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Considering you (the driver of your own car) are behind the wheel of your car every day, trust your instincts about your vehicle! If something feels different or doesn’t feel right, then there is probably something wrong! If you feel a vibration in the wheel, or at your feet, it could be something in the front suspension or braking systems. If you’re sitting at idle and feel some shaking you never did before, it could be something with the engine. If you’re feeling a vibration in your posterior, it could be something coming from the suspension or braking systems in the rear of the vehicle. Once you know your vehicle, trust your instincts.
I had such an example happen with me recently in my 1990 Lincoln Towncar. About 3 weeks ago I felt a pulsing in the brake pedal, as well as heard what I thought was a chattering sound when I would apply the brakes to about half, but it would go away at full brake or when there was no pressure applied. After a quick inspection, I found out somehow the lug nuts on my left front tire were not torqued down (who knows whose fault…could have been mine). It seemed like the chattering and pulsing in the pedal went away.
About a week ago, I noticed what felt like that pulsing feeling coming back into the brake pedal. It wasn’t consistent nor was it producing noise like last time. I also noticed that the car seemed a little harder to steer, and the vibration that had been in the wheel due to my nonaligned tires had gotten worse. I decided to double check the lug nuts on the left side, and found they were still snug. I checked the lug nuts on the right side, and they too were fine.
Finally today almost a week later after I started feeling this symptom I jacked up the front end of the car, got both tires off the ground, and did an inspection. I started with the left wheel as I decided at this time to replace the lug nuts. I yanked on the wheel and found there was play…more considering both tie rod ends were fairly new (one less than 3 months old). I got under the car and looked for where the play was coming from and found that somehow the inner tie rod end was not torqued down and it was just moving in and out of the center joint. After I torqued it down real good and replaced the cotter pin, the play was absolutely gone and the car handled much better on a road test.
Moral of the story; learn your vehicle, and trust your instincts when you don’t think something is right or isn’t the same anymore!
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That’s a great post.
Some of the vehicles i have worked on it the past, some customers have let there issue go on for so long it has damaged other components as well as significantly increased the cost of there repair.
Preventive maintenance is the key.
However, with the economy being as it is and the issues we have with repair facilities doing sub par work, i can sometimes understand why motorists are hesitant to take there vehicles in for service.
Quoted From dreamer2355:
However, with the economy being as it is and the issues we have with repair facilities doing sub par work, i can sometimes understand why motorists are hesitant to take there vehicles in for service.
I so hear you on this point. I’m so grateful that I’m blessed with mechanical bones in my body, otherwise I’m not sure what I would do every time something went wrong on my vehicles. Buying a used car over a year ago motivated me to learn more about mechanical engineering since I figured it would need work from time to time. It is an invaluable asset, that I can say without any hesitation. Being a fifth year undergraduate college student living on a tight budget at the moment, I’m so grateful that I can do small repairs and fixes myself for little to no cost.
Glad to hear you got it fixed
My one piece of advice is:
DON’T DRIVE LIKE A $%+^ TWIT.This way you won’t have any issues brought on by you driving like that.
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