I have a problem with the front end of my minivan I feel a shudder from the front end, which is more pronounced at speeds below 35 mph. I have had the tires off & balanced & the brakes are fine. It is not noisy when turning like a bearing, or clicking like a CV joint. The shop said they could not find anything wrong with the steering or suspension, yet the vibration is bad enough to make the steering wheel twitch.
Any suggestions or ideas? RAndy Thanks
Try rotating the front tires to the rear. See if the problem doesn't clear up a bit.
Sometimes tires have runout just like brake rotors do. If you hit a pothole and create hidden damage to the steel belts inside the tire, or knock the rim itself out of true, you can create a wobble. Sometimes balancing will fix it; sometimes not. Most of the time, out-of-balance conditions worsen somewhat as speed increases; you seem to be saying that this is more of a low-speed thing. That leads me to suspect tires.
Of course, this assumes you're talking about a shimmy that occurs during all driving. If it only happens while braking, then your assessment of the brakes is probably incorrect. And, of course, if the shop failed to do a complete check, as it sounds like they did, they might've missed a worn suspension component.
If they couldn't come up with an answer on this one, they didn't do their job properly--a reproducible problem like this one is reasonably easy to diagnose. Find another shop. On the other hand .... if you didn't ASK them to find the problem, but instead just directed them to 'check the steering and suspension', you really should go back and let them have another crack at it, and stop trying to do their diagnostic job for them. Explain what the problem is, and have them solve it. If they can't, move on.
--Geoff
Do you get your brake rotors shaved? I had the same problem and was informed it was the rotors. Once I changed them, the shuddering went away.
A couple of things to consider: 1) symptoms of a bad inner CV joint (clicking is symtomatic of a bad outer CV joint). With a bad inner CV joint, you get shuttering at around 35mph and when under load (going uphill, accelerating). 2) One of the engine mounts may be out of position. This could cause one the axles to be pulled out of the inner CV joint just enough to be unstable causing the vibration. The inner CV joint is designed for this movement, but if you pull the axle out too much, it becomes unstable.
Have the tie rod ends checked. I had a similar problem with a 94 Caravan, that's what it turned out to be.
Jon
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