Vibration problem

[Duane Morse]

Hi all,
I recently aquired a 1986 Corolla and drove it up here to Colorado from San Diego, Ca.

The car is in near mint condition with only 64k miles. It was driven by an old couple, the original owners, and I probably drive it harder than they did.

I did not notice this, at least not so noticably, until I was up here for a week or so.

Off idle as I am applying power the steering wheel oscillates, 1/4 - 1/2", and as I increase speed the steering wheel smooths out but the car vibrates, especially over 65mph or so. It comes and goes, sometimes smooth and sometimes vibrating. It does not seem related to the road, as sometimes along the same stretch of highway it vibrates while at other times it is smooth.

Adjusting tire pressures seems to help a little, for a short time, but it seems to be getting worse.

Any ideas as to what could be causing this?
The alignment seems to be ok, but how sensitive is this front drive to alignment? It does pull ever so slightly to the right.

[imnotnotjoe]

Check the struts

[Duane Morse]

While they are a bit weak that was not the problem.
Uneven wear on the front tires was the culprit.

It was very obvious when I jacked up the car and put it in gear.

But thanks anyway for the suggestion.

[Oz]

Worn bushes or tyres.

[pdonnell]

My '93 has a vibration as well. It seem to start after having the timing belt changed. When you rev the motor you can sense it coming from the engine compartment. Either the exhaust system or engine mounts. Seems to go away (a little) after driving the car around a bit. Just this A.M. after sitting outside a few days in the cold I started it and the vibration was baddddd. But got better after driving in around. Engine mount(s) perhaps?

[Duane Morse]

Are the engine mounts loosened when the timing belt is changed? Maybe something to check.

Also, maybe the timing belt was not tensioned properly.

I do not think the vibration would change all that much with the temp change if it were the engine mounts. But the timing belt pliability and/or tension may change with the temp change.

And if this occurred just after the belt change, that may be more of an indicator than anything else that it was not done properly.

I would not let it go too long, if the belt goes you could damage the valvetrain/engine.

[pdonnell]

Duane,
Thank's for the heads up. One thing that I failed to mention in my post above was that at the same time the timing belt was replaced I also had my clutch re-done. I'm going to put the car on blocks this week and check the 3 engine mounts as well as the one under the gear box. (manual transmission).
.
At least to make sure bolts are tightened down. We'll see. Hope this is the fix. Will let you know.