I have this vibration problem unrelated to driveline that I have not been able to get to disappear.
I know it is related to road surface and also the car rides rougher the past 5K miles.
When the car is up on a lift for awhile then gets put down the vibration disappears but over the course of two days it returns slowly.
I have looked and all the bushings seem ok with no leaks.
Are the struts old and when fully extended they work better for a little while?
Thanks for any input
Suspension question - J30
Are you still running those crappy S rated tires? Juicey, you have spent a lot of time and money chasing down these vibrations. Try some new quality tires. They worked wonders on my J. My new Yoko 420s were such an improvement over the old Goodyear Eagle HPs that I couldn't believe the difference. I didn't need an alignment anymore, what I thought was a driveline problem disappeared, a bearing type noise vanished and the noise level in the car at speed dropped 50%. Besides, running S rated tires on your heavy J does not meet OEM specs and is just not enough tire for the speeds and braking the J is capable of.
Same tires but I do not drive fast and they meet the load requirements. I just refuse at this point that it is the tires.
I drove my civic the same route as I do my J and the same vibration comes up just more of it because of the car. That plus the reason above is why I am thinking struts.
I know everyone says tires but I cannot believe this beacuse every tire I have had reacts the same. I had them balanced on the road force machine and they are great.
I beat the tire horse to death and just have to look in other places. I have rotated the tires with no change so It has to be the suspension
I drove my civic the same route as I do my J and the same vibration comes up just more of it because of the car. That plus the reason above is why I am thinking struts.
I know everyone says tires but I cannot believe this beacuse every tire I have had reacts the same. I had them balanced on the road force machine and they are great.
I beat the tire horse to death and just have to look in other places. I have rotated the tires with no change so It has to be the suspension
Juicer, what brand of tires are you running currently? Tires can make an unbelievable difference.
Do you know how many miles are on your current set of struts? I've been saving my pennies for strut replacment and it looks like I'm getting the parts this week. Can't wait! New shocks, however, won't make up for tire deficiencies.
I vaguely remember the tire explorations that started your quest for the world's smoothest J30. You've done all sorts of things but it - sorry to say - seems like the tires.
I had my tires rotated and balanced last week and suddenly a vibration has crept back at about 75 mph. It must be a balance problem but I've not had the time to take the J back for a redo. Tires are key and it is entirely possible that those damn wimpy tires of yours are simply letting you down.
Getting back to the speed rating question: Q45tech has written volumes of material regarding the crucial neccessity of quality tires that AT LEAST meet all OEM MINIMUM specs. Your S rated tires do not meet OEM specs. An S rated tire is two build levels below H rated. You live in Fl so summer temps there could be a definite safety threat. S rated tires are not suitable for your heavy, high powered car even if you don't drive at 120mph.
If your struts are relatively new, tires could be a much better "investment".
Do you know how many miles are on your current set of struts? I've been saving my pennies for strut replacment and it looks like I'm getting the parts this week. Can't wait! New shocks, however, won't make up for tire deficiencies.
I vaguely remember the tire explorations that started your quest for the world's smoothest J30. You've done all sorts of things but it - sorry to say - seems like the tires.
I had my tires rotated and balanced last week and suddenly a vibration has crept back at about 75 mph. It must be a balance problem but I've not had the time to take the J back for a redo. Tires are key and it is entirely possible that those damn wimpy tires of yours are simply letting you down.
Getting back to the speed rating question: Q45tech has written volumes of material regarding the crucial neccessity of quality tires that AT LEAST meet all OEM MINIMUM specs. Your S rated tires do not meet OEM specs. An S rated tire is two build levels below H rated. You live in Fl so summer temps there could be a definite safety threat. S rated tires are not suitable for your heavy, high powered car even if you don't drive at 120mph.
If your struts are relatively new, tires could be a much better "investment".
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AZhitman
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- Car: 58 L210, 63 Bluebird RHD, 64 NL320, 65 SPL310, 66 411 RHD, 67 WRL411, 68 510 SR20, 75 280Z RB25, 77 620 SR20, 79 B310, 90 Z32, 91 GTi-R, 92 Silvia Qs, 98 S14, 23 Z.
- Location: Surprise, Arizona
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juiceman wrote:Same tires but I do not drive fast and they meet the load requirements. I just refuse at this point that it is the tires.
Thinking like this gets people killed.
No offense, juice, but the speed rating has VERY LITTLE to do with how fast you drive. It is a measure of the tire's internal construction, sidewall strength, and amount of force it will withstand before self-destructing from the inside out. I wouldn't be surprised if you've got some internal seperation of the belts on one or more tires.
Also, if your current tires do not MEET or EXCEED the factory-spec load rating, you can do damage simply backing out of the driveway. Our cars are not exactly "gentle" on tires.
