Civic Suspension or wheel problem

[msteele]

My 1996 Civic has been having problems...

When i reach about 65 mph the car will start to rumble... I had the wheels balanced to see if it would fix the problem but no luck...

Periodically the rumble will go away if I hit a bump in the road or a transition from asphalt to concrete...

History:
* 112,000 miles

* Yes 4 wheel balance was done

* The tire where the rumbling appears to be coming from was patched

Could this be suspension?

Could there be a piece of loose patch in the tire?

Bent rim?


Thanks,

[mycivic]

Probably wheel balance wasnt done well. Maybe alignment might work. Is it possible you need new sets of tires?

[xproductionz]

i had the same problem.. i also had a patched tire and eveything was fine till i hit 50 then it rumbled... got the tires balanced but still no luck.. then i took it to my honda dealer and asked them... they balanced it again and found the problem with the patch causing the unbalance... they said the shop i went to didnt find it because they probably used a lower speed to spin and balance the tire.. as honda spun the tires at higher speeds bacause that was there standard... or so the honda techs tell me

[BullShifter]

Could be the wheels/tires. Since a balance was done the first things I would check is upper/lower ball joints & tie rods along with the rest of the suspension parts.

Easy way to check ball joints
Raise the front of vehicle
Grab tire & shake
If you feel any play a further inspection is needed

Tie rods can be checked the came way or with large channel lock pliers squezzing the rod end.

My guess is a upper or lower ball joint.

[3rdWrldRcr]

CV axle could be another possibility. The joints tend to wear if the car has been driven hard in turns. After a certain speed you could feel a slight rumble but you will hear a significant popping or grinding noise when you take a turn. Other than that, the only thing i think it could be would be tires (uneven tread, in need of rotating, air pressure).