99 Camry Vibrates Violently at 55 mph

[sabbates]

Help!

My 99 Camry vibrates violently at 55 mph and above!

Below that speed, it's not so bad. The vibration stays when I shift into neutral at 55 mph, which makes me think it's not an engine mount, as the RPMs drop. The vibration stays until the speed drops.

I replaced the passenger side axle because the CV boot was torn- didn't help. The driver side axle boots look good.

I rotated the tires using a spare, thinking one tire was no longer balanced, or maybe a rim was dinged - didn't help.

Any ideas would be much appreciated!

-Sabbates

[Mister_Perkins]

Jack the front of your car in the air grab the tire at 12 and 6 o clock and pull and push the tire. Also at 3 and 9 o clock and repeat. If you feel any excessive movement or play, have a helper wiggle the tire while you inspect where the play is coming from. If you don't notice any play, take it to a reputable tire shop and have them check your tires / rims out for Bends or broken belts

[sabbates]

Mister Perkins-

Thanks a lot. I'll give it a try!

-Sabbates

[Mister_Perkins]

Also, make sure your Emergency Brake is engaged before jacking the front end up . hehe


Another thing you can test too is to stick a large pry bar underneath the tire and put pressure on the bottom of the tire to see if the ball joints are going bad. You should have camber wear if your tires are going bad though

[sabbates]

Mister Perkins-

Sorry, I didn't quite understand that last thing you recommended.

Am I supposed to do this test with the front jacked up? If so, how do I pry so pressure is placed on bottom of tire?

Thanks,

-Sabbates

[Mister_Perkins]

While the front tires are off the ground, you place a pry bar under the tire and pull handle closest to you up, putting pressure against the underside of the tire. You can also place a block of wood under the handle and push on the bottom side of the tire like a fulcrum too:



Kind of like the picture above, but you place the prybar on the bottom of the tire rather than the center

[xpeed]

Either that or you need new shocks. Maybe check out your shocks if they're blown or a simple alignment might help if perkin's advice doesn't help.

[sabbates]

O.K., I'm an idiot.

It turns out the ply on the back rear tire was coming undone.

I never even looked back there because the vibration sound always seemed like it was coming from the front.

I replaced the tire, and the problem is solved.

Thanks for everyone's help!

-Sabbates