Hi guys,

I have a TJ magna sedan. Basically I have this problem of my steering wheel shaking & it cost me already $500 without any good result yet. Okay here is what happens:
When I accelerate past about 100 I notice steering & the whole car in general to shake ( a lot), THE TRICK is that it only happens when I press the accelerator as soon as I let go it stops shaking. As soon as I touch the accelerator again it start to shake (it shakes at lower speeds as well but really noticeable past 100)

I had my wheels balanced 3 times at different places didn’t make any difference at all, I doubt its anything to do with balancing as it only shakes when I hit the accelerator. When the car is simply rolling at any speed everything is fine.

Also I had all 4 rotors (disks) changed.

I tried rotating wheels still the same result

If anyone had a similar problem please help me out.

Thanks

alignment maybe?

Mine does this too.. I just got new tyres and did a full alignment and everything.. But no change! I really want to get it sorted too.

Engine mounts?
Suspension Bushes somewhere?

I understand that front wheel drive cars are setup entirely different to a rear wheel drive car, but the tail-shaft in a RWD can cause this sort of unbalanced acceleration if the Universal joints are worn/damaged. Is there anyway that a damaged drive shaft or CV joint could cause unbalanced acceleration when spinning at certain speeds/RPM? I know that often a universal joint failing slowly in a RWD is only noticable at higher speeds because it is only minor wear, then as the wear gets worse so does the vibration. This may also be the case with FWD components? I know CV joints failing can be heard when you turn (a clicking noise) but perhaps theres other damaged compenents?

By process of elimination you can rule out wheel balance just because vibration stops when you back-off the accelerator. I would almost rule-out wheel-bearings only because if they'd got bad enough to cause a vibration then it would happen all the time, not just at high speeds and they'd have noticed when they had the car on the hoist to take your wheels off for a balance. Engine mounts (as suggested by Willy) may be an option, if the whole engine is moving more than it's supposed to then this may cause the vibration, but I'd imagine that the vibration would be present at low revs/speeds also and when idling. Changing rotors is an interesting one, this would normally only cause vibration under braking (unless there was some major damage to the disc causing an imbalance - unlikely though) was that advice given to you by a mechanic?

The fact that it is fine when coasting/rolling makes me automatically think of drive-train components, but like I said, I'm more used to RWD setup's so one of the more experienced Magna guys on the site may have more of an idea.

Changing rotors is an interesting one, this would normally only cause vibration under braking (unless there was some major damage to the disc causing an imbalance - unlikely though) was that advice given to you by a mechanic?

.

I changed the rotors 2 months becasue they were simply too worn out & were making not pleasent sounds when braking (they were to thin to machine).

On Wednesday I will have my drive shafts changed (both) anyone can tell me if that will help before I spend another $500?

Also yes I did have one engine mount broken (main one aswell). I had it replaced, it made some difference. Car would shake little bit less also going over bumps on the road didn’t feel as harsh as before but the main problem is still there & the pattern did not change.

tyres...

I thought it was alignment problems as well..

had them checked, was told the rears needed changing, but didnt take it into consideration at the time..

So.. when i started getting the shakes after 100km/h i always thought it was the front wheels. it was odd, it was noticable after the 100kmh mark and okay below 100km/h..When it shakes, your whole body shakes with it....
I ended up having a bulge on one of the inner rear tyres!!.. got them replaced and shakes had gone... (actually changed with spare and shakes was gone..spare still there after 2 months lol )

tyres...

I thought it was alignment problems as well..

had them checked, was told the rears needed changing, but didnt take it into consideration at the time..

So.. when i started getting the shakes after 100km/h i always thought it was the front wheels. it was odd, it was noticable after the 100kmh mark and okay below 100km/h..When it shakes, your whole body shakes with it....
I ended up having a bulge on one of the inner rear tyres!!.. got them replaced and shakes had gone... (actually changed with spare and shakes was gone..spare still there after 2 months lol )

Oh yes i also have 4 brand new tyres, Dunlop Sport 3000A about $220 a tyre. i tried rotating them but still no luck.

