mazda tribute - diagnosing vibration

One quick question...did this vibration start recently, or has the car always had it? The previous owner might be able to fill you in on the history of the car. (Has it been wrecked, awash, ??)

I agree that it is hard to imagine something irritating like this cannot be localized and repaired.

Thanks for the reply.

The vibration has been there since I got it. I should have demanded it be fixed before I got it, but it didn't seem that bad, probably just a tire out of balance I thought, and the used car dealer I got it from provided a full warranty for 30 days. They've been told about the problem, and would likely pay for a fix if it were known WHAT to fix.

The previous owner was a large leasing company, and I can't get the lessee's name, but there have been no insurance claims except for a comprehensive claim for glass, so I'm assuming no accidents or flooding.

Have you tried putting it in neutral at 55 to see if taking it out of gear helps? Could be a out of balance rotor/drum..

hopefully someone didn't put a sticky wheel weight somewhere to throw it (whatever "it" is) out of balance.

(a few minutes pass)

I just checked the service bulletins on that car and it talks about making sure you use the correct tire balance machine. Here is the info on it:

Service Bulletin Mazda North American Operations Irvine, CA 92618-2922

2000-2006 MULTI-MODEL - BODY VIBRATION OR STEERING WHEEL SHIMMY BULLETIN NOTE This bulletin supersedes the previous bulletin 02-001/03, issued on 02/24/03. The APPLICABLE MODEL(S)/ VINS and DESCRIPTION have been revised. APPLICABLE MODEL(S)/VINS 2000-2003 Protege 2002-2003 Protege5 2000-2002 626 2000-2002 Millenia 2000-2006 Miata 2004-2006 RX-8 2004-2006 Mazda3 2006 Mazda5 2003-2006 Mazda6 2000-2006 MPV 2001-2006 Tribute 2000-2006 B-Series Truck DESCRIPTION If a vehicle has body vibration or steering wheel shimmy while driving, and the root cause is determined to be tire balance, re-balance the tires using a Hunter GSP 9700/9712 balance machine. When using the Hunter GSP 9700/9712, be sure to use the following centering cones and cone/ wheel set up listed below. Using the appropriate centering cone ensures that the wheel will be properly centered to the centering cone. To find the location of a GSP 9700/9712 near your dealer, visit Hunter?s web site at and click on ?Find a GSP9700 Near You?.

Yes, I've tried that, and it makes no noticeable difference

Thanks for that. The Ford dealer that did the initial driveline checks also did a road force balance on the 2 rear tires tires using a Hunter GSP 9700. I went there specifically because they were listed as having one, while the local Mazda dealer was not. The tire shop that put the Michelins on just used a regular balancer. I suppose it's possible I have a wheel, or rotor that's out of whack somehow.

For what it's worth, I was just looking at the driveshaft and the center bearing support seems to deflect fairly easily - easier than on the GMC van I used to have. I can move it about a half inch without straining.

quoted text -

Sounds a bit loose to me.

Sure, you can "drive" the vehicle with the driveshaft removed. Drivers who take this approach many times will experience elongated commute times, however accident rates of vehicles configured with no driveshaft are exceedingly low, so you could conceivably get a break on insurance rates if you kept it this way permanently. Good Luck!

Constant 4wd vehicle.