Horrible Vibration in Wheel/Floor
 

Hi all,

I have a '95 Bonneville SE with 168k on her, and I drive her about 200 miles per day but do my best to perform the maintanence she needs. She has always had a vibration in the steering wheel and floor since I picked her up with 130k, however, it has gotten increasingly worse. Citing bad tires, this was the first thing I replaced, but it did not help at all. Secondly, I replaced my rotors but this didn't help either. I realize this is a very difficult thing to diagnose without actually seeing it, but here are the symptoms I have noticed.

-It begins at about 50 MPH, but increases and gets worse as the speeds increase.
-At about 80 MPH, it is the worst, literally pulling the wheel out of my hands.
-It appears to get slightly better when I give it throttle or when I am on flat terrain.

I have also noticed a clunking when I hit bumps in the road at lower speeds, I am wondering if this is somehow associated with it? I have also replaced both front wheel bearings, so I am suspecting possibly the CV joints? I am desperate for any solution that can be provided as this is hugely annoying!

Thanks,
Pete Szerszen
Howell, MI

Re: Horrible Vibration in Wheel/Floor
 

I'm wondering whether you might have an empty strut and an out-of-balance tire. When you get up to high speed, the off-balance tire is eventually spinning hard enough that the strut can't dampen it anymore, and you start feeling it fight the wheel.

It might be interesting if you can get someone else to drive alongside you at that speed, and tell you if one of your front wheels is bouncing.

My '95 has this same problem, as did my '93. New struts didn't help. Balancing the wheels didn't help. New bearings didn't help. I too am beginning to suspect the CV joints. Let us know if you find a solution!

Jeff