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Hopping after 70 mph

Posted: January 22nd, 2006, 3:54 pm
by hgallegos915
ok... im lost lets see new wheel bearings, struts are good. I went to get car aligned and it does go straight however after 70 mph the car bunps a little bit ... hmm tire does not have any inperfection s ..any ideas? o.0

Posted: January 22nd, 2006, 5:58 pm
by solo_ryder
Check your tie rods, those will cause vibrations at higher speeds.

Posted: January 22nd, 2006, 7:21 pm
by Gro Harlem
i don't see how a tie-rod, a part of the steering system could cause a vibration.

Vibrations are caused by moving parts so it is pretty much impossible to think that a tie-rod, balljoint or whatever is causing a vibration at higher speed.


I can tell you right now, it sounsd like one of your axle. If you are experiencing the vibration during acceleration or constant throttle but NOT when you let off throttle at 70mph, DEFINITELY your axle.

If it is a droning w/slight vibration taht starts at a lower speed & gradually gets worse as you increase speed, it is most likely a unbalanced tire, a bent rim or a fubar wheel bearing.

It could also be a warped rotor in combination with a seized caliper causing the pad to rub against hte rotor w/each rotation. This is common if your brakes hadn't been properly maintained in years.

Posted: January 22nd, 2006, 7:57 pm
by solo_ryder
I don't see why it could not be a tie rod, if the bushing is worn out enough then it could cause it to move around under load (as in higher speeds) and thus cause vibration. I have a bad tie rod on my passenger side and it is causing a vibration, so I fixed it and it went away. This may not be the case for Hec, but it is a possibility, I am not gonna complain with Gro's theory as he knows more then I do. An axle could be a good probability as well as that could cause hoping, and is likely because your motor puts out more power.

Posted: January 23rd, 2006, 7:38 pm
by Gro Harlem
i guess but if your tie-rod end was so worn that it had that much play....you'd be a fool to be driving at 70mph b/c the symptoms would be horribly obvious at 30mph, let alone more than 2x that speed.

a worn tie-rod end would basically make a clunk when you steer one way or the other & also make the steering feel vagueish. If it were so worn that a shimmy caused the end to knock back and forth at speed...then you'd have a serious problem :shock: :shock: :shock:

Posted: January 23rd, 2006, 11:06 pm
by den
Wheel balance!!!!

Posted: January 23rd, 2006, 11:39 pm
by rmcg5
den wrote:Wheel balance!!!!
also could be wheel dent... potholes suck....

Posted: January 27th, 2006, 7:53 pm
by hgallegos915
when i hit the brake it feels more...warped rotor i assume?

Posted: January 28th, 2006, 10:24 am
by Yoda
hgallegos915 wrote:when i hit the brake it feels more...warped rotor i assume?
One common thing I can think of is a broken or shifted belt inside the tire. The tire is going to look normal on the outside. If you know what to look for you can see it on a tire balancer but unfortunately most places these days have kids with minimal training doing the mounting and balancing and the machines have safety covers over the spinning wheel so you can see the spinning tire I seen places balance bent wheels and deformed tires and send customers on there way. The other thing is that the balancing machine generally balance the tire for approx 60mph/ 100kmh. With the added inertia the belts are probably doing something different at 70mph than it does at 60mph.

Also a worn suspension componant doesn't have to be worn to the point of being dangerous to cause a vibration at a certain speed. I have a friend that had a 1 year old chevy truck with an out of spec bushing. the truck would almost bounce off the road at 65mph. It took GM over 6 month to find the problem. I had a vibration and shaking problem with one of my cars at higher speeds that was due to a tie rod end with .004" of play. In both cases just that at certain speeds the harmonics made it feel a lot worse that it was.

Posted: January 29th, 2006, 5:14 pm
by hgallegos915
hmm im a suspension idiot.. where can i get some new bushings? it only hops over 70 and not 60 thats weird o.0 the tire itself is pretty new and still has warranty, imma go have them take a look at it at where i bought them.

Posted: February 6th, 2006, 11:28 pm
by MazdaKiller
yeah could be bad suspention check that out ..
hgallegos915 wrote:hmm im a suspension idiot.. where can i get some new bushings? it only hops over 70 and not 60 thats weird o.0 the tire itself is pretty new and still has warranty, imma go have them take a look at it at where i bought them.