Other: strange vibe

[pine52]

anyone have thoughts on a rythmic vibration that i feel through the steering wheel? also seems to go through the entire car(63 GT)289 4bbl.auto. best description i could come up with. also had the same sensation w/61 rumbleseathawk i had back in 71.thanks for ANY ideas.

[JoeHall]

At what speed/RPM? In which gear(s)?

[pine52]

55 and up,in drive 3rd

[pine52]

2800rpm.sorry

[jclary]

Wheel bearing. Start with the front wheel bearings. You will need to remove inner and outer. Clean them thoroughly and examine them. Often, when a roller goes bad, it will begin to to tumble small bits of metal through the retainer cage of the bearing. The resulting harmonic vibration can be difficult to pinpoint.

I once had one that caused me to think it was a rear driver's side bearing. I was so sure, that I pulled the rear axle, only to discover that it looked perfect. All that work and didn't find the problem. So...instead of pulling the other axle, I decided to check the front wheels. Turned out to be the outer bearing on the front passenger side. So much for my natural talent to diagnose a problem with my "good hearing."

A U-joint bearing can cause that type of vibration, but usually you can hear a dry U-joint grinding/crackling/crunching at very low speeds with the windows down. However, my bet is on a failing wheel bearing.

[christophe]

Hence the tendancy for modern tires to get an oval shape after sitting for a while, I'd check that first. Make sure first that your tires are really running round. Don't forget that a vibration feeled in the front end can also be caused by unbalanced rear wheels. A quick check is to place front tires at rear. If something changes, the problem is in the wheels and/or the tires.
Best of luck and nice day to all.

[pine52]

thanks for the responses. just had the front aligned and tires rotated.still there;been there since i bought it 11yrs.ago.think the bearings were done 5-10 yrs.ago,while i lived in wy. maybe a better description would be a throbbing at 55&above.

[DEEPNHOCK]

Be methodical.
One thing at a time.

My suggestion is just basic stuff.
Check your engine mounts, and your trans mounts.
A bad mount could cause the engine to not sit 'right' and could cause a minor u-joint misalignment that can cause a rhythmic vibration.
Also check your rear spring eye bushings. Check your rear springs.
A drooping pinion will cause that u-joint misalignment, too.
None of that would hurt to be checked anyways.

Just a thought...
Jeff

[pine52]

thanks again to everyone for your thoughts.will have those things looked at.am definatly suspecting motor mounts.

[altair]

If you have a long hill get up to speed and pop it out of gear to bring the engine to idle to eliminate any engine issues. Dave ps be carefull because in some areas it is illegal to coast out of gear.

[JoeHall]

If you have a long hill get up to speed and pop it out of gear to bring the engine to idle to eliminate any engine issues. Dave ps be carefull because in some areas it is illegal to coast out of gear.

I am willing to bet, if you speed up to 60-80 MPH, then push the clutch in of kick it up into neutral (if FOM), then the vibration will go away. That would indicate its coming from the motor, or the input side of the tranny drive.