Vibrations. Feels unsafe,

[jrmy1krn]

O.K. heres the deal. I have 98 gtp with 205k miles. The car makes a growling noise at 15mph, at 40mph the noise turns into clunking and can be felt. At 70mph the noise is a very fast clunk and very loud. Its hard to talk over it, its that loud. The vibration is not felt so much through the pedals or steering wheel but more like the floor. Its slightly worse when turning right and a lil less when turning left. Also the noise stays the same if im on the brake or gas.

I have recently rebuilt the entire front end. New springs, struts, strut mounts, ball joints, outer tie rod ends, wheel hubs, rotors, top and front motor mounts. The rear has new springs, struts and brakes.

Both CV shafts apear to be fine no grease leaking or anything like that but I wouldnt rulle it out. Im worried its my diferential as this car is general beat very bad.

[tblake]

at did your torque the new wheel hub axel nuts to? ft/lbs?

also what brand did you use?

does the noise change at all when you go around curves or drive on different road surfaces?

[jrmy1krn]

Well I dont curently have a torque wrench but I tightened the wheel hub nut with a 3/4 breaker bar so I know its tight if anything it may be over tight. I'm not sure if that would be an issue.

I dont remember what brand the bearing is but I got it from Murrays/ Orielys.

Its definetly the worst while on the highway on long left turns, and lightens up on right turns. As far as road surface is concerned Im not sure. The roads are general hell here in Toledo Ohio. And by that I mean new balljoints every year. Thats why I switched out my lowering springs for stock again.

The vibration was there before I did all this work and hasnt lessened or increased.

Im going to get new tires and alignment as soon as I get my control arm bushings switched out. I dont think this is the answer tho, I know unbalanced tires when I feel them. I hope this helps you help me make sense of all this.

[tblake]

you could do a quick rotation of your tires to see if things change. If so, you have a tire problem.

I hate to say this, but it sounds like to me another wheel bearing.

Have you ever replaced the rear ones? Are you sure the noise sounds like its coming from the front?

If the noise lightens up when you take right turns, I would have to say my diagnosis is a right front wheel bearing. (again)

Jack up the right front, or all 4 if you have a chance and do the 12:00 and 6:00 wobble check.

If you do end up replacing another bearing in the front, Make sure to torque that axel nut to spec (159 ft/lbs) Over tightening can cause premature bearing failure also.

[jrmy1krn]

I rechecked for wobbled while on jack stands and there def is none at 6 and 12 position, however there is a very lil from 9 to 3 front right.
I didnt change the rear hubs because they seem fine, There is no wobble and the wheels spin freely on the stands.

Maybe worth mentioning that the abs and trac off lights came on this morning so now Im going to get other front right wheel bearing.

BTW thanks the for the help I cant realy afford a mechanic and I dont trust them anyways. However its a pain to do this stuff at night while driving the car to work in the day.

[tblake]

I got a BCA national bearing from o'reliiey and it has a 1 year warrenty. Maybe yours does too?

[richtazz]

Rent, borrow or buy a torque wrench, or you'll be doing this again and again. The axle nut torque not only holds the axle in the hub, it also pre-loads the bearing itself. Too loose or too tight and they will clunk, howl, growl, vibrate and/or overheat and catastrophically fail (read, might lock up or cause wheel to fall off at speed taking parts with it and possibly causing an accident/major damage).

[jrmy1krn]

OK today Im going to buy a torque wrench so Im not guessing anymore. Whil Im doing that I will put the car in drive wheil securely on stands to at least isolate it to the front or back end. Ahgain thanks for the input I will keep you posted.

[jrmy1krn]

Well Im happy say (and a lil embarased) it was the other wheel bearing on drivers side. Strange how those vibrations felt like were from the other side of the car. It really had me fooled. Alll new front end now so it rides better than my wifes 05 monty.

Now on to the next project, the UIM and LIM gaskets and maybe a SC recondition. How hard is the UIM and LIM gaskets to do , can you do it with the motor in the car still?

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by jrmy1krn

Now on to the next project, the UIM and LIM gaskets and maybe a SC recondition. How hard is the UIM and LIM gaskets to do , can you do it with the motor in the car still?

Please start a new post on this issue or research our old threads which covers UIM and LIM jobs in detail.