My Accord has the shakes....

My 1988 Accord with 132K has a shaking problem. I've done a lot of looking
around on the net but haven't come up with quite the symptoms I've got.

Around the 55-60 mph range the steering wheel begins to shake. It seems to
lessen if you vary the speed just a bit. The odd thing is, when you let off
the gas in this range, it also causes a pretty good shake.

Axles possibly? One is original and rebuilt, the other a rebuilt that was
purchased, both about 50K ago. They don't make any noise that I can tell of
when cornering etc.

This wouldn't be as easy as alignment or balancing would it?

Any ideas appreciated!

 

I had a similar incident with my Civic and an alignment did the trick. Its pot
hole season and those nasty things can really do wonders... Im far from a
mechanic, best bet would be to take it to a mechanic you trust and let him
drive it. make sure he can in an area that lets him get up to 60 mph since you
say at those speeds you are getting the shaking. Good luck.

 

T-I-R-E-S.


They're out of round/balance/road force variance, etc.

Have you had a COMPETENT shop (dealer) look at them yet?

--
TeGGeR®

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Lori Lusardi said...

I doubt the axles are the problem.

It could easily be one or more tires out of balance.
That would fit the speed-dependent symptoms you see.

If the steering wheel shakes and you can also feel it by placing your
hand on the dash, the odds are that one or both front tires are out of
balance.

When I was a young teenager (over 30 years ago), the local Ford shop
would dynamically balance the tires on the vehicle. It was amazing to
see the effect of out of balance tires, and even more amazing to watch
the body vibrations go away as he rotated the gizmo that simulated the
lead weight he would eventually clip over the rim.


Casey

Some days you are the bug, some days you are the windshield.

 

On my civic, sometimes in spring when there is a lot of muck
around, it would get on the inside of the tires. This
caused them to be out of balance.

Solution? Take the tires off and wash the inside of the rim.

If the steering wheel is shaking, it means your front tires
are wonky, so first check for muck on the inside, and if
that isn't it, then you need to balance them.

And if you have left it for too long, you may have more probs,
as after a while, the tire will start to wear funny.

Once they take off your tires, they should be able to tell
if they are wearing badly. If so, you may also need an
alignment.

Also on my girlfriend's 1987 prelude, she had the same problem with
vibrating at abbout 80-100kms, and it was actually one
of her rims that had a flat spot on it, so if washing the rims doesn't
work, then make sure that the shop you take the tires to checks your
rims for problems while they balance your tires.

t

 

Make sure to have somebody check the drive axles too. I had the driver
side axle go bad & shake at freeway speed. It is the longer one, and a
little bad can amplify at high speed.

dan

 

Front end alignment. Perhaps you need to get your front end rebuilt. I
did on my '88 Accord.

 

You have a worn inner c/v joint. It puts the c/v shaft off center causing the
vibration.

Good luck