Major vibration/shaking ALL the time.

[samerooo]

Hello. I would like to start off by saying that I am new to these Toyota forums, but have used other forums in the past so I have already searched with no success

The vehicle is owned by my mother so it was not very well taken care of.

She used to tell me that the car was vibrating and that it would only get worse and worse, but I didn't take the time to do anything so it's mostly my fault.

It's been doing this shaking for well over a year, but recently it has gotten horrible. It shaked and vibrates at ALL times. From 0-80 miles an hour is a constant vibration. It has now gotten to the point where it is hard to take it above 30-40 mph. I can feel the vibration in the steering wheel and in the gas pedal along with the entire car.

I used to own a Subaru that did the EXACT same thing and it turned out to be an axel that needed to be replaced, but who knows, different cars can be different problems.

The transmission seems to be shifting smoothly in all gears so I don't think that is the problem. I have also noticed that the car seems to shake side to side as well...weird.

If anyone has any idea as to what this problem could be, I would really appreciate it. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

[FinalGear]

I had the same problem with my Civic....After I did a complete tune up the problem went away for good. It also happen with my Jeep...I replace the tires and the problem went away...

[samerooo]

Originally Posted by FinalGear

I had the same problem with my Civic....After I did a complete tune up the problem went away for good. It also happen with my Jeep...I replace the tires and the problem went away...

When I drive down the highway, I can shift the vehicle into neutral and the car will still vibrate. I also can't imagine all this shaking coming from bad tires (they aren't even that bad).

[FinalGear]

Need some car info...?

[samerooo]

Originally Posted by FinalGear

Need some car info...?

Oops. It a 1994 Corolla w/power NOTHING. The basic model, if that makes any difference. Auto trans.

[FinalGear]

check your motor mounts......they usually wear over time...

They look like these:
http://www.napaonline.com/masterpage...+Mount+-+Front

[DietoRemain]

Originally Posted by FinalGear

check your motor mounts......they usually wear over time...

They look like these:
http://www.napaonline.com/masterpage...+Mount+-+Front

word. sounds like motor mounts..

[max8404]

Hey, i had a problem like this on my saturn SW2. This usually happens when you hit your car on a curb or any other uneven surface. A wheel alignment/balance usually takes care of the problem. We replaced the actual hubs (rims) of the car and did an alignment AND balancing, the vibrations stopped.

[retiredat44]

Check your tires for bubbles in the thread,,, air pockets where the air get though a bad layer between the thread and the steel belt.

[root]

Easy enough to check if its wheel, tire, suspension, steering. If it's been doing it for years, your tires will show unusual wear patterns if it's any of the above. If tire wear is even, then it eliminates those and need to look at engine

[LChineze]

there can be various reasons for the shaking/vibration. the most common reason are the tires, especially if they are worn out and losing thread life. even if the tires "are not that bad," if the tires are small and narrow (provided you are running stock wheels/tires, i'm sure your tires are no wider than 175), and thread life is low, the tires lose traction and the car will shake when trying to grip the road. when i was running 155 tires on my 13s wheels, i had the same vibration on the freeway until i replaced all four tires. the chassis shaking was eliminated and i was able to drive past 70mph without the headache inducing shake.

another possible reason can be your engine mounts. i too experienced this problem when my trusted, family mechanic pointed this out almost 6 months ago. but i only felt the vibration when the car was stopped on a red light or when i shifted the tranny. since the mounts were worn, the vibration from the engine would also cause the car to shake. the left and right motor mounts were worned out to the point that whenever i changed gears, the whole transmission would turn and twist the engine. worn engine mounts can be a possibility, but a more unlikely one for chassis vibration during highway driving.

another possibility COULD be bad alignment, but i can only see that as a problem for the shaking during braking. if the alignment is not correct, you will feel shaking during braking.

i am willing to bet the tires are a culprit. i remember when i went through this problem for a few months and how the car would top out at 70mph in the rain cause of the narrow tire size.

[FinalGear]

samerooo....everyone gave good pointers....

[samerooo]

I appreciate all the help. I will be checking the motor mounts soon.

I can't possibly see this much vibration being caused by bad tires or a bad alignment. I don't think I have explained well enough how bad it is vibrating. It is to the point where we have almost totally stopped driving the car.

[max8404]

by the way, how old is the car? Motor mounts shouldn't cause any problems if the car is new or semi new. If the car is ten or more years old, then I guess you should check that.

[root]

Can you drive the car, then shift into neutral and coast & see if it still vibrates? If it still does the same amount, then it's likely not something in the engine itself. It could still be the mounts as the motor and transmission are together on FF vehicles. If it vibrates that bad, if possible have someone drive along in another car and watch the tires. If its problem with wheel & it vibrates that bad, you should see it wobbling/bouncing. I've seen people driving with shot tires, warped wheels, shot shocks & see their wheels going all over the place & I'm amazed they can live with that! Other thing I can think of is mayve CV joint/driveshaft going bad. What year car? Manual or auto tranny? I'm assuming its a front wheel drive. Try and notice if vibration changes when you do different things.