vibrations and not the good kind!

[chris j. 87gn]

....'87GN... has nasty vibration between 55 and 63mph... have had...tires balanced 3 times, new (wheel)bearings up front,front end "feels" good and solid...by the way wheel bearing where shot!... helped but did not cure(!)...u-joints, great shape...had up on jack,tires running looks fine(!)...man i don't wanna hear crap about a torque converter, but i am running out of options(!)... guys who balanced my tires(tire discounters, 2 different locations, one of which said this....) my rims are screwed up. i stood , well back about 35ft and looked fine to me, my rims?...stock GN rims! anyone heard this before? ... sure i assume they are stamped steel and will never be true, so to say but damn, this has gotta stop!!!! and as far as the torque conv. goes... it is the same speed in overdrive or drive and well second for that matter!!!! help losing control here!! sorry long post...thanks for input in advance!

 

[Louie L.]

I know you said that the front end was solid. How did you check it? I fought a vibration on my front end for years replacing everything in the front end but for one piece. The drag link was never replaced and that was the part causing the vibes in the front. Although this may not be your problem, check each part individually.

Stock GN rims are pretty stout so that cant be it unless they have been curbed... But again pulling each one and closely inspecting them is not a bad idea. Look around the welds and lugnut area.

Good luck.

 

[Gary Wells]

If you have any GN/T-type friends, I would pay one of them with a good set or tires/rims to borrow their rims and tires, mount all 4 on your car, and see if that eliminates the problem. I also have never heard of any problems with gn rims in general.

 

[mayosmechanic]

Have you checked to see if your drive shaft threw a weight?If you race with slicks you will also want to check it for twist.It would also be helpful to know where you feel the vibration.In the seat,in the steering wheel etc.

 

[Buzzard]

Vibrations

I fought vibrations in my car when I first bought it. First off the driveline was out of balance. Sent it out and had it checked and ujoints replaced. That fixed the 65 mph vibration. Next I balanced the wheels for the 3rd time and marked the inside of the tire to the rim with some chalk. After driving the car 30 miles or so I put it up on the lift and found the tires were slipping on the wheels. Good old chrome gn wheels. Since replacing my wheels with centerlines I have not had to rebalance my tires after every hard stop or burnout. Could have been the tires on the gn wheels were getting old, tread was good but the tires were about 3 years old. Just my experiences, results may vary.

 

[wagon]

You might have a bent wheel. I have one on my car, and it gives a little vibration. Just have someone else drive the car(someone you trust), and watch the wheels to see if they are your problem. Or you could have someone else do that part so that you can drive it. Mine, I just hung out the window while driving, and looked at the back driver's side wheel, since that is the one that I just had replaced, and sure enough, the wheel is bent. Now, if only I could find new 14" steel wheels.

 

[Turbo6inKY]

Check your ball joints, tie rod ends, and the idler arm on the steering rack.

 

[chris j. 87gn]

thanks guys and hey wagon, haven't talked to you for a while from cottons board, any waythanks for the input... checked by grabbing and twisting drag link and tie rod ends.. couldn't really check idler arm that way ... i know this is a shabby way to "check" but it's all i could do at that point. unfortunately the GN has now become my primary car as my cougars tran. took a dump!and that reallly hurts!!!! the vibration i can feel thru the steering wheel(front end) and thru the seat and watching the whole damn car shake. has t-tops and well it just shakes enough to make you . i stay out of the speed range where this occurs as much as i can. i did have my girl friend drive the car and i circled it while she had it shaking(!!!) could not see anything what so ever! checked ball joint with a long bar and then simply tried to tear them off by hand and there is no play at all no matter what you do to them!.... i also started hearing a "rattle" (back seat is out) from under the rear seat far pass. side all the way over where the floor connects to the quarters... going to be digging in tonight to investigate that one, and it sound nasty as well...i'll make that chaulk mark to , just in case! i drive big trucks and this "shake" is like when a tire blows off slowly! this is way to long and i am losing sanity! thaks for everyones time!

 

[wagon]

Another thing could be tires. How are your front tires. If the tread is low, it can cause one heck of a shake. I had this problem when I took m parents car for a spin. I thought the front of the car was coming apart. It just needed some tires up front. Theirs was an fwd Regal though.

 

[Ormand]

One more idea. In GM High Tech Performance, they had Dynotech do a rebuild on the 200-4R in their Turbo Regal. One of the problems that was solved was a bad vibration. Don't know what the exact part in the tranny was that caused the vibes, but the rebuild fixed the vibration. Just something else to spend money on, as usual!

 

[bentwing2]

vibe?...

swap tires front to back. if the vibe continues-check the front end links as other suggested;plus-with engine off+weight of car on ground- lay under the front of the car and observe as your buddy rocks the steering wheel back and forth through the free play zone;and look for any up and down/side to side movement. if no play- check movement at steering box input shaft compared to output.-maybe worn steering box.. .another way is to get large channel locks and squeeze each joint between the stud and socket. any play is bad. side to side play is already 70% beat.
tires could also have broken belts. or brake rotors could need to be cut if it vibes during braking.

good luck