Check front suspension control arm rear bushing for ripping or separation by prying rear of control arm. Check also for free play at inner tie-rod end, particularly on driver's side.

Replace struts, then adjust camber and toe alignment.

 

Checked the control arm bushing, very slight surface dry rot but when i pry on them they hold fine.
Checked the tie-rods again, specifically the inner, and zero play.
I do want to replace the struts but i'm still on the fence between a sportier suspension or 2nd hand high-end coil-overs, so want to wait on those.

Does the vibration go away if you let go of the gas pedal? Does it get worse when you accelerate? If your car does any of this then it is your inner cv axle. Change it and you will be fine.

Vibration slows down as the speed slow but at the same rate not drastically, in reverse same thing, vibration speeds up at same rate or acceleration.



I was under the car and compared the play at inner ends of CV axles and driver side is way worse, it's coming out and replacing it tonight. I need to try something.



I wrote everything above earlier and forgot to submit it, ended up replacing the axle since i had so much stuff apart. Took it for a ride and voila no more shaking.
Well it would be time for beer and celebration but now my ABS light is on and Tire Pressure light is blinking :headbang::headbang::headbang::headbang::headbang:

Just my kind of luck, now i was looking at the old axle and noticed the ABS ring looks like it could come off, any chance the new axle doesn't come with one? I didn't pay attention when i had it out.

Guys, thanks for getting me in the right direction, greatly appreciated!

 

Does the vibration go away if you let go of the gas pedal? Does it get worse when you accelerate? If your car does any of this then it is your inner cv axle. Change it and you will be fine.

 

Your right invader.

 

AND the curve ball.

Took everything apart again and transferred the ABS ring over to my new axle. Button everything up and go for a nice ride.

Lights go out after a block or two!!!

Then i get on the highway and everything is smooth, cruising at 75mph no prob.
A couple miles go by and BAMM vibration comes back.

So that's disappointing, but not all that surprising, as Invader stated doesn't make much sense for the inner axle to cause shaking.

I am supposed to hit the road tomorrow 1800 but not sure now. Last attempt is going to get an alignment after work.

Any one else got a hail-marry for me to try?

 

Sorry, nothing new to add but I have the same exact problem. I've just been ignoring it for years now.... lol
Sometimes I don't get any steering wheel vibrations at all when traveling over 70, temperature seems to have some effects possibly?

 

Do you feel it in the chassis as well as in steering wheel? How sure are you that all wheels and tires are true, as well as properly balanced? Also make sure they are all at 30 psi cold.

 

Do you feel it in the chassis as well as in steering wheel? How sure are you that all wheels and tires are true, as well as properly balanced?

Nope just in the steering wheel. Nothing in the floor/pedals.

I checked tires for balancing this past weekend, they're all look good.

It's not impossible one tire is not true but rotating tires should have pointed that out.

 

How much mileage on original struts?

 

Unknown, their at-least 2 y.o. could even be original, they have some rust and boots are all torn up.
However i don't see any oil leaking, but they could have all leaked out 5 years ago n i wouldn't know the better.

 

What's the odometer reading in the 2006 Corolla? How many miles are on it? What mileage is it at?

 

160k

Basically i could do one or the other, struts or alignment tomorrow after work.
Maybe struts tomorrow and alignment first thing Friday leave in AM instead.

 

Yeah, I go through a set of struts per 60k on our fine roads... Replace struts first. Front wheel camber and toe need adjustment after struts are removed.

 

Alright, sounds like that's the plan. Thanks

 

Disappointing afternoon.

I replaced the two front strut with strut assemblies. Then went to Sears and got an alignment.

Take the highway home and nothing has changed.

Slight difference though, i noticed when i steer left the shaking isn't as bad, more on that later. Also when i brake the vibration gets worse. I replaced rotors and pads 2 weeks ago.

So about the turning left, if you look at the sheet from Sears it shows i have negative toe in my rear right wheel. I'm thinking when i turn left its equal to being straight an shake isn't as bad.

I am going to replace one of the front rotors because i think it might be warped out of the box(bit of a stretch). Also going to check right rear wheel for play.

 

Also quick question for any one who knows, what are these clips that came with the new pads i bought? I didn't remove anything like em when i removed old pads and rotors.

 

That clip would go onto the brake pad. I am not sure if that's the part that makes noise to indicate pad change. Just reinstall it.

I too had warped rotors out of the box. It was vibrating when I applied the brakes at any speed. My wife's nephew said it was fine, but I was not confident I could safely stop. Did warranty exchange and all is well. I do not recall that there was any vibration at highway speeds.

 

Tire deformation/unbalance. Control arm bushing separation/ripping. Warped wheel/wheel bearing hub...

 

I had a vibration that I had difficulty getting rid of and it ended up being a bent rim. The tire shop balanced the tire and watched how the wheel was bouncing. Its worth a shot.

 

Before leaving last weekend i replaced the rotor that i suspected of being warped. That made vibration while braking go away.

Drove 800 miles with slight vibration, on and off. Would vibrate 30 mins and be smooth 30 minutes, not consistent like that but id say 50/50 over all.

The last few days i checked if all the wheels were balanced again, i have the 15 in steel wheels and dont look out of round but ill do a real measured check this weekend.

