2000 Century Vibration

[jwichman]

I have a 2000 Century. When cruising down the insterstate there is a bad vibration, feels like a tire is grossly out of balance. The vibration is not felt in the steering wheel but more so everywhere else. Tires are new and were balanced at purchase. I have not had it back in to check tire balance yet. Last night I noticed a clicking sound from the front passenger side just before backing out of a parking stall. I'm not sure if I was even moving when I heard the noise. It happened twice but I cannot get it to occur again today. All CV boots look good, no tears or grease anywhere. I jacked the car up and the passenger side front tire has no movement in it all, left or right, top or bottom. The driver side has about an 1/8th of play at top and bottom, twelve and six o'clock positions, feels tight left to right. I know the struts are due for replacement. Any suggestions other than tire balance? Am I looking at a front drivers side hub replacement? Thanks in advance.

[GTP Dad]

What speed were you traveling when you felt the vibration? If you were in the 60 mph range I would suspect you have a bad CV joint. It is possible for one to go bad even if the boot isn't leaking. The noise you heard is a good indicator of something going wrong. I don't think the hub is an issue especially since you don't have a noise normally associated with a bad bearing. Usually has a grinding sound.

[jwichman]

Yes, the vibration starts around 60mph and seems to get worse from then on up. Discovered more noise from the passenger outer CV joint confirming your suspicions. How big a job is replacing a half shaft? I have a chiltons manual for the car and it describes a couple of GM recommended special tools to do the job, hub puller to remove the shaft from the hub and a special slide hammer to remove the passenger side half shaft from the transaxle. Can this job be done with the car on jack stands or is it something that should be done with the car on a lift? I am fairly mechanically inclined, do a lot of my own work, just never had a CV joint go bad before. Any advice is appreciated.

[GTP Dad]

The job can be done with normal hand tools and a jack stand however depending on how long it has been since the hub was replaced may dictate the difficulty of the job. It may be worth the hassle factor to get a shop to change it for you. If you decide to do it yourself I would check rock-auto.com or gmpartsdirect.com for the new shaft. I would stay away from Advance or Autozone. Good Luck!