Wobbling 91 Regal

sirgeoff · #1 08-28-2006, 03:03 PM

Recently, I have replaced everything under the hood of a 91 buick regal to ensure that my son's car will be safe for his use. Those parts include both ball joints, struts,cv axles,outer tie rods,hub and wheel bearings. Also tires and rotors, brakes. after the change out all my prior bad symptoms went away, but now I'm left with a wobble during the acceleraion and a more prominent wabble on corners. The wobble is a side to side thing. The car was aligned and the wabble is not any better. Ant idea what this is? Thanks in advance. I dropped it off to have the alignment examined.
sirgeoff

BNaylor · #2 08-29-2006, 02:47 PM

What brand tires were installed? Any bent or damged rims?

sirgeoff · #3 08-30-2006, 02:08 PM

The tires were installed just a few months back. I had the tire installer recheck the rims and tire balance;plus rotate the tires, all ok. The hub and bearing on both sides was done last January. Last night I got disgusted with the problem and dropped the car off at the buick dealer. After hearing from the dealer today the mechanic is ordering new parts for the left hub. Thankfully its under the one year warranty, but isn't this unusual to occur after less than a year. Is there a possibility that the hub / bearing was dislodged or damaged during the CV-axle install? The cv axle and every other thing mentioned other than the hub/bearing was installed two weeks ago.

maxwedge · #4 08-30-2006, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sirgeoff

The tires were installed just a few months back. I had the tire installer recheck the rims and tire balance;plus rotate the tires, all ok. The hub and bearing on both sides was done last January. Last night I got disgusted with the problem and dropped the car off at the buick dealer. After hearing from the dealer today the mechanic is ordering new parts for the left hub. Thankfully its under the one year warranty, but isn't this unusual to occur after less than a year. Is there a possibility that the hub / bearing was dislodged or damaged during the CV-axle install? The cv axle and every other thing mentioned other than the hub/bearing was installed two weeks ago.

Yes improper torqueing of the axle nut can affect the hub bearing, or beating the axle out of the bearing same thing, who knows?

sirgeoff · #5 09-06-2006, 11:35 AM

The bearing was replaced by GM and although the hum went away, the wobble lives on. I plan to visit the tire installer today. GM claims that the tires are the source of the problem. If the tires are the problem; why is it that the wobble is more prominent during acceleration.

Thanks

sirgeoff · #6 09-07-2006, 10:26 AM

Today the 7th of Sep I had the car aligned by a different shop (guys that installed tire). They feel the problem is not the tires and the alignment makes a slight difference in the wobble, but the wobble still exists. I noticed I'm starting to here the front left bearing again (it was replaced twice now). Could the wobble be related to the front left wheel; it makes sense since this feels to be the source. Two questions: (1)why is the bearing wearing excessively again and (2) is it possible the new CV axle is warped?

BNaylor · #7 09-07-2006, 10:38 AM

Are you the original owner of the car? Any known accident damage. It would be helpful if you could remember that brand of all parts changed to date. Were they aftermarket or GM OEM/AC Delco? What brand are the tires?

Last tme I had a bad wobble or rocking motion back and forth was a bad tire.

sirgeoff · #8 09-07-2006, 12:51 PM

The tires are MasterCraft AS4. The parts installed are unknown. I suspect that GMC used GM parts, but not sure. I bought this car used 2 years ago and not sure on the history other than it has approx 160,000 miles. The guy who aligned the front could not align the back camber because of the rust and tools required. Therefore the back is not perfectly aligned to the front. It never had this wobble immediately after the tire change, but after the front end part replacement and the scrapping of the inside of the front left tire. The installer claims this tire is ok. The tire was located on the front left and now is positioned on the back left. The car does wobble less but not completely gone. should I try changing the back left to my spare and giving this a go?

corning_d3 · #9 09-07-2006, 01:12 PM

Was the CV axle new? A wobble during accel sounds like a bad inboard joint to me. Have a look at the lower control arm bushings while your at it. It wouldn't hurt to run the spare to rule out the tire..

maxwedge · #10 09-07-2006, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by corning_d3

Was the CV axle new? A wobble during accel sounds like a bad inboard joint to me. Have a look at the lower control arm bushings while your at it. It wouldn't hurt to run the spare to rule out the tire..

Agreed here, often missed problem, if the inner joint is binding in any way the entire drive train will shudder as the attitude of the front of the car changes.

sirgeoff · #11 09-08-2006, 12:15 PM

I did all of the work other than the hub,bearing and tires. How difficult is it to inspect the inner joint & control arm bushings? Where are both located? The CV axle was a simple pull out and place the new in. I wasn't aware of the inner joint.
Thanks it seems like I'm finally getting somewhere.

corning_d3 · #12 09-08-2006, 12:22 PM

The inner joint is inside the CV axle boot closest to the transmission. Are you 100% positive you pushed the axle all the way into the transmission output shaft? The lower control arm bushings are inside the subframe-to-control arm bolts. To test, jack up the side in question, grab the tire and try to push it towards the front and rear of the car while a helper looks for any play in the bushings. You can leave it on the ground in park and rock the car back and forth and look for any movement, also. Re-check the tightness of the wheel bearing to steering knuckle bolts, too.

EDIT: How much torque did you apply to the CV axle shaft nut?

sirgeoff · #13 09-08-2006, 12:51 PM

I'm not 100% sure the axle was pushed all the way in. How would one know other than pushing it in until it stops? Is the inner joint part of the total cv axle. The cv axle I replaced was one piece and I imagine it was bothe the outer and inner together. Is this right; or is their another component which you are calling the inner joint. The nut was tightened without torque being considered. That means snug but not overtightened. Keep in mind the dealer has pulled it apart since then. He may of not pulled out the cv axle when replacing the bearing. The inner You wrote"Re-check the tightness of the wheel bearing to steering knuckle bolts, too." Does this mean check to see that the bearing is securely positioned in the hub? Also, I'm still having a difficult time picturing where the control arm bushing is located.

sirgeoff · #14 09-11-2006, 08:41 AM

Yesterday I checked the left CV axle while my son shifted between gears. There seemed to be excessive rotational movement and a clicking sound originating alon the left axle when shifting gears. I decided to pull the new cv-axle and replace. Hey guys, that was the problem. The needle bearings were dislodged and the axle was a mess. After throwing it back together she accelerates very smoothly. So much for GMC's and other mechanics recommendation of replacing the transmission. Much appreciated feedback from all. Thanks again!!

corning_d3 · #15 09-11-2006, 01:10 PM

Glad to hear it! BTW, the torque spec's are around 200 Ft. Lbs. on that axle nut..

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