I yelled at my festy and now it's got the shakes

[goodwolf]

I called my Festy some pretty nasty names the other day while swapping out the steering rack and now her steering wheel is shaking at speeds over 50 mph. I recently did the Aspire swap and replaced the control arms, sway bar bushings, rotors/pads and bought her some Honda VX rims with some Sumitomo HTR200 185/60r13's . The original rack was completely shot and made an alignment impossible. I got a "new" rack from the JY and then got it aligned. There was a slight shake and I figured it was a wheel balance issue so I took it today to get that done. It's still shaking. It's not a very violent shake but a visible 1/2" left to right shake is seen and felt in the steering wheel while going any type of highway speed. I had reached deep into my bag of filthy words and let out some real zingers on her. Did I hurt her feelings so bad she has some sort of beaten puppy syndrome and is now afraid to have fun? Is there something else I can check? I know the shocks are basically shot but I wouldn't think they would cause a shake. The only thing that hasn't been gone over or replaced in the front end is the upper shock mounts. If they are old and tired would that cause a shake? I bought her a new ipod ready cd player as a peace offering and apologized for my sharp tongue but somehow I think it's gonna take a little more than that to make the shaking stop. Any help/advice is much appreciated.

-The Good Wolf

[freshtiva]

Maybe its the Honda rims. Hope you put some $ in the crusing jar.

[Maventa]

Sounds like your rack is bad? Have you checked your internals?

[JPT]

You have upset the Festy Gods. You must say 50 "Hail Festivas" as you carefully check for a bent rim. I'd look at the shock mounts too.

[hofficergrover]

our yellow one did that what ours was that the front wheel barings were lose so i pulled the hub and put a big socket on the inside baring and hit it evenly to press the barings together before you put them back together. i would try that well take the tire off and see if the rotor moves like side to side. then if it does to what i said above

[eurotiva]

I vote for the sacreligious honda rims LOL. What were you thinking? j/k
oh i get it........the honda guys will think its a honda and wanna race.....whata sleeper

[ejp2fast]

you shouldn't have cussed at it!!!!

[thered56]

You must sleep in it every night for the next week to show your love! Well that and what they said. Get better acquanted! Process of elimination, you'll find it. But putting Honda rims on a Festi? That's like putting sheeps clothing on a...um well...not quite wolf...

[mechanicaldj]

But putting Honda rims on a Festi? That's like putting sheep's clothing on a...um well...not quite wolf...

SAY WHAT?????
the only thing a useless honda is good for is its 9 POUND RIMS


and as for the shakes:
you may want to check if the rims are centered on the hub
and the lug bolts are properly tightened on the hub also, due to the fact that the honda nuts are shaped differently

also check the balance and see if they are out-of-round in any way shape or form

[FestYboy]

DJ has it right, i had the same syndrom with nissan rims. the hub hole is too big and unless care is taken while mounting, you can have it off center several thousands causing the shakes.

[thered56]

SAY WHAT?????
the only thing a useless honda is good for is its 9 POUND RIMS


and as for the shakes:
you may want to check if the rims are centered on the hub
and the lug bolts are properly tightened on the hub also, due to the fact that the honda nuts are shaped differently

also check the balance and see if they are out-of-round in any way shape or form

Didn't mean that by it. Just kiddin! Good point though!

[boostmaster]

You're probably gonna need to buy it another festiva as a companion in order to make amends...

[goodwolf]

I drove lil' miss shaky to my parents house where I have a garage with tools and all that stuff to put her up in the air and check on where the shaking could be coming from. I must have hurt her feelings real bad as it now appears she is also crying. I lost about 1/2 gallon of water in a 15 mile drive. The water pump is shot. I'm debating on pulling the motor and rebuilding it completely or trying to find a decent b6 sohc to swap in. I bought her about a month ago knowing she needed lots of love but was hoping to get a few more miles out of her before any major surgery. I know it's time for head gasket, timing belt and possibly a valve job and figure if I'm that far into it new pistons/rings/bearings really aren't that much more work. I've got a couple other cars to drive so down time isn't an issue. What are you guys thoughts on the b3 vs b6? The fuel economy of the b3 is pretty awesome but having a bit more power would be nice too. What kind of mpg are people getting out of the b6?

Here's a pic of how she currently sits while I make up my mind on what to do next. I've had enough cars to know I don't want a perpetual project and would rather tackle a bigger job and get it done knowing I'll be able to just drive without wrenching every weekend. Routine maintenance and the occasional "upgrade" on 4 other cars keep my hands from missing the wrench too much.

-The Good Wolf

[bhazard]

Are those the oh so sought after civic VX rims? If so theyre actually enkeis. Honda used those on their economy model civic because theyre so light they help gas mileage.

If I aspire swap my festy Im definately going for either those or the 14" HX rims.

[festiva joe]

Goodwolf,


YA SURE THAT THE FESTY HASNT GOT EPILEPSY AND IS HAVING AN EPILECTIC FIT


LOL