You should go back to where you bought them and ask to speak to a manager (or the company's attorney) as they were negligent in even selling them to you.
Refusing to accept the most likely cause of a problem just ensures that it will never be resolved.
Struts are original 70K miles 10 years old.
My reason for the strut or suspension belief is because the car is smooth as glass for a few days after it has been on a lift for servicing.
I believe this is because the strut is fully extended and the fluid moves to the lower part of the strut where is is slightly compressed when the car returns to normal road use but due to a lack of gas/oil or worn components the pressure is slowly relieved thus returning to the current state
The tires are round and perfectly balanced with very low road force. Rims are good. I fell it is not the tires bceause of theis condition after life maintenance is done.
The vibration is noticable when going over smaller defects in the road, the car does not bounce much but I di not have the car long enough before all the other problems surfaced to get real used to it.
Vimy I appreciate where you are coming from but tires do not make sense to me as I had originally replaced the tires on the car with what there was when I bought it with no change.
Where did you get the struts, Joe @ scottsdale?
My reason for the strut or suspension belief is because the car is smooth as glass for a few days after it has been on a lift for servicing.
I believe this is because the strut is fully extended and the fluid moves to the lower part of the strut where is is slightly compressed when the car returns to normal road use but due to a lack of gas/oil or worn components the pressure is slowly relieved thus returning to the current state
The tires are round and perfectly balanced with very low road force. Rims are good. I fell it is not the tires bceause of theis condition after life maintenance is done.
The vibration is noticable when going over smaller defects in the road, the car does not bounce much but I di not have the car long enough before all the other problems surfaced to get real used to it.
Vimy I appreciate where you are coming from but tires do not make sense to me as I had originally replaced the tires on the car with what there was when I bought it with no change.
Where did you get the struts, Joe @ scottsdale?
95J30I have the same problem with my rear shock absorbers. The vibration comes immediately after I hit a bump or a dip. Some days it does this and some days it does nothing. I have stock Yoko Avid T's on my car and the tires did nothing for it. I have yet to have a mechanic tell me something is wrong, but my intuition tells me it has to be the shock absorbers. Do you guys have any info on how to do the mechanic work? Do I need something to compress the springs with in order to replace them. They do have the shock absorbers at Joe's and the are about 40% discounted as compared to a dealer here in TN. Not usre about the front struts though.
I have the manual and could scan the pages for you or you could subscribe to alldata.com
email me @ [email protected] if you want the scans
BTW, all data says that it should take slightly over 1hr to do both rears. I am not sure how comfortable I am doing the springs so I have checked and some of the local muffle rshops will change over the spring for you to the new strut.
Let me know
email me @ [email protected] if you want the scans
BTW, all data says that it should take slightly over 1hr to do both rears. I am not sure how comfortable I am doing the springs so I have checked and some of the local muffle rshops will change over the spring for you to the new strut.
Let me know
AZhitman wrote:Mike - Go sweat the guys for a road force balance on your YK's - It seems they're all having similar problems (nationwide).
Discount is offering a pretty generous replacement option to owners of these...
Be safe.
Thanks. I will go get this checked out. Did you start noticing a similar problem with yours? They replaced them with high quality Michelins for you didn't they? I have no problem moving to a higher quality tire. Too bad these 420s seem to be flawed.
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AZhitman
- Administrator
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- Joined: Mon Apr 29, 2002 2:04 am
- Car: 58 L210, 63 Bluebird RHD, 64 NL320, 65 SPL310, 66 411 RHD, 67 WRL411, 68 510 SR20, 75 280Z RB25, 77 620 SR20, 79 B310, 90 Z32, 91 GTi-R, 92 Silvia Qs, 98 S14, 23 Z.
- Location: Surprise, Arizona
- Contact:
Yep. Mine wore for CRAP, and have gotten very noisy.
2 had 16 pounds of radial imbalance, and get this:
Th overall tire diameter was exactly 1/10 inch different between two pairs of tires. My RF and LR were BIGGER than the other two... ????
I haven't done the deal yet, I want to go get a couple good burnout pics on these tires before i turn them in.
2 had 16 pounds of radial imbalance, and get this:
Th overall tire diameter was exactly 1/10 inch different between two pairs of tires. My RF and LR were BIGGER than the other two... ????
I haven't done the deal yet, I want to go get a couple good burnout pics on these tires before i turn them in.
Madd, Juiced has been through the wringer getting to the bottom of his vibration problem. I contend that the best test for vibration at speed is a new set of tires. I thought I had all kinds of maintence coming up until I got a new set of quality tires (more on that later). Alignment and sundry vibrations disappeared with my YK420s.madmax88 wrote:Juice I know what you mean, I have this vibration problem to. so its the tires not struts?
