Noob question - wheel vibration?

[shoes85]

Hey everyone, I'm new here, so this will be my newbie introduction as well as first technical question. I have a 98 Civic LX (all stock) and have a vibration that I don't know how to pinpoint. I bought the car earlier this year, the guy disclosed that there was a vibrating, said it was probably just a tire that needed balancing. I drove the car, it wasn't that bad, so I didn't think much of it.

I had the wheels balanced, and it didn't go away. It's not unbearable, just annoying. I felt it in the steering wheel quite a bit. When I rotated my wheels, it seemed to not vibrate as bad, especially in the steering wheel. I still feel it a little bit in the steering wheel, and I feel it when I brake too. Perhaps I moved a bad wheel/tire to the back? Is it the wheel, tire, bearing, brake, axle, tie rod, etc. Is there any way to diagnose something like this without staring to replace things? I would hate to buy new tires when it's really a bearing that needs replaced - and vice versa.

So here I am. A family member of mine is in need of a car, so I this is going to him sometime next year. Before he takes it, I want to make sure it's in good shape - he's not the type to work on cars. I don't want to take it to an expensive shop because, well, it's a civic, but I do want to fix the problem. I don't know too much about cars yet (but I did do a timing belt and water pump on this car) and would be willing to try to replace a wheel bearing - if that's what the problem is.

What do you think the best course of action is? Do I take it to a shop - will they even be able to pinpoint the problem? If so, then should I just have them do the work, or should I do it myself? Thanks in advance

[Strtrcril87]

Maybe warped brake rotors?

[shoes85]

I thought it may be that too, but it also vibrates when I'm driving (not braking). Could it be so warped that it rubs when I'm cruising? The front discs looked straight (haha I don't even know if you can tell if a brake is warped by looking at it) but I couldn't get the rear drums off to look at them.

[Strtrcril87]

Rears wont do shit, the fronts could cause vibration if they're warped enough to make any contact.

Could be a number of things. Jack up the front of the car and check everything to make sure nothing is loose.

[Scorched_Earth]

It still could be a tire issue even thought you had them balanced. Do a quick visual inspection and look for any outward bumps in the side wall. Then run your hand around the tread and see if there is any irregularities like one side of the tread is higher than the other.

[Strtrcril87]

Yeah, maybe a bump on the tire from hitting a curb? That happened to me in the stealth. :lol:

[RLS!]

It appears you have a "bad" tire....

[shoes85]

It appears you have a "bad" tire....

I thought it might be a tire, but like I said earlier, it would be silly to replace the tires just to find out it wasn't a tire. Another oddity is that 1 of the tires is a Dayton brand and the other 3 are another brand. So without getting brand new tires, is there anything I can do, or a repair shop can do to check? (I will take napalm's advice and check for irregular wear on the tread of each tire).

[Scorched_Earth]

When they had the tires off to get them balanced they could watch the tire to see if it "hops" while spinning on the balancer. Plus some places can check the rims to see if that is the issue also.

If the tire is bad then there is nothing you can do but buy another tire.

[Strtrcril87]

Get down so you're level with the tires, spin them and check for any "bubbles".
http://www.georgenitta.com/tredseparation.htm

[Mr. Incredible]

go somewhere like plaza tire and get a roadforce balance. It will tell you a whole lot more of what is going on. most of the time it is your wheels or your tires.

does it occur at a certain speed? are there any other noises with it?

[shoes85]

go somewhere like plaza tire and get a roadforce balance. It will tell you a whole lot more of what is going on. most of the time it is your wheels or your tires.

does it occur at a certain speed? are there any other noises with it?

I will look into the roadforce balance if nothing comes from checking the tread/checking for bubbles/etc. It happens at all speeds, from 1st gear in the parking lot, to highway speeds.

[nykfury]

:welcome:

i wouldnt mess around with winter, i would just seriously replace, the caliper, pads, roters, bleed it, get everything done. Get all new tires, and check the wheels it self and make sure no damage or anything.

[cool]

:welcome:

i wouldnt mess around with winter, i would just seriously replace, the caliper, pads, roters, bleed it, get everything done. Get all new tires, and check the wheels it self and make sure no damage or anything.


Thats a bit overboard. Thats like cutting down a whole tree because one branch is touching your house.


Does this vibration become more intense during braking or is it about the same? If it is about hte same I would start with the tires. Have them road-forced, this will tell you if the tires are bad and at the same time the shop can tell you if your rims are bent. While its in the air have the tech give the front end a shake down. A visual inspection will tell you alot.

