OT: 2000 Montana Questions

I have a 2000 Pontiac Montana with 161K on it.

Service history:

20K ago, both front wheel bearings replaced. 10K ago, transmission replaced. Drove though mountains loaded full with air on and in overdrive. :) oops.

Have terrible wobble in the seat of my pants. Was told tires are bad and they are bad. Had front end alignment done and it was way off. Put new tires on and it drive a heck of a lot better.

I noticed it still wobbles at 45mph to 50mph. If you let up on the gas it is smooth, once you give it gas the shaking begins. I noticed if you turn left around a corner at 30-60 mph it vibrates slightly. It does not do this turning right.

I replaced the cylinders and shoes on the drum brakes in the back. I noticed the struts are crap and the shocks in the back are shot. I know I can replace the rear ones. How hard is it to do the struts? Would I need a spring compressor or would it be better off letting someone charge me a TON to do it for me?

Is it the wheel bearings, the struts or the transmission causing this wobble?

Lannie

Reply to
LS
Loading thread data ...

If they're macpherson (sp?) struts you can take them out as a unit then take the units to a shop to replace the shocks. That will save you most of the labor cost. Or you can get spring compressores and do all the labor, but you may spend more on the compressors...

You might also want to check the engine and transmission mounts because if they are worn that can also cause the wobble you are noticing.

Reply to
Ed H.

Wouldn't the wobble happen all the time if it were mounts? I wonder if they didn't get replaced or mounted properly when the transmission was replaced.

It wobbles in the front of the vehicle BADLY now, but only at 45-50mph. All other speeds are smooth.

LS

PS How do I tell whether they are Macpherson struts?

Reply to
LS

Get the tires balanced.

Reply to
George

I already stated that is has brand new tires, mounted and balanced. Less then 400 miles on them.

Reply to
LS

Reply to
Shep

According to a car-fix-it call in show I listen to 34-50 is the speed range which oftenis caused by bad mounts, 50-60 indicates tire problems (out of balance, seperated). You should be able to visually inspect the mounts.

If the spring/shock assemble can be removed as a unit with out the need of a spring compression tool then you can take that in (obviously with another vehicle). If your not sure if removing a nut/bolt will release the stored energy in the spring then don't remove it. I strongly suggest you get a manual if your going to do more than just change the oil.

Reply to
Ed H.

It started wobbling after the transmission work. They blamed it on a bad tire which was very bad. They were correct but I think the tire hid the wobbling of something else.

Now that the alignment is done, the new tires and etc, the wobble in theseat of our pants is gone. Now it wobbles in the steering wheel or basically the entire front of the vehicle.

Could it be a tire rod? It vibrates when turning left but nothing turning right.

Lannie

Reply to
LS

I will crawl under it and peek at the mounts tonight. I will probably fork out the knife in the back pricing for strut work and have the garage do it. Not sure I want to mess with the springs and etc.

Time to call the guy who did my transmission and see what he thinks now that he cannot say it's the tires like he did the first time. He is a very well respected guy so maybe he will take a second look now that the tire issue is fixed.

LS

Reply to
LS

I don't see anything wrong with the mounts. I noticed you can feel it at higher speeds its just more of a vibration at that speed then a wobble.

When turning slightly left on the highway you can feel it start to vibrate harder. If you hit a bump and the front of the vehicle dives down a bit, lock a rocking motion you can feel the grinding more on the down side of a bump. Not sure how to describe it.

When the vehicle rocks you feel it when the front of the vehicle goes down.

The struts look like they are totally shot.

LS

Reply to
LS

Bad CV joint. Getting the whole trans axle replaced for $197.

Lannie

Reply to
LS

At least it's not a ton of money. I hope that takes care of all the issues.

Reply to
Ed H.

I figured I could do it, but for only $70 labor I figured let him get dirty. :)

Reply to
LS

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.