Massive Vibration And Severe Shaking...

[FizzWhiz1]

Hey guys,
I have a couple questions for you. My 97 taurus is starting to show its age...when i went to get my car inspected in December i also got an oil change as well as a tire rotation. After I got my tires rotated and the car inspection passed, I noticed my tires were awfully loud, they haven't been rotated in a while so I was guessing that was the case. Then I also noticed that as I increase my speed going highway speeds my car shakes violently as well as when i make a left hand turn the car makes an extremely loud noise I am guessing from the tires that is where i am hearing it and the car shakes more than it does already. Is this just a sign that I need my tires balanced, or is this another issue? Thanks for the help

[jndejure]

I'd have to repeat what others here have said. Check your steering end links (ball joints) and lower front a-arm ball joints. Both probably are in need of replacement. If you notice the symptoms more in left hand turns then probably your passenger side steering or lower ball joints are bad. A slight imbalance in one of the rotated tires may have made the worn parts more noticeable, but I wouldn't do any balancing till the ball joints were checked. After making sure that your front suspension is tight you need to check the toe-in and adjust if necessary. No other alignment should be needed unless the car was in an accident up front.

[01wagonses]

mine did the same thing shook and vibrated and i replaced everything then finally decided to do the half shafts and turns out it was them

[gary 55]

First I would make sure your lug nuts are tight. Had a similar problem after a tire rotation at high speed. Tightened down all the LNs solved the problem.

[jndejure]

Make sure you use a torque wrench when tightening lug nuts on aluminum wheels especially on the front tires. Reason is unequal torque can cause the rotors to warp when heated and cooled repeatedly. Drive shafts usually do not go out of balance unless the weights sometimes used on them move or come off. Then you will have a problem with vibration, otherwise they should have vibrated from the beginning.

[FizzWhiz1]

Alright thanks guys...Im gonna have to look into it, I also noticed too it got a lot worse recently...the sound is much louder it is so loud i can actually tell it is coming from my right side because the shaking got worse. I have also noticed that if i have my wheel straight, my left wheel is normal and is straight in line but my right tire is turned a little to the right, does that narrow down any of the problems it could be?

[jndejure]

QUOTE (FizzWhiz1 @ Mar 10 2010, 08:30 PM)

Alright thanks guys...Im gonna have to look into it, I also noticed too it got a lot worse recently...the sound is much louder it is so loud i can actually tell it is coming from my right side because the shaking got worse. I have also noticed that if i have my wheel straight, my left wheel is normal and is straight in line but my right tire is turned a little to the right, does that narrow down any of the problems it could be?[/b]

What you described is a car with severe toe out and a misaligned steering wheel. Probably caused by an extremely worn passenger side lower ball joint. The right passenger side goes first because of the condition of the roads shoulder being worse than that near the middle of the road. Once you replace the ball joint set the toe to slightly in and adjust the steering wheel by moving the steering rod ends equal amounts. The ball joint can be replaced by removing the steering knuckle and having a repair shop press out the ball joint and press in the replacement part. I have done a few of these and it is easier to have someone with a hydraulic press and experience do the hard stuff. My 96 Taurus with the aluminum steering knuckles were the ones that the rental AutoZone press kit would not work on. So you might want to call around for local prices on ball joint replacement if you do not have the tools and a place to work on your car.