Vibration at 55mph and up-brand new tires/tie rods/alignment

[rgurleyjr]

Long story short, after getting the car back in Jan., the struts were shot so I replaced all four struts, tie rods, and tie rod ends. I replaced all four tires at the same time but waited so long to get it aligned that it killed the front two tires. I have been having vibration issues the whole time I've owned this car, I just replaced the two front tires this week and was expecting it to ride smooth but I still have a strange vibration and noise above 55mph, I swapped the rear tires to the front, still vibrating. Now, on a freshly paved road, I get a slight "roaring" noise around 50, and seems to get a little louder the faster I go, the vibration can be felt in the whole car and in the steering wheel. It sort of comes and goes away like a tire problem, for about 7-8 seconds it can be felt, then it seems to go away for a few seconds, then comes back. My uncle said it could be wheel bearing and a transmission problem. I'm thinking wheel bearing but would a bad bearing cause the vibration to come and go like I stated it does? I checked for play in both front bearings with the car jacked up but there is none, and I would replace them for the heck of it if it was easy but since they are pressed it, I haven't. Any opinions, thoughts, suggestions?

[Bitter]

check wheel bearings, check that tires are smooth and not 'chopped'.

[mr1114]

Also bad wheel bearings wont always have play. Lot of times they will just be very noisy. Not sure if this would cause a vibration, but I've learned that on a car, just because its not likely to happen doesnt mean it cant happen. Check tires and look underneath for any obvious signs of something that might need replacement.

The way I check wheel bearings if there is no play - put the wheels up in the air with the car in Neutral. Rotate the suspected side with one hand while holding one or two coils of the spring with the other. If a bearing is bad enough to make noise, there should be a noticeable difference between it and one that is not, as far as feeling the vibrations thru the metal. This method has worked for me several times.

[GuardianArchon]

check you rims too, its possible they have become warped(am i spelling that right?) from a pot hole or something of similar nature which is causing the vibration at that speed, same issued appear on my parents car, took it to get the tires check and i saw that the rims where mishapped

[scoutsout]

Or you might have thrown a wheel out of balance. Its funny how those little weights make a difference.

[Bitter]

Originally Posted by mr1114

Also bad wheel bearings wont always have play. Lot of times they will just be very noisy. Not sure if this would cause a vibration, but I've learned that on a car, just because its not likely to happen doesnt mean it cant happen. Check tires and look underneath for any obvious signs of something that might need replacement.

The way I check wheel bearings if there is no play - put the wheels up in the air with the car in Neutral. Rotate the suspected side with one hand while holding one or two coils of the spring with the other. If a bearing is bad enough to make noise, there should be a noticeable difference between it and one that is not, as far as feeling the vibrations thru the metal. This method has worked for me several times.

on both my toyota's the wheel bearings made noise, gave vibrations, but were totally tight with no play.