Vibration and Burning Smell

[nikhilgk]

Ok, I have checked other threads and archived threads and couldnt find a similar problem. I have a 2000 Corolla CE. My car vibrates when on the move at the rate of once every rotation. This vibration is similar to the one I had when my rear tyre was torn, only that it seems to come from the front right tyre. When I slow down the car and speed it up again in traffic, sometimes the vibration goes away, but mostly returns when I slow and speed again (Not at stop and go speeds, but at freeway speeds). I checked the tyre and do not see any visible damage to it. The front tyres are less than 8K miles old.
For the past one week, I have also been noticing a faint smell of burning rubber coming from the front of my car when I get out after driving even a couple of miles - I am attributing it to the fact that I just shipped the car to New Jersey from California and have been using up the heater more than I ever used to.
Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[cheesep]

Do you feel the vibration in the steering wheel? Sure seems like a tire problem but you likely can't tell by just looking at it. You could jack the car up so the front wheels are just off the ground, start the car and put it in gear so the wheel spins. See if it spins smoothly or if it starts vibrating. Compare it to how smoothly the other one spins. Also look at it from the front to see if it's wobbling side to side indicating a bent rim. You could also switch the suspect wheel with one of the rear wheels and see if that makes a difference.

Also, check your drive axle boots. If you have a split axle boot and dirt gets in then the axle can actually stick in a position that's not in balance. That happened to me at low speed. It goes away at higher speed because the joint is forced to straighten out. If this is the problem though, you need to replace the drive axle because the joint is ruined.