Most of the components that will cause this issue can be checked at the time you are having the tires checked. Honestly, any shop worth a shit will do an inspection on the car if its in the stall, irregardless of what it came in for. If they dont, you went to the wrong place.

[Preacher1995]

I know my car shakes when I have low air pressure..Im sure you have checked that though?

[plum360415]

shoes85...first off welcome to CSS.... 2nd... pics of car and tires would be helpful...also check the CSS vendors... They are always ready to help out...

[shoes85]

Does this vibration become more intense during braking or is it about the same? If it is about hte same I would start with the tires. Have them road-forced, this will tell you if the tires are bad and at the same time the shop can tell you if your rims are bent. While its in the air have the tech give the front end a shake down. A visual inspection will tell you alot.

Most of the components that will cause this issue can be checked at the time you are having the tires checked. Honestly, any shop worth a shit will do an inspection on the car if its in the stall, irregardless of what it came in for. If they dont, you went to the wrong place.

The vibration is about the same when braking. I'm willing to bet it's a tire or wheel. How expensive is a road force balance? The tires are mis matched, and have enough tread for about another year, I'm wondering if it would just be worth it to get 4 new tires and go from there. I checked the front wheel bearings and tie rods last time I had the car jacked up.

When I had the wheels balanced, I ended up just bringing in the wheels (I don't know why I did that) but the machine they used was the type where you pull the cover down over the wheel for the machine to start. I don't even think they looked at if the tire was hopping. Also, I heard some manufacturers balance the wheel from the lug holes instead of the big hole in the middle of the wheel. Might this be the case?


Preacher: I haven't checked the tire pressure lately, but will do tonight. I have had the issue the whole time I've had the car, even after tire pressure top offs.

Another thing worth noting is that not only is one tire mismatched, but one hubcap is cracked and chewed up on one edge. I wonder if that has something to do with it!

P.S. I tried to post some pictures, but I must not have enough posts to have picture posting rights yet.

Plum: I will check the vendors. I assume that means "shops in the area" which is what I've been looking for - a good mechanic/shop I can bring my cars to when I don't have the time/resources/knowledge to do it myself.

[Samickguy15]

Road force at Farm & Fleet I believe was $15 each, if you brought the car in. It's less than tires, but still spendy. You can jack your car up and give the wheels a spin to see if they hop or not. Road force will identify issues with actual numbers, but most times if it has issues, you'll see it without applying any force to it.

It does sound like tire issues though. You could always replace the worst two tires for now, and replace the other two later on down the road...Cheaper than a set of 4 if money is hard.

[shoes85]

Road force at Farm & Fleet I believe was $15 each, if you brought the car in. It's less than tires, but still spendy. You can jack your car up and give the wheels a spin to see if they hop or not. Road force will identify issues with actual numbers, but most times if it has issues, you'll see it without applying any force to it.

It does sound like tire issues though. You could always replace the worst two tires for now, and replace the other two later on down the road...Cheaper than a set of 4 if money is hard.

Money isn't REAL tight, I just don't want to spend money to replace a perfectly good set of tires/wheel bearing/etc.

I'll check the tires to see if there is any hop or uneven tread wear. Here is a link to the pics of the car,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24837549@N08/sets/72157622973366566/

Sorry I don't have any close-ups. These pictures could also be placed in the the winter beater thread.

[BlueNova69]

I say bad tire. Probably a broken steel belt.

[IlliniJeeper]

Funny that they wouldn't have caught a bad tire on the balancer. A broken steel belt or bent rim will make it damn near impossible to balance properly.

[shoes85]

Funny that they wouldn't have caught a bad tire on the balancer. A broken steel belt or bent rim will make it damn near impossible to balance properly.

There is that too. What if the tire was able to be balanced weight-wise, but is actually pear shaped rather than circular. That would make the weight the same on the balancer, but make the car move up and down when the tire went round and round.

[Scorched_Earth]

Funny that they wouldn't have caught a bad tire on the balancer. A broken steel belt or bent rim will make it damn near impossible to balance properly.

Not true. The only thing that would make it near impossible to balance is something moving inside the tire like fix-a-flat or something like that. That would put the out of balance weight in a different spot each time.

[sbcpowerdfox]

welcome man! get the car up on jackstands and run it to different speeds and feel for vibration, if it goes away, then look at rear tires, brakes whatever.