Front end shakes BADLY...any thoughts?

**sCeRaXn** · 07-26-2008 04:36 PM

First off, i searched here and on AW and didnt get anything useful. If you put anything with "shake" or "shakes" in the AW search engine you get 10,000 posts about "shakes head" or "shaking head"...its pretty freaking annoying.

Anyway, i finally got the tranny straightened out and put back in along with vogtland springs. When i took it for a test drive i immediately felt something weird. It was like the car didnt want to go...but it felt more like the brakes holding it than anything motor related. As i was pulling it out of the yard i heard some light squealing noises and a big clunk at one point. Then the car would shake BAD when i got to 20mph, so bad that it felt like it was holding the car back from gaining more speed. It took a good bit of gas to get it up to 25mph...and at that point it was shaking so badly that i just let off. I put it in neutral and it still shook until i got below 20mph. Its not gear or rpm dependant because it does it in 2nd and 3rd gear. I know i need an alignment but i dont see how it would cause the car to shake this badly.

Ive done tons of suspension installs, so im pretty sure i did everything correctly. I know all the bolts are tight because i only snugged them up while it was in the air then gave them the final torque once it was back on the ground. Another odd thing is that the springs didnt settle the same on both sides. The drivers side is almost 1/4" lower than the passengers side. I marked the top hats and struts to their relative spring positions when i disassembled the struts/springs, so i dont think they were installed wrong.

Im pretty frustrated right now so i decided to take a break. Anyone know of anything that i should look for when i go back out there? Im so burned out on this car that i cant think straight. Its one thing after another with this pos.

Edit:Does anyone have a pic of how the stock springs and isolators are positioned? Im gonna check to make sure i have them right, but if one is off i wont know which one is correct and which one is messed up lol.

**le91688** · 07-26-2008 04:58 PM

your e brake on?

**sCeRaXn** · 07-26-2008 05:25 PM

lol no the ebrake was down. Any other suggestions?

**andru1313** · 07-26-2008 06:46 PM

is the caliper frozen or seized? Air in the lines? How is the pedal response

**sCeRaXn** · 07-26-2008 07:27 PM

Honestly, i didnt even think to check that. I dont see how there could be air in the lines because the only thing ive done was change the slave cyl and i bled it correctly. The brake pedal feels pretty normal until the car is almost at a complete stop...then itll shudder a little bit. They are squealing but the rotors were pretty corroded so thats probably why.

It started raining earlier so the only thing i did was check to make sure all the suspension and subframe bolts were tight...and they were. Ill check to see if the caliper is siezed tomorrow. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

**Brilliant** · 07-26-2008 08:41 PM

check the motor mount, trans mount, mount brackets...

**sCeRaXn** · 07-26-2008 09:42 PM

Thats definitely on the list of things to check tomorrow. Im sorta concerned about the fact that the drop isnt even on both sides. It sorta makes me think that i messed something up while installing one of the springs. I was trying to be careful to keep everything aligned correctly, but i was drinking the night i did one of them so it wouldnt surprise me if i F'd it up lol.

Oh, i should mention that i still have the stock springs on the rear. I put the fronts on while it was in the air for the trans install. I planned on dropping it and doing the rears after i got the trans put it...but i decided to take it for a test drive to make sure everything was good with the trans install and thats when i discovered this insane vibration.

**sCeRaXn** · 07-27-2008 08:16 AM

Ive gotta go help my parents do somet things around the house...but when i get back im gonna go out there and mess with the car a little more. Can anyone think of anything else i should look for? Im gonna check the brakes and the mounts, and if i can find some pics of the stock spring arrangement im gonna check the springs/struts to see if i messed something up with that.

**sCeRaXn** · 07-27-2008 10:42 AM

Well i just went out there and took it for another ride...but this time i had a friend with me to help try and pinpoint the source of the vibration. I had him sit in the back and he said that he felt the vibration in the floorboard and it was so bad that he thought the car was falling apart lol. He then went on the tell me that when he put the driveshaft in(he helped me alot yesterday) the cv joint at the trans felt like it was siezed. He said that he couldnt get it to move from one side to the other, but he didnt think it would matter so he put it back in anyway. Then he said "it might have happened when we were jacking up the trans because it had the cv joint bent all the way backwards"...i mean who in their right mind would do some stupid shit like that? I dont understand, i mean hes been helping me work on cars for years and he hasnt messed anything up. Now this will be the SECOND time ive had to tear the car apart because of his fuck up, and hes not coming near it this time.

So do you think this could be the cause of the vibration? It seems like if this was the cause then the vibration would be more rpm related than speed. I did read a post on AW about a guy who had a vibration at 60mph and it ended up being the driveshaft, so im thinking its the culprit.

btw-I checked the brakes and mounts and they were fine. I also re-checked all the suspension components/bolts and they were fine as well.

**S4 Dan** · 07-27-2008 11:03 PM

Originally Posted by sCeRaXn

Then he said "it might have happened when we were jacking up the trans because it had the cv joint bent all the way backwards"...

thats def the problem.... you should punch your friend in the head

**andru1313** · 07-28-2008 05:30 AM

I would probably take it to a shop and have them look at it. If you keep driving it you could cause more damage.

**sCeRaXn** · 07-28-2008 02:38 PM

I havent driven it except for the two short test drives...and they were kept below 20 most of the time because it was shaking so bad. Besides, there are very few people that i would trust my car with. Ive been around dealerships/performance shops long enough to know what can go on behind the scenes. I was a mechanic and Honda for a long time and a couple of my best friends have performance shops...lets just say ive seen some shit that made me decide to NEVER take my car anywhere except my own driveway lol.

Im 99.9% sure that its the driveshaft. When it happened i was too frustrated to try and diagnose it, but after calming down it was pretty clear what the problem was. I ordered one yesterday so hopefully it will be on the road sometime this week.