Shake it till it hurts.

[vrivera80]

Ok so I'm new to this but hoping to get some kind of ideas to help me figure this one out. I have an 89 Toyota Corolla GT-S that I recently bought. My problem is this; The car shakes when I travel more than 60 mph, it seems as only the drivers side I can tell when I turn on the flip lights that the left side is causeing the problem. i've got new tires balanced rotated rims, alignment, new cv axles on both sides, new brakes. it dosent shake when I brake so I don't think its a bent rotor. I've thought it to be a bad caliper but it dosent smoke from the rotor. maybe its sticking but would a sticky caliper make the car shake so much?

[SuperRA]

You've covered alot of points already so that's a hard one to say. I'd suggest checking suspension bushings, wheel bearings, motor mounts and checking for loose bolts. Sorry, that's all I could come up with.

[90 GP]

Might try mounting spare tire on drivers side to see if it eliminates it. Also the caliper glide bushings have been known to rust and seize in place which could cause a vibration. Check to see if seized and lubricate them.

[vrivera80]

I've had the suspention checked and two different professionals have already ruled that one out, It is a hard one, I have had three major issues and already fixed the first two and this one is kicking my a$$. mounts all look good and i've roteted rims around balanced the tires twice, the caliper bushing, is that just the hydralic part of the caliper? how can I tell if the caliper is seizing if the tire dosent yank to that side or I don't smell burning brakes? thanks for the help guys...

[90 GP]

The caliper bushing is not a part of the hydraulics. It fits in the caliper body ( the bolt goes through it that secures caliper to the mount). Another possibility is even though it's been replaced is a defective cv joint. Know of a friend who had same vibration problems on a Camry with an aftermarket joint. Finally replaced it with a toyota part and that was the end of the problem.

[vrivera80]

ok, so I would be better off replacing the caliper all together, whats odd is that I feel as if the cv joints I removed originaly looked great as it was but I read one forum where the guy changed that out and it fixed the problem. I'm gonna go with the caliper first and see if that changes anything then go back to the cv joint if it resumes. thanks for the advice.

[90 GP]

Before springing for a new caliper just lube up the bushings the bolts fit through first with lube designed for that purpose. The bushings should move freely back and forth in the rubber boots. As for the cv joint assembly if you had the vibration issues prior to replacing it then that would likely rule it out. As mentioned before the wheel bearing assembly should be considered as a possibility. Have you tried jacking it up to see if any looseness in wheel (up/down side to side)?

[vrivera80]

Thats definatly the way to go, I will start with that. And yes I took it to a shop and asked the specialist in suspension that was there and he checked both wheels. he said it looked good and solid I really have a feeling about the caliper for some reason it didn't seem right when I pulled it out. I will check it and post the results, thanks brother.

[JohnsMam]

Track rod ends?

[vrivera80]

Track Rod end, where is that located??? is that at all connected to the cv axle?

[90 GP]

Think he is referring to tie rod ends .

[vrivera80]

Tie rods look good, everything is intaked as far as the suspension, that whats driving me up the wall. I havent tried the calipers and rotors yet, but I will give the tie rods another look. thank you

[rdyzz]

does it shake past 60 only? i mean does it shake no matter what on acceleration and deceleration. if its the bearing you should be able to hear it, and if you push the top of the wheels while its on ground you should hear a tump from play. the tie rods you would have play left and right, when you got the car jacked up and you push the left/right side of the wheel. have you checked to see if the wheel is bent? balance will affect speeds past 60mph maybe lower, under all conditions acc or decel. the axle being worn funny will affect shaking only during acceleration.

have you checked the play in the rear bushings?

the only time the brakes would cause shaking is during braking, due to the rotors being warped or as some have said, the floaters being siezed.

i would also try tightning all the subframe bolts too. its worth a shot. seems you have tried alot. if it only happends during acceleration i would check the axles again. the shops that rebuild axles use cheap greese and boots. im not sure how much of the material tolerence they check. how axles shake like that is somehow the metal by where they go into the differential is worn.

its a late post, and im tired some of the stuff i wrote might not make sense.

[vrivera80]

Thats ok I understand what your saying, I did check the wheels if they had play also tightened most all bolts in that area and nothing, rotated the tires balnced and aligned it all. I do agree with you about the rotors only shaking while braking but I have heard of a shake if the caliper is seizing but I havent changed that out to be able to rule that one out. i'm in a dead zone as far as doing any more work,I've dropped almost $1000 on it and I'm just givin my pocket a rest. I will keep you all posted though so if anyone comes accross this problem they won't go thru all the hassel i'm going thru. thanks to all i appreciate the help.

[rdyzz]

i do remember on my paseo when i had siezed calipers it did shake some. i put new rotors and calipers on, i also put new struts on at the same time and it went away.

the other place that is the last place to look is the rack and rack bushing.