johnm Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 Hey, just need to confirm my thoughts on a small problem. I have an intermittent front end vibration in my 99 SE 4x4. I got it used in July this year. The alignment was really bad and once that was fixed I noticed a consistent front end vibration at above 50 mph or so. I got the wheels balanced and rotated 2 weeks ago. Now, at around 65 there is a smaller front end vib, but not all the time. It seems to come and go when I turn. E.g. If I'm going down the highway at 65 without the vibration, and switch lanes or the highway turns, the vib will be there. If I turn again, it goes away. There are no other symptoms, noise from the front end during turns, the vibration is independent of braking, no brake pedal pulse, no unexplained drift or pull or other alignment stuff. The tires that came on the truck are an off brand from Les Schwab and about 1/2 worn and about all the same wear amount. This really seems like it has to be a tire balance thing. Am I thinking right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nunya Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 I normally hear of wheel balance issues coming and goeing with different speeds, not turning to make it go away, generally means a wheel bearing issue to me... don't quote me on that though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 Take it back in and have them re-balance the wheels, tell them that you just had it done earlier but it's still shaking. They should not charge you for that. That's just to be 100% sure it isn't wheel balance. If it only does it intermittently then it would be unlikely that it's the balance of the wheels. I would suspect the wheel bearings like Nunya said to be the issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnm Posted September 29, 2009 Author Share Posted September 29, 2009 OK, I'll look into the wheel bearings, it does have 116000 miles. It just seemed unlikely because of the absence of other symptoms that usually indicate that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnm Posted September 30, 2009 Author Share Posted September 30, 2009 After looking at the truck today and really paying attention, to be more specific on symptoms: The vibration is in the steering wheel, not the body. No squeak or noise at any speed, straight or turning, or any combination of those. There is no play in the steering, it is accurate and consistent. No wander, drift, or pull while driving. The vibration is definitely only between 60-65 mph. none before and it goes away above 65. No vibration while braking, except at the same speed zone. There is no noticeable, related, rhythmic tire or drive train noise. The front struts are new, the front suspension was inspected when I bought the truck and no deficiencies were noted in the bushings, brakes, rotors, control arms, tie rods, etc. I will have to get the truck up on a lift to check for play in the front end but I'm still leaning toward a wheel/tire balance problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 After looking at the truck today and really paying attention, to be more specific on symptoms: The vibration is in the steering wheel, not the body. No squeak or noise at any speed, straight or turning, or any combination of those. There is no play in the steering, it is accurate and consistent. No wander, drift, or pull while driving. The vibration is definitely only between 60-65 mph. none before and it goes away above 65. No vibration while braking, except at the same speed zone. There is no noticeable, related, rhythmic tire or drive train noise. The front struts are new, the front suspension was inspected when I bought the truck and no deficiencies were noted in the bushings, brakes, rotors, control arms, tie rods, etc. I will have to get the truck up on a lift to check for play in the front end but I'm still leaning toward a wheel/tire balance problem. The bolded is very different than what was said above, which now makes me lean a little towards the wheel balance. As I said, I would take it back in and have them re balance the tires and see if that fixes the problem or if it doesn't - it rules that out 100%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nunya Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 OK first and second set of symptoms are two different descriptions. Second time around sounds more like a wheel balance issue. Do as Kingman said, get re-balanced. If your dealing with a good shop or know the people they should help you out there. Could have possibly thrown a weight or had someone who don't know the balancer that well that day. Plus it will (as Kingman also said) 100% scratch that off the list. You say you had the tires rotated, was it there before this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnm Posted September 30, 2009 Author Share Posted September 30, 2009 Thanks guys. I'll get the balance checked again. More likely than not, I'll get a set of front wheel bearings and replace them when I have a chance. I'll be keeping the pathfinder for a few years, so it can't hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 Your front CVs are always turning, are they not? My GF had the same issue on a totally different, front wheel drive vehicle. The discription was exactly the same and it was the CVs. They were not damaged or making click noises when turning, just worn out. Wheel bearings you should be able to feel by hand when you jack up the car and test the wheel. They will either be loose allowing wheel movement, or feel 'chunky/crunchy'. If there are neither of these symptoms, odds are they are not the cause. