid which I'll try when I'm back home in a few days. This vibration is making me lose sleep.

[Cntrysthbst]

sorry been busy...

i still have not found out what it is and is still getting worse. i put tires on and changed the motor mounts and nothing. i cant go above 70 anymore on the interstate cause it shakes bad, throughout the whole van. the handling is getting bad too, does not feel stable, feels like im driving on marshmellows, going over a hump on hywy it seems to go side to side. alignment is good from what they say, everythings tight. i also had both front control arms replaced because the rear bushings were shot. this made the clunking go away but still have the same problem. i also had the rims checked to rule them out. and new rear nivomat shocks didnt help either. any luck with you?

anyone else have any suggestions?

[Cntrysthbst]

might i add the shake seems to stay now instead of coming and going...