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91 Camry - Vibrations at high speed

91 Camry, 3SFE, FWD, automatic, 96,000miles. I am experiencing 2 problems, I'm not sure if they are related. Above 20mph I can hear a low humming sound coming from the front. At 60 mph this sound is more noticeable. The tone is always low although it changes with the speed. The sound pulsates at low rate (~1Hz) like out of tune guitar. At higher speed, around 75mph, the sound is replaced by strong vibrations, which seems to disappear at higher speeds.

The auto mechanic diagnosed that my transmission is about to die, since there are dark deposits in the fluid (15k since last fluid change). He said it is from the clutches inside. on the other hand, I do not notice any problem with the transmission, the gears shift smoothly. Also, about 5 years ago a mechanic told me that there is a problem with the transmission, and on every fluid change I heard the same prediction. I'm not an expert, but I have a feeling that its not the problem.

I shifted to neutral when the sound was present, and there was no change - therefore I assume its not the transmission.

I lifted the car, and noticed that the front left wheel has some degree of freedom. by pushing the top in-out it moves about 1-2mm. The one on the right is tight and doesn't move at all. I don't know if it acceptable or not.

This problem was present even before I rotated the tires half a year ago, although back then I didn't have the vibration problem.

My biggest concern right now is safety - I do not want the wheel to lock when I'm driving on the highway. I also don't want to rebuild the transmission just to find out it is not the reason.

I hope you would be able to guess what is the source of the problem, or suggest more tests that I can perform to pinpoint the problem.

Thanks in advance!

Reply to
bauz
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Wheel bearings or CV joints I bet.

Reply to
ROBMURR

Tires could be the vibration swithch them front to back or replace fronts.

Reply to
m Ransley

Is it normal to have some degree of freedom when the wheel is in the air? Although it doesn't move much, it feels like a bad bearing, while the other wheel feels very tight. I don't have any experience with car bearings, only skateboard bearings, and I'm affraid to ask my mechanic because every time I ask them a question they automatically say that it should be replaced. I'm a student and I'm trying to avoid throwing money for nothing.

Thank you for your help.

Reply to
bauz

I don't think this is normal. The wheel bearings should have almost none to no play in them. If more than that they should be replaced and are a safety hazard as it could seperate or lock up. It is also possible the nut that holds the whole outside wheel assembly is not torqued correctly. Hopefully, someone will help me here as I'm not that experienced on front wheel drive assembly. If not, consult your mechanic immediately as this is a safety issue. HTH, davidj92

Reply to
davidj92

bauz, Also, at 96k miles, even though it's only been 15k since last trans service, if the fluid is dark colored and not bright red I wouldn't remove trans pan and filter but I would do a drain and fill on trans fluid. HTH, davidj92

Reply to
davidj92

If there is any play in the wheel bearings, your brake pedal will be soft. That's because the calipers have to travel a little extra to right the disk.

Vibrations are almost always cured by a set of new tires. You might be able to replace just one, but it is really hard to ID the culprit. The steel belts can get dented out of round and it won't show up on a dynamic tester. So if you have more than, say, 50K on your tires, shot gun it with a whole new set.

Reply to
William W. Plummer

Thank you all for your advice. I will follow your recomendations and replace the bearings. I would also get a new set of tires. I hope that the transmission would not break soon, but I do not want to take any chances when it comes to safety.

Thanks!

Reply to
bauz

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