The 420s were rotated and balanced 600 miles ago and some abnormalities have definity cropped up. I noticed that the steering wheel was turned ever so slightly to the left. That was a couple of days ago. Now I definitely feel a faint pull to the right. (Don't worry, Maine, I mean the car seems to want to go to the right not me.
) There is the also the vibration at steady speeds over 75mph I mentioned previously in another post. Time to study the past threads again.
Madd, if you need new tires try them first with alignment etc. before you start a trial and error experiment.
had the shifter linkage adjusted today and for the short time it was up in the air, the ride improved for a short while.
I am convinced it is not the tires , if it was then the lift would have no impact
I will be reinspecting the buhings this weekend and readying for fron strut change
Thanks for all those who provided input
I am convinced it is not the tires , if it was then the lift would have no impact
I will be reinspecting the buhings this weekend and readying for fron strut change
Thanks for all those who provided input
Juice, that fact that the J runs smoother after being on the lift doesn't automatically rule out tires. The tires could be coming back into round while suspended. At what pressure do you keep them?juiceman wrote:had the shifter linkage adjusted today and for the short time it was up in the air, the ride improved for a short while.
I am convinced it is not the tires , if it was then the lift would have no impact
I will be reinspecting the buhings this weekend and readying for fron strut change
Thanks for all those who provided input
Perhaps you have a bad wheel bearing. Q45tech has mentioned how important the King something or other is for the wheels.
You could rig up some kind of pneumatic system that activates while parked or stopped at lights. Rams that extend to lift your tires and suspension off the ground.
if you really want to track this vibration problem down, get some good tires mounted and balanced with the aforementioned Hunter system, and then go to a correctly equipped Lexus dealer or independent shop that has a vibration isolator.
i have a similar vibration, most likely in the driveshaft, and this was the advice given to me by a guy whose job it has been for decades to effectively keep gremlins like vibrations undiagnosed. In my circumstance, he was an unbiased 3rd party, so i would trust his advice. To me, the vibration is just a mild annoyance, so i have just pushed it back on the list in the meantime.
i have a similar vibration, most likely in the driveshaft, and this was the advice given to me by a guy whose job it has been for decades to effectively keep gremlins like vibrations undiagnosed. In my circumstance, he was an unbiased 3rd party, so i would trust his advice. To me, the vibration is just a mild annoyance, so i have just pushed it back on the list in the meantime.
History
Three sets of different tires Last ones are Michelin Harmony S rated but very round and balanced on the hunter road force machine. One set was the tires that were on the car when I bought it and still had a problem.
Replaced drive shaft because I did have a center bearing and u joint problem. Before that I replaced transmission and motor mounts
The vibration I have now is an accentuated road vibration that is definately road feel.
When I did a pan drop myself i noticed metal in the pan. Had it inspected at local shop and the TC was going, attributed to a BG flush that I did not have a pan drop and filter change right after. I am pursuing that on a different level but TC changed.
My experience with tires i that any out of round condition runs out within 5 or so miles and it always does. Plus when balanced on the hunter machine the road forces were low.
All suspension bushing are in tact with no silione leaks. I will be reinspecting this weekend
Like my brother in law states i am very sensitive to vibration and I now there is something wrong and based on all my past experiences I am leaning towards the struts. I just want the car in the condition that I bought it in which is smooth. I want to keep it uop so I can get 200K out of it. 70K right now.
I changed tires pressures but it did not really affect the vibration at all (just slightly due to being harder or softer)
I am leaving this subject alone now because It has been beat to death, i feel that I have done and isolated everthing I could and am at a end.
Thanks to all that had input. Really!
Will post when I have finished the job.
Three sets of different tires Last ones are Michelin Harmony S rated but very round and balanced on the hunter road force machine. One set was the tires that were on the car when I bought it and still had a problem.
Replaced drive shaft because I did have a center bearing and u joint problem. Before that I replaced transmission and motor mounts
The vibration I have now is an accentuated road vibration that is definately road feel.
When I did a pan drop myself i noticed metal in the pan. Had it inspected at local shop and the TC was going, attributed to a BG flush that I did not have a pan drop and filter change right after. I am pursuing that on a different level but TC changed.
My experience with tires i that any out of round condition runs out within 5 or so miles and it always does. Plus when balanced on the hunter machine the road forces were low.
All suspension bushing are in tact with no silione leaks. I will be reinspecting this weekend
Like my brother in law states i am very sensitive to vibration and I now there is something wrong and based on all my past experiences I am leaning towards the struts. I just want the car in the condition that I bought it in which is smooth. I want to keep it uop so I can get 200K out of it. 70K right now.
I changed tires pressures but it did not really affect the vibration at all (just slightly due to being harder or softer)
I am leaving this subject alone now because It has been beat to death, i feel that I have done and isolated everthing I could and am at a end.
Thanks to all that had input. Really!
Will post when I have finished the job.