steering vibration at 55-65 mph finally resolved

[B6cool]

hello, i know that there is many threads on this forum about steering vibration at high speeds (50 to 65 mph)... many of them are not resolved. so finally, yesterday i i found the issue. Lets start from the beginning, year and a half ago mine front inner cv boot went so to make it easy and quick fix i bought new aftermarket axle from EMPI for around $150. After 6 months i started having vibration at high way speeds in my steering wheel with a feeling that my wheel is coming off or the bearing is done. i search many threads about this problem and some people said it could be the wheel balance so i redone that twice at two different locations no help, some people said is the bend hub or the bearing but i check it and it was still good and some said its the shock but i have year old kw suspension so it could not be that. so i was driving with it for almost a year and tried to deal with it as most people said or just drive over 70 mph in order not to feel it. And finally an Youtube vide came to my attention how some guy was replacing his axle as well as his bearings on vw jetta. he explained that when cv boot breaks is the best way just to replace the boot and keep the original shaft because many aftermarkets and rebuilds use oversized bearings or unbalanced/solid shafts this way they sale for cheap. So i found my original axle with torn boot that i keep for the future and order two replacement boots for outer and inner... Yesterday i finally swap back original axle in place of aftermarket and went for a drive. I did all speed tests with breaking and acceleration between 40 - 70 mph and vibration at steering wheel was gone. i though it could be nice to share this info and i hope some of you can finally resolve the problem.

[SlickFix]

Hey, that's great advice and something I will definitely keep in mind for the future!

[MikTip]

This is why I keep my OE axles an simply replace the boots.

Thank you for the follow-up and good advise!

[TwinTipSkier]

Nice! OEM ftw. Many thanks for your "R&D"!

[Timtheguru]

Yup, this is why I have my oem repacked axles (just new boots and grease) waiting to go in after I have a good reason to swap them. :) Also, the tone rings on the EMPIs aren't perfect and trigger ESP when driving hard. They are a good bandaid /crutch for during the rebuilding of your axles.

[AlS6]

hello, i know that there is many threads on this forum about steering vibration at high speeds (50 to 65 mph)... many of them are not resolved. so finally, yesterday i i found the issue. Lets start from the beginning, year and a half ago mine front inner cv boot went so to make it easy and quick fix i bought new aftermarket axle from EMPI for around $150. After 6 months i started having vibration at high way speeds in my steering wheel with a feeling that my wheel is coming off or the bearing is done. i search many threads about this problem and some people said it could be the wheel balance so i redone that twice at two different locations no help, some people said is the bend hub or the bearing but i check it and it was still good and some said its the shock but i have year old kw suspension so it could not be that. so i was driving with it for almost a year and tried to deal with it as most people said or just drive over 70 mph in order not to feel it. And finally an Youtube vide came to my attention how some guy was replacing his axle as well as his bearings on vw jetta. he explained that when cv boot breaks is the best way just to replace the boot and keep the original shaft because many aftermarkets and rebuilds use oversized bearings or unbalanced/solid shafts this way they sale for cheap. So i found my original axle with torn boot that i keep for the future and order two replacement boots for outer and inner... Yesterday i finally swap back original axle in place of aftermarket and went for a drive. I did all speed tests with breaking and acceleration between 40 - 70 mph and vibration at steering wheel was gone. i though it could be nice to share this info and i hope some of you can finally resolve the problem.

What aftermarket axles were you running'

[Timtheguru]

says empi right there

[screwball]

I have a nasty shake I can't seem to find too. I'm on new raxles, but it still persists.

[customa4]

Yea, I'm with ya screwball. I've been trying to figure out a nasty shake for a while now. I've changed axles, upper control arms, wheel bearing on passenger side will be doing drivers within next week or two and also tires. The shake just won't go away under WOT. I've also changed spark plugs and coilpacks and nothing gives.....

[lookaught]

Tires are always a possible cuprit as well for any rolling vibration problems. Out of round; feathered; cupped; unbalanced....

If you have summer/winter wheels and tires or even a friend with a compatible setup always swap tires to eliminate them first before swapping other components.

[T0M3K]

I have similar problem, vibrations, at 145k miles I am thinking of replacement axles from raxles.com

I checked both sides and boots are intact. So it got me thinking...

[B6cool]

Im happy that i could help, but now it got me thinking for those that the shake dont stop after axles/bearings/or control arms changing the problem could be in transmission- the flange that the axle bolts to for some reason the flange had little move from side to side. i noticed that when replacing mine, but again the vibration stopped.

[diagnosticator]

In addition to the typical causes of vibration from tire/wheel assembly unbalanced problems and uneven tire tread wear, another possible cause is wear in the inner or outer CVs, or the differential side bearings that support the inner axel flanges, that is bad enough to allow the drive axle shaft to rotate eccentrically, or off center, from the center line of rotation, will be an unbalanced condition resulting in vibration when driving. Outer CV joint wear usually causes vibration to be worse when turning, but cars with higher torque than stock, or very high mileage on OE original parts, can have this symptom when the steering is straight ahead as well. Inner CV joint wear and differential side bearing wear can also be revealed as the suspension position and the associated drive axel angle changes over bumps in the road, or with payload variations.

More often experienced with high torque tuned cars with the original sized CVs and drive axels, and subject to the unique wear conditions that each car has, can also be the cause of vibration that occurs only during acceleration, that stops while cruising or coasting. Depending on the location of the excessive sideways play in the drive line, influences the severity of the vibration felt, and will be provoked while accelerating from the high transmitted torque occurring, especially at lower shaft speeds.. When cruising or coasting, the parts return to rotating closer to the true center of rotation, so the vibration stops, or decreases a lot.