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vibration during acceleration...what to look for?

40K views 25 replies 7 participants last post by  WebDev 
#1 ·
i have an 07 LE V6 with 76,000 miles. im lowered on coilovers and have 20 inch wheels. so i have a small vibration while normal acceleration between 10-20 mph once i go past 20 mph it goes away. if im accelerating heavy i feel the front vibrating all the way up until i let go of the gas. i can feel the pedal and steering wheel alot and the whole car vibrates kinda hard...i got new tires and replaced the pass side axle already. at first i thought it was the axle since the boot was leaking and i heard the clicking noise. ive even tried puttin my stock wheels back on n i still feel it. im going to lift the car up and try to find whats going on but if someone can help me on what to look for under the car
 
#4 ·
xle i had



you said the magic word, you replaced the passenger side axle, now did you put in a new one from toyota i know they are 600bucks but take it from me i had the exact problem you did first the clicking, replaced the axle with 60dollar rebuilt axle then had same vibration at low speed then at high speed, put in a new axle from toyota wallaah! smooth as silk again. i know its 600bucks but worth it. there are just some parts you have to go with new instead of rebuilt because they will drive you crazy. the rebuilt axle i bought first did not have the rubber absorber on it like the original axle did, thats supose to absorb vibrations. s i would bet my life on it its the axle. my 2 cents.
 
#5 ·
you said the magic word, you replaced the passenger side axle, now did you put in a new one from toyota i know they are 600bucks but take it from me i had the exact problem you did first the clicking, replaced the axle with 60dollar rebuilt axle then had same vibration at low speed then at high speed, put in a new axle from toyota wallaah! smooth as silk again. i know its 600bucks but worth it. there are just some parts you have to go with new instead of rebuilt because they will drive you crazy. the rebuilt axle i bought first did not have the rubber absorber on it like the original axle did, thats supose to absorb vibrations. s i would bet my life on it its the axle. my 2 cents.
thanks for the info. i did get one of those 60 dollar axles. i just think its weird that i had the vibration before replacing and now even worse with the new 1. would u know what to look for if i lift the car up n get under there 2 have a look?
 
#14 ·
thanks alot...well i dont know if this makes any diff but i just went to go buy some food...my st juss got repaved so its the smoothes around...taking off from a stop i hit 10 mph and once the vibration starts i shifted to neutral and the vibration stopped..shifted bak to drive(not good 4 the tranny) while giving it gas and the vibration came back? im confused shouldnt it always vibrate if it was the axle since its always spinning?
 
#18 ·
Almost 4 years later but i'm curious to know what happened in the end. It was a good story. I'm actually going through the same thing right now, i'm also thinking it is the axle even though i bought the "new" ones which are duralast gold which are too crappy too capitalize the name. Anyways i'm hoping to hear how this ended with the rebuilt OEM axle.
 
#20 ·
Thank you. From what i understand this has to do with the angle the axle is positioned after lowered. So apparently a stock axle can take the load while being at an angle but brand new aftermarket axles cannot? I don't have my original axle anymore so i'd have to buy a used one and try that or rebuild it.
 
#21 ·
NAPA axle is the next best thing. The NAPA brand (maxdrive) only since they also have Cardone there. Reman is slightly cheaper than new.
 
#23 · (Edited)
New Cardone driver & passenger axles installed and vibration has reduced but it is still present. My next assumptions would be balljoints, lower control arms, and motor mounts. Dogbone is a little cracked, car has 120K and i understand this torque and the front motor mount go out first so i'll be looking into that... Any other suggestions? Stabilizer links are new, inner and outer tie rods are new, perhaps a strut? They are all BC Racing but i have had a very small noise since those were installed, the noise or tiny clunk is coming from the front driver's side (which is where i feel the vibration coming from when accelerating but hard to tell where exactly). I do have a BC replacement strut though. What are your thoughts? Vibration on hard acceleration.
 
#24 ·
***Vibration Problem Resolved***

Ok, months later i'm back with the issue resolved. I'm posting the results in case anyone here encounters this same issue later on or is currently going through this. It happened to be the axles. I bought 2 used axles, one for a Lexus and another for a Camry Toyota, both replaced the 'Cardone' NAPA axles. I could not believe how much the vibration reduced when the passenger was replaced, today (a week later) i replaced the driver side axle and there is no more vibrations present. The car is now lowered and feels very nice accelerating hard once again. Time for an alignment.

It is ridiculous how all the aftermarket axles i've tried did not solve the issue. When comparing axles, the OEM ones had a thicker bar and something else on the bar that looked like a bracket which is not on the aftermarket axles. I have not been able to find used axles for the v6 3.5 Camry nor have had the money to buy 600$ OEM axles, this is a relief!

Thanks everyone for the feedback and your help.
 
#26 ·
Ok, months later i'm back with the issue resolved. I'm posting the results in case anyone here encounters this same issue later on or is currently going through this. It happened to be the axles. I bought 2 used axles, one for a Lexus and another for a Camry Toyota, both replaced the 'Cardone' NAPA axles. I could not believe how much the vibration reduced when the passenger was replaced, today (a week later) i replaced the driver side axle and there is no more vibrations present. The car is now lowered and feels very nice accelerating hard once again. Time for an alignment.

It is ridiculous how all the aftermarket axles i've tried did not solve the issue. When comparing axles, the OEM ones had a thicker bar and something else on the bar that looked like a bracket which is not on the aftermarket axles. I have not been able to find used axles for the v6 3.5 Camry nor have had the money to buy 600$ OEM axles, this is a relief!

Thanks everyone for the feedback and your help.
I'm having this very same issue and my shop told me the exact same thing. Shopping around for used ones off the ES/Avalon/Cam. And even if they last only a couple of years, considering they're <$80 and these vehicles are a dime-a-dozen, it'll do.
 
#25 ·
Glad you got it resolved. Vibration is one of the most annoying things to track down. As for aftermarket axles, NAPA maxdrive is the only one to get other than OEM. NAPA happens to sell cardone brand for lower end, which you can also get in other places. Cardone is Cardone, just placed in NAPA box because they are authorized resellers of A1 Cardone.
@SFCamry has a thread on axles and he made detailed measurements to show how close to OEM they were in comparison.
 
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