Strut insert and Spring Change Bad Vibration??

[Ekkao]

I have Just had the springs and strut inserts replaced with new ones and now i have a very bad vibration in the front end when i accelerate the mechanic seem's to think that the cv joints are dry , But there was no problem when the old springs and strut inserts were on the car .
New King Springs and Monreo GT gas reflex strut inserts witch have been installed have raised car a little in the front ,the car handles fine ,brakes in a straight line dosenott pull either way,But under acceleration i get a Bad vibration coming from the front end Dose anyone Have any Ideas Why ??

[Petros]

Welcome to the list!

descirb the vibration, does it increase frequency as the car speeds up? this is likely a worn CV joint, it may have been that way but with poor struts was not as noticable. a cv joint does not go "dry" unless the boot is torn open, the mechanic should have noticed that when it was apart. Sometimes cv joints eventually wear out without the boot being torn, the vibration, on acceleration only, usually starts mild and gets worse as it wears.

There are a few other things that can cause it, a harmonic with out of alignment front end, or out of balance wheel. But the CV joint is most likely.

This is a pretty costly thing to have done, but not too bad if you can replace the axle yourself, about $60 per axle. Most shops would charge abotu $250 per side, I think a rip off because they can be changed in about 45 min each. There is no real hurry, they are wearing out and will work for a long time still. Eventually will become so bad you have to replaced it, which is usually well before it fails all together. full joint failure is rare, but it does happen when you push it too far.

Good luck.

[Ekkao]

the vibration is there when i accelerate and the weight goes off the front end as i go over bumps in the road when i take the foot off the gas the vib goes away ,but yes the faster i go the worse it gets ,we inspected the boots there are all in good condition and full lock turns left and right make no noise at all ,when both of us were in the car ,(he is a big man )100kg+ the vibration is not there But when it is only me in the car it is very noticable ,

[Mattel]

I went through the same as you and the vibration was not noticable until I had some or the front end tie rods replaced and my boots were OK with only a slight clicking at full lock but replacing the CV's fixed it. You sound like you are in Australia. I think there are some cheapish New CV's on ebay.au sometimes (rather than refurbished) good luck. maybe check the roll bar mountings and tie rods while you are there. I'm not sure if the engine mounts could be giving you an issue either? (someone else might know this)

[Ekkao]

I have seen those Cv's on ebay .au looks like iam going to have to get them ,also i have noticed that the shafts have a side ways play of about 2-3mm is this norm or should there be no such movement,would the wrong angle of the cam on the strut - mounting to the wheel hub do this .

[Petros]

the in and out movement of the cv joint is normal, it is the plunge required to allow the axle to change length as the wheel moved up and down. the way you tell if your cv axle is bad is to put one hand on the cv joint, and one on the axle and try and rotate it back and forth, there should be little to no rotational play. have the wheels pointing strait ahead and car level as much as possible, you should not jack it up because it puts a larger angle on the joint. best to leave the car on level ground and slide under it and see if you get any rotational movement at the outer CV joint (the outer ones always go first because of the more severe angle on them, I have never seen an inner joint go bad). You put one hand on either side of the joint and rotate in opposite directions, back and fourth. If there is wear or rotational play bad enough to cause the vibration, you will feel the joint going clunk, clunk, clunk with each change in direction. If little to no play, your CV joints are good

Your description of the vibration however might not be the CV joints. I have found when my anti-way bar end bushings get worn and loose, the wheel can vibrate back and fourth when I accelerate. I think the acceleration causes the suspension to shift forward (the wheel is driving the car forward so puts forward pressure on the suspension), and it puts enough angle on the suspension to cause it to become unstable. I put some homemade rubber washers in with the rubber donut bushings to take up the slack and the problem went away. Probably best to replace the bushings (my home rubber washers were cheaper, like free! made from 1/4" sheet rubber), these are the ones that are on the anti-sway bar end where it attaches to the lower suspension arm. it locates the lower suspension, when they get worn and loose, it causes the suspension to do bad things. worn ball joints or tie-rod ends can do the same thing, as well as the forward anti-sway bar bushings where it bolts to the frame (not as common these wear out, but it does happen). If those are all good have your wheel alignment checked.

I suspect you may not need CV axles, not yet anyway.

Good luck.