Front end vibration

[Mastirmynd]

I spent over an hour searching old posts regarding this problem and am not sure that i found what i need. Heres the deal: I just had my waterpump, timing belt, power steering pully and belt, front axles, brake pads, front tires, and thermostat replaced. And had an alignment done.($1300 for that i could have put in a new engine) Now when i turn, there is some vibration from the front end, and when im doing over 45mph straight there is some vibration. Nothing brain rattling, but its still annoying. So the axles are brand new, i doubt thats it, and when i took it back to the shop, one of the mechanics drove it with me in the car and said that he thought it was the motor mounts. However it had NEVER done this before i had it in the shop. Most of what ive read on the site points to motor mounts or bearings or a couple other things, but none of those sounded like possible problems. So what do you all think?

[Mastirmynd]

By the way, if this is in the wrong section, feel free to move it, i wasnt sure what the problem is, so i wasnt sure where to post.

[Mastirmynd]

[BADMX3]

the vibration on mine was bad when turning and accelarating hard>
replaced the outer cv joint and it went.

now it's come back and it's all the time mainly accelarating and cornering.

i think my problem is the inner joint on one of the drive shafts. would be worth checking. i know mines gone i think it's the tripod joint cos there's loads of play on it whereas there isn't on the other side. hope this points in the right direction

[Mastirmynd]

any more opinions? i mean, this really confuses me, because i just replaced the axles and cvs and everything, and it never did this before i had all the work done.

[Gro Harlem]

only thing that could cause those symptoms are 1: bent wheel, 2: worn bearings. Could be a couple other things, but very unlikely if you got the aligment done to spec.

[Mastirmynd]

Originally posted by Gro Harlem:
only thing that could cause those symptoms are 1: bent wheel, 2: worn bearings. Could be a couple other things, but very unlikely if you got the aligment done to spec.

well see, i considered the wheel, but it feels like its coming from the entire front end, not just one side, and i wondered about the bearings, but is that something that comes on suddenly? because it litterally didnt do it one day, and started the next. As soon as i drove it home fromt he shop. and then directly back to ask them wtf was wrong with it.

[Mastirmynd]

Ok, i still havent fixed this, but ive read a few informative posts on the board about similar problems. Ive heard about how hubs, spindles, bearings, cv's, and C-clips could be to blame, But the only one that remotely makes sense in my case would be the C-clips. Because the axles are new, wheel play is normal,tires are new,balanced, and aligned, and it ONLY started doing this AFTER i got it back from the shop, so are the clips something that they could have just forgotten? Or am i just completely off, and have no idea what im talking about? My car is up in the air right now, and im going out of my mind trying to figure out what those mechanics did to my car. Could they have messed up my mounts? Sorry for posting so much about this, but i just cant figure it out. Thanks for all the help guys, i really appreciate it

[quicksliver]

Check you're stabilizer links

[Mastirmynd]

where are they in relation to something else, say, the axle. And what am i checking for?

[curtklze]

They are the links that go from the lower control arms to the anti-swaybar.

[cameltoe101]

are you also hearing a slight 'humming' in sync with the vibrations??
this is my scenario, i thought it was the bearings, due to the fact that the rhythm of the humming becomes less frequent, but in sync with the wheel rotations.. but i jacked up each corner and checked for wheel play, and there was'nt any... any ideas? maybe tire damage??

by the way, with the sway bar links.. do you check for play with a pry bar..or ther a better method?
thanks.

p.s. quick silver, im from barrie also, maybe you could check it out??

[cap4004]

I read a similar post on ProbeTalk with an MX-6 (sorry don't have the link right now). They replaced their axles and the same symptoms appeared. One of the new axles was bad, but even after having it replaced, the car still had some vibration.
Turns out this is common w/ our cars and P-GT's. Mazda claimed it was because the axles weren't OEM parts.
If you do fix it, please post the solution. (I have the same problem!)
btw What are C-clips?

[Mastirmynd]

Well, I Finally got it into the shop, and they said that its the front and rear transmission mounts. over $300 to fix, and so help me god, it wasnt me, it never did it until it was in their shop! then as soon as i get it back, it vibrates like all hell. But, they said it wasnt them, so i have to fork out the cash to fix it. Im waiting for those idiots to call me so i can pick up my car, i'll post the results of $1600 worth of labor and parts on my car when i get it back. And if they give me any useful info, i'll post it as well in case this gets brought up in a search.

[Mastirmynd]

after school i called the shop and they said that they ran into a problem, they replaced the transmission mounts, took it for a test drive, and not a thing had changed. So they looked even harder for a possible problem, and when they looked at the axle, Bingo, it was a bad axle. SO apparently it ground out something in the transmission, and now i have to replace the transmission. thats another $500 installed, at least. On top of the $300 and something for the mounts. Im waiting to see if advance auto parts is going to cover some of the cost, since they sold me a bad axle. I should know by monday if the new trans. fixes the problem.