[FatTortoise]

Well, some of you know that I got in a car accident. And ever sence then (I think) when ever I go over 65 MPH the front seems to shake and vibrate, and it seems that my car is about to break or something..

Someone once told me that it was probbably because the frame got bent.. But my frame got bent by the drivers side rear door..

What could this be? An alignment issue? A Worn bushing of something? Something?

And then I noticed that if I let go of the wheel, I drift to the right..

Help!

Thanks!

 

[cincyses]

sounds like an allignment issue to me....check the wear of the inner and outer edges of your tires (especially the front)....also, is the vibration in the steering wheel or in the seat of your pants, because if you feel it in your butt then it might also (or instead) be coming from the rear..

 

[FatTortoise]

I am not too sure, usually my sub makes my butt rattle..

And I can feel it in the steering wheel

 

[cincyses]

well, if you're feeling it in the steering wheel, I'd say you either have a front wheel out of balence (but since you said the car also pulls, I'd scratch that) or an allignment problem. My guess is that the car was out of allignment after the accident and now one or both of your front tires has worn unevenly, causing some sort of cupping that is giving you a vibration....

 

[93taurusSX]

Ditto, I'd get it down to the shop to check the balance and alignment of the car.

 

[FatTortoise]

Ok, today I drove my car up to 110 MPH.. And after 85 MPH, the vibrations stop

 

[TheGreatZambini]

Same thing happened to me. In my case, it turned out to be a warped/bubbled tire where one of the belts had come loose in the GoodYears that came with the car. A mechanic just happened to feel it one time, and I got new tires - no more problem. I had the exact same symptoms as you, but it does actually sound like the others are right: alignment and balance issues. Mine pulled to the right, but it was just an alignment issue not necessarily associated with the bad tire. If you get your alignment checked, and it still shakes, try rotating the tires. If your wheel doesn't shake anymore, but the car still vibrates, it's a tire that has just been rotated to the rear. If you were to rotate them back, the wheel would shake again. Therefore, you would replace at least the back two tires.
If it is indeed a slipped belt, you may be able to feel a bump on the tread of the tire, if you're lucky like I was.

 

[Ryne]

i'd check both the tire ballance for the vibrations and alignment for the pull.

 

[Sticky]

It's probably hte tires. we had hte same problem on our taurus.

 

[Sablewagon]

I wouldn't rule out a bent frame. Even if the frame was bent back behind the driver's door, it can have an effect on the whole car, particularly on a unibody car.

See if your body shop has the unibody specifications from the Ford shop manual. (The HELM manual) There are certain critical underbody dimensions, and a good body shop can check the measurements against the specifications. If the unibody is bent, even a properly aligned car will track crooked; tire wear, steering and handling will all suffer.

 

[FatTortoise]

Originally posted by Sablewagon@Mar 2 2004, 10:23 PM
I wouldn't rule out a bent frame. Even if the frame was bent back behind the driver's door, it can have an effect on the whole car, particularly on a unibody car.

See if your body shop has the unibody specifications from the Ford shop manual. (The HELM manual) There are certain critical underbody dimensions, and a good body shop can check the measurements against the specifications. If the unibody is bent, even a properly aligned car will track crooked; tire wear, steering and handling will all suffer.

you just ruined my hopes of it being the tires

 

[Craddosk]

whats the top speed of ure car?does it stop at 110 then come back at faster speeds?its probably ure tires.....mine was like that during the summer(on crappy bald summer tires)

 

[impatient95]

Unfortunately, if the car was in any kind of wreck, it may never be the same agai, cause you gotta consider in a wreck, the jolt jars everything.

My taurus was once in a nasty wreck, and it has slight problems (even after fixing) that I just cannot fix.

BTW, my car was wrecked and fixed long before I ever got it. 1995 GL car.

I don't mean to sound negative about it, it is just that a wreck messes up so many things in a car.

 

[Reinhart]

You may want to check the condition of the inner and outer tie rods. Also, check the condition of the tires. Off-balance and out-of-round tires can cause vibrations, especially at highway speeds. - Reinhart

 

[FatTortoise]

Ok, It turned out to be that 2 of my tires were out of balance, and I had a big chunk taken out of my tire somehow

So I went in, and I asked for a good $80 Michilen tire, and then they found out that they were out of stock. So they subistuted some $120 Michilen tires for them

But I still paid the $80! w00t

I got lucky