Van shakes at 45-50 mph

[hinkbone]

When you get up to 45 -50 mph the van starts shaking like hitting side of road dibbits. When you let off the gas it stops, when you accelerate it starts again and quits after you get pass 50 mph. Cv joints don't make any noise. Can't figure out what the problem can be? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[Cobra_Sam]

Originally Posted by hinkbone

When you get up to 45 -50 mph the van starts shaking like hitting side of road dibbits. When you let off the gas it stops, when you accelerate it starts again and quits after you get pass 50 mph. Cv joints don't make any noise. Can't figure out what the problem can be? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

I had the same thing 2 yrs ago on my van, changed the tyres and it went away. Turns out one of the tyres went out - of - round.
To test, switch front and rear wheels and go for a test ... hope it works for you to ...
Sam

[casa01]

Originally Posted by hinkbone

When you get up to 45 -50 mph the van starts shaking like hitting side of road dibbits. When you let off the gas it stops, when you accelerate it starts again and quits after you get pass 50 mph. Cv joints don't make any noise. Can't figure out what the problem can be? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

most likely one or more of your tires is bad.sometimes you have to pull the wheel out to do a close inspection of the tires.
I would just go to a used tire place and for 5 bucks they would pull all four tires and inspect them for you.

[horndawg54]

I had a similar thing on mine. the mechanic tried to tell me it was the shudder in the transmission. 10K miles later it still happens, but a little, most recently I have noticed it a little more.

I had replaced the tire, and added a transmission additive. Betwee the two it was better. Mine usually happens when it is going up a hill. I release the gas pedal and it stops.

Not sure what it is or if it will get worse. My van has 105K

[Cobra_Sam]

Originally Posted by horndawg54

I had a similar thing on mine. the mechanic tried to tell me it was the shudder in the transmission. 10K miles later it still happens, but a little, most recently I have noticed it a little more.

I had replaced the tire, and added a transmission additive. Betwee the two it was better. Mine usually happens when it is going up a hill. I release the gas pedal and it stops.

Not sure what it is or if it will get worse. My van has 105K

Check the engine mounts, when they are badly worn and you excelerate it allows the engine to move under load putting the drive train out-of line. That's why it quits when you let off on the gas. Hope this helps.
Sam

[GTP Dad]

I would put my money on the CV joints going bad on one side or the other. These joints don't always make a noise when they go bad but vibrations, usually starting at a specific speed and going away as you go faster, are a good indication of a bad CV joint.

[mufasa004]

Yes CV joints are going bad and bad tires will cause the joints to worsen faster.

I just replaced the left axel about 3 weeks ago it was real bad almost wore to where it would have broke if not changed and the problem disapeard for 1 week then it came back i put off doing anything till yesterday and bought 4 new tires and now it rides fine with no wobble or vibration.

Thanks Mufasa004

[RM-TECH]

Originally Posted by hinkbone

When you get up to 45 -50 mph the van starts shaking like hitting side of road dibbits. When you let off the gas it stops, when you accelerate it starts again and quits after you get pass 50 mph. Cv joints don't make any noise. Can't figure out what the problem can be? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Hey, I hope this helps you:
After you eliminate the tires as the source of the problem (rotate tires to look for a change of behaviour, check balance, out of roundness, etc), consider this: if one of the inner cv joints is binding, instead of the joint flexing to accomodate the rotation of the axle, it will force the transmission up/down on each revolution. This motion is soaked up by the motor mount to some extent but it will become very violent at the speeds you describe. I've had it happen on the left (driver) side of the car and it was a pain to diagnose. The motor mount will eventually fail making the problem even worse. Check the condition of the inner boots, if they are punctured, you either have the problem or, you are on your way there. In my case, spraying lubricant inside the boot would make the problem go away for a few blocks and it served to finalize the diagnosis.

[hinkbone]

Problem solved!! We changed the transmission filter and oil! Bought the right kind from dealer (forgot what it was called) and now problem fixed. Would of never thought it would of been that! But it was! Hope this helps someone else! Thanks everyone for your opinions!

[blade007]

I have a 2001 voyager and I am having the same problem. Startes to shake between 40-50 and stops. I just put on new tires and rims and did an alignment and it still happens. The van has 79000 miles. The transmission shifts very good. I'll look into the transmission oil.

[blade007]

also forgot to mention that I have 2 bad mounts. The left and right. the van was in an accident before i bought it. Darn carfax!!!! I had to change both front and back mounts and had to realign the bottom of the van since the mechanic found that it was about 2-3 inches to the right. So i'll have to look at what else could be bad, but the oil option seems to be the cheapest. Would anyone recomment AAmco or should I do it at the dealer?

[hinkbone]

Originally Posted by blade007

I have a 2001 voyager and I am having the same problem. Startes to shake between 40-50 and stops. I just put on new tires and rims and did an alignment and it still happens. The van has 79000 miles. The transmission shifts very good. I'll look into the transmission oil.

My husband changed ours himself. It was not that hard. We were told to go to Dodge dealership and pick up Mopar ATF3 fluid and a Mopar filter. We were told it is very important to put the right fluid in the transmission. So we did. We have a 1994 dodge caravan. Here is a link that will help you change your fluid yourself.
http://www.allpar.com/eek/atf.html.

[blade007]

Thanks for teh link. Will try it this weekend. I just had another question. Did your van ever feel like it was backing off or hesitating when the engine was cold? When i drive before I warm up the engine properly it feels that way and as soon as it is hot it works fine. Any thoughts?