bad shakes at high speed

[csgammon]

I have a 93 festiva. At low speeds it wobbles from side to side. It is somewhat ok up to 55 mph. At 60 it has a shake that comes and goes. At 65 it shakes very bad but sometimes goes away. At 70 it shakes very bad. I have replaced the wheel bearings and axles what could it be. Need help please.

[88FestivaLX]

I had the same problem. Checked everything out and all of my bushings up front were bad, control arms were bad, struts blown. Replaced all of that (except struts), went and drove it and it did the same thing. Moved the front tires to the back and it was gone. I had a bad tire on the front pass side. Not as noticeable in the back. I have a new set of tires to put on, but I'm waiting until I replace all the struts. Hopefully that bad tire will last a little longer, ha

[Pu241]

Bad tire or bent rim!
Were your axles and bearings bad?
Do as 88FestivaLX did, move the wheels around and see if it get better or worse.
A bent rim or bad tire on the front is much more noticeable at the steering wheel, than if they are on the rear
When was the last time you had the wheels/tires high speed balanced?
Please add your location to your profile.

[elcamino1]

I also had the same problem,I thought it was a bad tire or one or more out of balance,found out I had a bent rim on the left front, bent on the inside moved it to the back until I changed over to 13" rims.now riding on 14's

[jglutz]

If moving the front tires to the rear does not help....start considering the tie rods or control arms. To diagnose these:
1) Lift and support the car so that one of the front wheels is of the ground.
2) Grab the wheel at the 3 O'clock and 9 O'clock postions.
3) Pull the tire with one hand andpush with the other.....reverse the technique.
4) You should not hear and rattle or feel any play in the tire. If so the tie rods are shot...could be either inner or outer.
5) Grap the wheel at the 12 O'clock and 6O'clock position and repeat the previous technique.
6) You should not hear and rattle or feel any play in the tire. If so....the control arm is shot eathie at the frame or at the steering knucke. Check the mounting bolt at the knuck and make sure it is tight or their.

My spin (no pun intended)....provided the bearings were properly installed...is it is in the control arm.....a bad tire or bad tie rods are not intermitent..the vibration gets progressively worst as the sped increases....the vibration will not come and go. The control arm can find a sweet spot and then lose it.

I have not ruled out the sway bar...but typically symptons would nclude a sponge'y steering wheel...almost like under-inflated tires.

[jrbauerjr]

Don't often disagree with you senior fellows.... My shake went away at certain speeds and then would come back again at 65. Moved tires around, then pulled and examined them. I had some interesting grooves and flat spots in 2 tires. Changed out all 4 tires about a month ago and there is no longer any shudder and shake.... (other then in my Visa card, about $300 at Les Schwab, tires balance and alignment).

Jim Bauer

[Pu241]

Don't often disagree with you senior fellows...

I don't look upon it as you disagreeing with us!
The rotation of the tires was from a diagnostic stand point to isolate the cause of the vibration, provided it was the tire/rim.
Your situation just reinforces the fact that the vibration can be caused by bad tires/rims.
Having found "some interesting grooves and flat spots in 2 tires" did you determine the cause of the abnormalities.
If not you could well be on your way to ruining another pair of tires.
So the other two tires were OK, but replaced anyway?

[geezerstiva]

my car was doing this, and they just needed balancing. took it to a shop, $40 later i had balanced tires, and it worked great.

[challe1]

I watched a car down the road tires bouncing like there's no tomorrow..at highway speeds and as fast it was bouncing all of a sudden it stopped as it reached a certain speed.. It may also be a dead strut..I think..