I notice something new today as well. If i cruise at 30mph and pop it into 4th/5th and it give it gas theirs a humming and knocking/clunking, sounds like metal on metal, coming from front driver wheel area, its pretty quiet. It only happens on acceleration and only when in gear. No noise if i'm in neutral, reving and moving. It's really only when i'm in gear and give it gas, can only hear it at slower speeds, not on the highway(road noise too loud), and doesn't change if i'm tuning either direction.

I'm thinking new tie rod end or bearing, but hate to keep tossing dough at this car, specially when neither show any failure symptoms .

Also going to check motor mounts, are they problematic on these cars?

 

You could check your front and rear torque position motor mounts, and the tranny mount down behind battery... I still suspect your control arm rear bushings. Make sure they're not unbonded at all from the control arm.

 

Alright while double checking the control arm rear bushing again i checked the play in the cv axle and it seemed real sloppy to me. Can any tell me this is normal, i just see the ring of residue around the axle seal makes me think worse case scenario.

The control arm bushings don't look great but i don't see any full rips just surface cuts, see pic.


Let me know if video quality is too crappy.

 

I have considerably more slop in my old CV joints and in the tranny's splined differential output... The only way I get any speed vibrations is if my tires are damaged or unbalanced. Your control arm rear bushing appears to be okay, as long as it's still fully bonded to your control arm. There's also the possibility of a bent or unbalanced CV half shaft which could cause it.

 

Tire Tread Seperation

I have had this issue before. Slow wobble at low speeds, fast wobble (or described as shake) at high speeds.

My issue was related to tire tread separation. The tire tread starts to separate and the lower layers protrude through the tire and cause a bubble, creating wobble/shake at different speeds. This is dangerous and can result in a blowout.

Good luck!

 

It is most likely a problem with the tires.

Did you get a road force balance done?

 

Thanks to the nice weather I have been able to ride the Yamaha around and put this on the back burner while I saved up bit of money for new tires.

Ended up getting some Celica wheels for a steal and finding out the hard way I needed new lugs, then I got some new tires installed.
Pretty sure they did a good job balancing them, I had a chat with the tech before and after the work and he appeared legit. Also they used the smallest weights I've ever seen, looks precise.

Put them on the car and noticed a significant difference from before. However theirs still a slight shake in the wheel, hard to explain the difference. Before the back and forth in the wheel was around a 1/2in, rhythmic and slow in comparison. Now its very small back and forth like 1/8in, also rhythmic but much faster, I also feel it slightly in the pedal, specially when engaging the clutch. Also feel it in the seat, shifter, dash, etc...

At this point I'm thinking about getting the alignment done again since I feel like it pulls a little to the left and I have unlimited alignments for 6months now.

What's the tie rod end failure rate like? should I change those two before the alignment?

 

Put them on the car and noticed a significant difference from before. However theirs still a slight shake in the wheel, hard to explain the difference. Before the back and forth in the wheel was around a 1/2in, rhythmic and slow in comparison. Now its very small back and forth like 1/8in, also rhythmic but much faster, I also feel it slightly in the pedal, specially when engaging the clutch. Also feel it in the seat, shifter, dash, etc...

At this point I'm thinking about getting the alignment done again since I feel like it pulls a little to the left and I have unlimited alignments for 6months now.

What's the tie rod end failure rate like? should I change those two before the alignment?

I wonder if what is felt in the clutch pedal is related to it. Does it shake in neutral when releasing the clutch pedal? Any change at high speeds when clutching in and shifting to neutral?

 

Inner tie-rod ends go first, particularly the driver's side one... Aftermarket inner tie-rod ends are larger than OEM, even the cheaper ones. Moog is slightly better quality. OEM takes a 1-1/8" wrench to remove from rack & pinion, while aftermarket takes a 1-1/4" wrench to install.

http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/toyota,2006,corolla,1.8l+l4,1432846,steering,tie+rod+end,7428

What is your tire make and model, and how old are they? You'd do better with 195/65 instead of 185/65-15's.

 

Alright thats good to know ill get inner and outer tie rods. The tires are brand new, 195/60/15, bridgestone eagle or something. Nothing fancy but not cheapo crap either.

Thanks for the link, rockauto does have good prices.

Is it possible that the joints inside the CV boot are damaged or not enough grease packed? Sounds more like maybe at some point in the car's life that the trans hit something hard enough to no longer be true? Sounds very odd that a new axle would not remedy the problem but become worse.

Op, since you have ruled out most parts for the exception of tires, maybe it's the trans itself that is the source of the issue. It could be internal damage right at the joint where the axle and trans meets.

Sure hope I am wrong.

How would i check if a joint inside a cv boot is going back, except for clicking when turning. Anything is possible, everyone who drives it is pretty rough with it.
The amount of play at spline seems excesize to me but im used to axles that bolt up n have no play.

I think at some point ill need to suck it up n remove axle again to see if the spline has slop. Cant believe i forgot to do it when i first replaced it.

 

Is it possible that the joints inside the CV boot are damaged or not enough grease packed? Sounds more like maybe at some point in the car's life that the trans hit something hard enough to no longer be true? Sounds very odd that a new axle would not remedy the problem but become worse.

Op, since you have ruled out most parts for the exception of tires, maybe it's the trans itself that is the source of the issue. It could be internal damage right at the joint where the axle and trans meets.

Sure hope I am wrong.