96 GC Vibrates when driving

[WhiteGC]

My 1996 Grand Caravan SE is making very bad vibrations,They stop when ever i apply the brakes are my struts bad....or how can you tell if they are?and are they hard to do by my self or should i just pay?i was told also that i need new brakes im in the middle of doing that. sorry so chopey in a hurry
Jeff

[Sport45]

Sometime when you're on the highway try putting it in neutral and coasting at speed. Does it vibrate? While still in neutral rev the engine to 2000 rpm or so. Did the vibration come back? This is a way to determine if the source is wheels, transmission, or engine. If braking is the only way to stop vibration, look for worn tie rod ends or suspension components. Braking may be puting a part in tension or compression that was loose and vibrating under normal conditions. Give everything a good tug when you're doing the brake job to check for looseness.

[swk1219]

Originally Posted by WhiteGC

My 1996 Grand Caravan SE is making very bad vibrations,They stop when ever i apply the brakes are my struts bad....or how can you tell if they are?and are they hard to do by my self or should i just pay?i was told also that i need new brakes im in the middle of doing that. sorry so chopey in a hurry
Jeff

Jeff,

My Caravan was purchased used. I first got new tires. Still had a small shake. After installing a CD player I realized it needed shocks because the CD skipped all the time. While putting new struts on the front, I found the mount bearings at the top of the strut towr were cracked. They probabably would have been OK as it was just the dust seal plastic. I replaced them anyway. The lower ball loints were bad as were the tie rod ends. I replaced the outers and the alignment shop did the inner tie rod ends on the rack and pinion steering gear. I just didn'r know they were there or I would have done it myself. After nearly 500.00 my front end does not shake at all. It can be a single component or combinations. If it shakes at speed I would beleive that you need some significant work. You cannot always tell how a component is while it is on the car. When you shart taking parts of and get them out of the laoded condition you can tell a lot more.

Scott