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowTied Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 (edited) I think you have some good advice so far. I through out an oddball, that you may want to check when getting the balancing done just to be sure - a bent rim can be hard to notice depending on how it is bent. If the tire tech put it on the balance machine and closed the hood, he would never have seen this. I have a similar vibration on my old Chevelle I have traced to a bent rim. Long shot, but somethign to keep in the back of your mind. You may find swapping fronts to rear will help troubleshoot to see if the vibration moves to the rear or not. Edited October 1, 2009 by BowTied Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnm Posted October 3, 2009 Author Share Posted October 3, 2009 Sure enough, the wheels needed to be balanced. The front left and right rear were really bad, and the others weren't right either. Pay good money and they don't do the work right the first time. Kinda bugs me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fisherdude Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 I had my wheels balanced last week because I am getting steering wheel vibrations at about 50 mph. It didn't get any better after the balance and $40 bucks, I am beginning to think it is a bent rim because I have done some pretty fskced up stuff as far as jumping @!*% and hitting curbs. I never had the problem until i moved to the city where the roads are total @!*% about a month ago. I plan on getting a fresh alignment because I have a negative camber as it is and see if that helps any...and if i need new rims...then thats a pretty damn good excuse to go buy new ones.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piste Posted July 29, 2010 Share Posted July 29, 2010 This all sounds to me like the well documented road force balance issue....no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tempo Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 check tire - i think this is uneven wear on the height of tire another one thing ask mechanic for check wheel rotation on 65 mph when car on the lift - check how wheels rotate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esy Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 Fisherdude, those steel wheels are prettu hard to bend unless they go through some serious stuff, and it's got to be pretty bad. Typically, the problem is how tue owner usually wants the balance done. They usually don't want weights shown on the outside so the shops are forced to do either a static balance (pound on weight on the inside rim only) or an alloy 1 (pound on on inside rim and a tape weight as close to the inside of tue rim flange as possoble). Either of those methods won't get a good, proper balance even if the tech used a pin plate on the wheel (which should always be used for truck wheels, btw). Reason being is that even with an alloy 1 balance, tuat inside tape weight isn't far enough outside to balance out that inside pound on weight an won't get a proper balance. Typically, it'll call for some excess 10 oz of weight to get it anywhere close to zeroed out. Try to have a dynamic balance done on those wheels (pound on weights on inside and outside rims) and it will more than likely zero out with relative ease. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
180sx Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 Trying to solve a problem months later are we? Thats kind of old. I can see adding to it if you have a problem, but answering it? Wow. And on talking about this old subject, fisherdude has a Cold air intake on his truck, Right next and exposed to the tire. Wow. Thats can't be good. But from what U see in the pic it looks good at least. Jose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esy Posted July 31, 2010 Share Posted July 31, 2010 (edited) I'm on my phone and didn't see the date. Just responding to a message however old it may have been since it got dug up. And at least my info was of some use because there are many people with those steel wheels that this would apply to. Edited July 31, 2010 by edwinsyip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nismothunder Posted July 31, 2010 Share Posted July 31, 2010 I gotta hop on this band wagon,I would agree with B on the CV shaft and add a busted belt in a tire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piste Posted July 31, 2010 Share Posted July 31, 2010 Hey, I'm the newb guilty of digging up this thread. As a matter of practice...when I'm new to a forum I try to scan back on old threads for a couple reasons. For one...no one likes it when someone new joins and their first thread started is something like..."my pathy is swaying violently what could it be?" when there are probably 40 or more existing threads on that issue alone including pinned one. Another reason I do it is for my own education....like many folks I know a lot about automotive stuff and then again I don't...so I use back searching or scanning to educate myself. Lastly, when I encounter a thread that seems to me to be left dangling or contradictory to what I think I know I dig it up like this one...why? Well because we all encourage newbs to use the search feature and isn't it better for them to encounter accurate and fully concluded discussions...rather than incomplete or possibly incorrect info? Anyway...back to regularly scheduled programming.... The symptoms and evidence presented here sound a lot to me like the lack of a road force balance....yet after a dozen or so responses no one has gone there. Anyone know why this is NOT a road force balance issue? Anyone else think it could be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esy Posted July 31, 2010 Share Posted July 31, 2010 Original poster already said his issue was a balance problem. Other guy, fisherdude, hasn't responded amd probably won't. His is more than likely a balance issue because of improper balance techniques on that type of wheel. Working in the industry for so long, that's extremely common with the aftermarket steel wheels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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