Oh yes i also have 4 brand new tyres, Dunlop Sport 3000A about $220 a tyre. i tried rotating them but still no luck.
did u get a front and rear alignment as well?

did u get a front and rear alignment as well?

Had front done, when got the tyres.

steering linkage problem?? buckled wheel? any loose nuts?...

could prob just have bad batch of tyres... list goes on...

steering linkage problem?? buckled wheel? any loose nuts?...

could prob just have bad batch of tyres... list goes on...

Yes i thought of all those before, but none of those would expalin why it happens under acceleration only. Also i took those wheels to few tyre places they all assured me that wheels are fine.

wheels need alignment by the sounds of it. or their could be a broken engine mount.

your going to hate me, but its may very well be the torq converter lock up failing in your transmission, as soon as it tries to engage it wont mesh and shakes the **** out of everything.

most noticably on the highway, my father in laws's v8 statesman had that, and due to the power of the v8 it was hard to diagnose, cost him about 5k in fixing everything else bar the tranny through idiots at mechanic shops.

and my camry started it at 260,000km, i traded it in a week later after it started it on the magna..

oh that means whole tranny is shot too

I though of that, but why only at specific speed? If i fully floor the accelerator from stand still nothing shakes untill i reach 100 ks. About gear box that also crossed my mind, but see it makes no difference what gear im in either, i tried droping to second or third gear doing about 100 still the same thing, vibrations start only after 100 ks and more.

Just out of curiosity, what are your tie-rod ends like? Bad wear could cause this type of problem. I would hope that the tyre joint would have noticed that sort of thing, but maybe not. No point booking it in to get Drive Shafts done if you're not 100% sure, I was just suggesting it hoping someone would be able to prove or disprove my theory.

I would guess that the fact you have tried changing down gears and still getting the vibration at 100kms would rule out the Torque Converter.....not sure that I'd recommend 100kms in 2nd gear though.

Just out of curiosity, what are your tie-rod ends like? Bad wear could cause this type of problem. I would hope that the tyre joint would have noticed that sort of thing, but maybe not. No point booking it in to get Drive Shafts done if you're not 100% sure, I was just suggesting it hoping someone would be able to prove or disprove my theory.

I would guess that the fact you have tried changing down gears and still getting the vibration at 100kms would rule out the Torque Converter.....not sure that I'd recommend 100kms in 2nd gear though.

Thanks man, ill mention this to the mechanic, hopefully you are right.

We had a customer have a similar problem recently and it turned to be an overtightened handbrake on one of the wheels. Long shot but maybe the same.

If it is your torque converter causing the vibration should only happen in 3rd or 4th when the damper clutch engages. Can be cured with an oil change.

Sounds like u have aftermarkets wheels paying $220 each tyre, i would put the stockies back on worth a try

Sounds like u have aftermarkets wheels paying $220 each tyre, i would put the stockies back on worth a try

Yes indeed i do have 17s with 235 tyres on. I will give my old stokies a go to see what happens.

About handbarke, i actualy did have it adjusted few months ago (tightened), maybe that is the reason, i will tell my mechanic to try that, i really hope thats the problem.

Thanks for the advise shaness8 & no name.

Hi, everyone. Problem solved had my drive shafts changed (both), no more shaking, finally!!!

Thanks to everyone who tried to help.

Cheers

Did the mechanic say that anything was wrong with them when he took them out? Bad CV's or damage to the shafts themselves? A good result, worth sharing exactly what the problem was if you can find out.

my local suspension place said he has also seen cv's that are a bit flogged out cause a vibration.

i had the 'accelerating vibration' a while back. in my case it was caused by the main engine mount being totally fooked. new engine mount later and it's smooth as a baby.

Did the mechanic say that anything was wrong with them when he took them out? Bad CV's or damage to the shafts themselves? A good result, worth sharing exactly what the problem was if you can find out.

Yes it was busted CV, also he said drive shafts needed replacing anyhow (bearings were gone), he showed me when he took them off (my TJ has done nearly 200,000).

Car runs beautifully now...