jess21

Hey guys, So I just got my first civic (2001) a couple months ago, and it has a shaking issue over 65mph. I have had it aligned, tires balanced twice and the car fully inspected twice. Still the shake. I switched tires and wheels with a friend and the shake is less but still there. Are these cars super sensitive to the type of tires on them? The tires are new. Any help would be great before I make a six hour road trip!! Thanks!

ezone

Are you the one that decided these needed done, and requested them to be done?
What kind of inspection?

Have you had anyone actually diagnose this particular problem?
Did you demonstrate this problem to the mechanic, so they know exactly what the concern really is?

jess21

Yes to your first question. Shaking car started with the most common things to be wrong. To your second question, Full thorough inspection of all working parts. To your third question, obviously? Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I'm stupid. Just not used to Hondas.

ezone

Everyone STAND BACK!
The GIRL CARD has been played!




Don't be a whiny stereotype.
I don't give a rats azz if you are male or female. YOU played that card.

Shall I keep going?

Back that truck up.







































































Want a silver bullet? Buy some axles for it. See what happens.







This reply has been heavily edited.
MODS: How about that MOVING SUBMIT BUTTON?!?

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

...
jess21...
you know, ezone did not do anything other than what he would have to any other member in here...
we have no idea how you are, heck, i would not know if you are a woman until you said that...
so no way we would know if you actually did what he asked you about above, unless it was told by you...
it could be a miriad of things that could cause that, including a ball joint starting to get too loose...

about inspection in mechanics - i got my car looked at about 3 or 4 different shops that did a courtesy inspection including suspension when i was shopping for alignments, and no one ever mentioned to me a torn tie-rod boot...

anyway, if you have a problem with people thinking lower of you for being woman, it just did NOT happen here...

jess21

Professionals looked at it. They said everything was tight and nothing was torn. I've had three different people look into it and no one can figure it out. I was willing to guess a bent axle but I don't have money to be going off a whim or the experience to do such on this vehicle.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

the axle could be a factor.
around 120? plus alignment.
Except for removing the hub nut and the ball joint, which require some (a lot) of force or experience or specific tools, could be done in a driveway. do you have friends that are mechanically inclined?

the other option would have been the tie-rods, but if 3 diff mechanics did say it was ok, *potentially* it could be the case (remember my note above, hard to find mechanics that are actually good, as ezone is - he is the one cracked many of the mistery cases around the forum that no one else could).

ezone

Thanks for the support sdaidoji.


I bet your definition of "professional" and my definition of the same word are quite different.

But I'm in the biz. I know how the majority of the businesses operate.

This would be a cakewalk for a few people.

The rest would give up after balancing the tires again.

"If the only tool in your box is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail."


Axles don't normally "bend" unless the car was crashed.
"Bent" isn't what to look for.
Close though.
The axle issue I have in mind can't normally be "seen" at all.
But is incredibly obvious to someone who HAS had to figure it out before.

A bad inner CV joint can cause a shake (can be quite violent) under some very specific conditions.
If you aren't "tuned in" to all the various conditions that it happens under, you could only ever guess at it.
OTOH I could probably tell what it is in less than 5 minutes, simply by test driving it and being observant.
Then I'd raise the car and look for supporting evidence, if there is any to be found.

Find the one that has the experience necessary to figure this out.

Everyone wearing a shop uniform is not of equal capabilities and talents.
I usually don't wear a uniform. You might think I'm homeless. But I'm the one that figures out the tough ones....on the daily.

got2run5

I paid for a mechanic to do a full inspection before I bought my first car. Somehow he still didn't find the bondo job on the door and quarter panel.

Check the tie rods.

jess21

I think It actually may be the PS axle. I noticed that the running board on that side is bent straight up from the bottom and the wheel well is pretty scratched up. Looks like the previous owner hit a curb pretty hard. Going to take it to another shop and ask them to take a look.

ezone

A bad inner CV joint can cause the drivetrain to shake side-to-side when the joint is loaded, and typically quit shaking when the load is reduced or unloaded completely.

If the inner CV joint boot (either axle) shows no signs of grease leakage, it will be a guessing game.
Short of having someone drive beside you and watch each of the front wheels looking for wobbles, about the only other way to tell which one is bad is to pull the axle out and feel the joint.

04 Honda Civic

iTrader: (2)

Im a boi

effan91

I have the same issue right now and I have determined that the outer cv joint is to blame. Depending on where it is sitting in the cups, sometimes it will shake and sometimes it doesn't. I believe you have eccessive wear in one of your front outer cv joints

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

recommend not assuming it so strongly... could not be the case.

ezone

Right. The older I get, the more I realize this. Maybe I just remember it more. Yet I forget it all the time. IDK.

Outer CV joints normally pop/crackle after the boot splits open and grease is lost. Inner joints usually make it shake.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

^ was not aimed at you, ezone
it's at either end of the axle anyway, tho

but have seen some car wheel wobbling that were either tie-rod ends or ball-joints (latter is... scary for the results...)

04 Honda Civic

iTrader: (2)

Id assume you would know that if it was THAT bad to the point it shook because of ball joint/tierod you would hear other sounds that would be way more obvious..maybe not..

mac25

before you dish out a lot of money and since you've already had the vehicle aligned and tires balanced, have you tryed running stock rims on the car? it could be a simple problem of not using hubcentric rings if you're running aftermarket rims. they're just these little cheap plastic rinds that make sure your rims are centered with the hub instead of the lugs. the lugs can mount your rims off center.

s4boost

check all the bushings in the front end of the car, have your tires balanced and rotated.

jess21

Haven't been on here in a while, but after buying new rims and tires, the problem was still there. After about five times trying to balance them finally all was good.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

?!?
our cars are not so sensitive to balancing. my miatas are, vic never gave much troubles.

jess21

I got aftermarket wheels. Im guessing thats why I have so much trouble with it. Just this week it took three times to get it right with balancing and rotation. UGH.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

strange...
my wheels also do not have the lip, so they do need to use the balance weights close to the hub, but never took so much...
glad they did work, tho.