Vibration while driving, tires wear super fast

[Ty]

I have been having some problems with my 2001 Chevy Impala lately and it consists of a shaking or vibration while driving over 50 miles per hour. The car doesn’t drift heavily to one side or the other, but the shaking will not stop. I believe this all started to happen about a year or so ago when I smashed the passengers side front wheel into a curb really harshly and it blew out the tire/smacked the crap out of the rim pretty good.

So I suspect that the tie rod may be damaged, or maybe a wheel hub is causing it?

6 months ago I replaced the drivers side wheel hub assembly because it was making that godaweful sound when driving down the highway. After fixing that the noise went away, but now there is still the vibration. I have been just driving with the shaking and such, but the tire eventually gets bold and blows out.

Is there anything I can do to fix this problem? Any advice would be appreciated. I really don’t want to spend $400 to have some shop work on it when the darn car is only worth $2000.

Thanks

Topic

[dave]

you probably have a bent rim, even if it’s not visibly noticeable. a tire shop should be able to diagnose a bent rim via use of a dial indicator. one common option is to go down to the junkyard and buy a whole new set of rims for cheap.

also, it is likely that you might have other hidden problems with steering and suspension due to your collision, even if not visibly detectable. a bent control arm or damaged tie rod for example could affect your toe and camber, resulting in accelerated tire wear.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwrKKbaClME[/video]

[Matthew]

You could have a bent rim the 1st sign of this is a rapid air loss in any of the tyres. i had vibration with my daewoo and rapid air loss it PF tyre shop say i had a bead leak and a bent rim. After they fixed the bend in it and remounted the tyre and fixing the bead leak the vibration is gone. Any shop will check your rim/tyre for less than $25 bucks per tyre.

[college man]

I’m in the bent rim camp also. If the tires are balding
then your wheel alignment is out of spec. Try rotating the
wheels to see if the shaking changes.

[Ty]

Thanks for the input everyone. I will have to take the car in and have them check the rim and such. Should I not be too worried about the tie rod being damaged? It makes sense that the rim could be bent, but I was always under the impression that the tie rod was what probably got bent.

[college man]

With the tie rod bent. Thats a good reason why your alignment
is off. That will need to be addressed to correct the alignment.

[MARK FELDSTEIN]

When you hear hoofbeats try and think horses not zebras. Check the easy stuff first like inspect both sides of the rims. Have the wheels spin-balanced, on the car is best for that. If a rim is bent, it’ll be sucking up an abnormal amount of balance weights at a particular point on the rim.

While you’re at it, inspect your front end suspension including the tie rods, upper and lower control arm assemblies and the ball joints for shake, rattle and rolling. Then reassess where you’re at and what’s causing this.
Mark

[Ty]

Quick question. If I were to get a new rim for the front tire, will I need to replace all the rims or just the one that is suspected of being bent?

For the scenario given in the OP, I made a sharp left turn and the passenger side rim/tire smashed into the curb hard enough to blow out the tire. Would this cause the tie rod to become bent enough to cause this shaking when driving? Or is it more common to just be a bent rim? The more I drive my car the more I notice that the sound is coming from that tire that hit the curb. Keep in mind the car only makes bumping noises and shakes when going 55 MPH or faster, if that makes any difference.

I think I plan on replacing the rim and hope that’s the issue. But knowing if I need to just replace the 1 rim that is making the noises or if all need to be replaced.
Thanks,
Ty

[dave]

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSWdf_7HcqI[/video]

[Matthew]

[quote=”Tykimeister” post=60362]Quick question. If I were to get a new rim for the front tire, will I need to replace all the rims or just the one that is suspected of being bent?

For the scenario given in the OP, I made a sharp left turn and the passenger side rim/tire smashed into the curb hard enough to blow out the tire. Would this cause the tie rod to become bent enough to cause this shaking when driving? Or is it more common to just be a bent rim? The more I drive my car the more I notice that the sound is coming from that tire that hit the curb. Keep in mind the car only makes bumping noises and shakes when going 55 MPH or faster, if that makes any difference.

I think I plan on replacing the rim and hope that’s the issue. But knowing if I need to just replace the 1 rim that is making the noises or if all need to be replaced.
Thanks,
Ty[/quote]

Depending on how bent the rim is chances are a tyre shop can fix it they fixed the bend in my rim. If you get a new rim all you need is one but mind you since it it in the front you will need to get a new matching pair of tyres on the front. Tirods could be fine its normal for them to bend over time hence alignment. I would start with the rim first than go from there. fist take the rim and tyre to a tyre shop and ask them to check to see if its bent. Do you have rapid air loss? beside violent vibration rapid air loss is another sign of a bent rim. See if the tyre shop can fix the bent rim it will be cheaper than buying a junk yard rim

[college man]

To help with the diagnoses. remove the suspected wheel
and put your spare on.see if the problem goes away.

[Matthew]

[quote=”college man” post=60401]To help with the diagnoses. remove the suspected wheel
and put your spare on.see if the problem goes away.[/quote]

+1 on that i never thought of doing that.

[Steve]

Honestly, IF you get a new rim, I would only do the one you need. That’s like some folks who say never buy one tire if you need it. Sure it’s better to buy two or even four but if you can’t afford it, you can’t, so you buy what you can afford. (I’ve never bought 4 tires at the same time in my 30 years of driving by the way). But from your description, I would suspect more that the rim. Sounds like you damaged more than the tire/rim. Might take it to a shop and just tell them to check the suspension; don’t tell them the problems since of course they then might tell you you need to replace X or Y based on your description of the problem to them. You can be vague in telling them to check it such as you “seem to think” that tire is wearing faster than the others or that you “hit a curb” and the car seems to drive a little odd on that side. Hope this helps.

[Matthew]

[quote=”RhinoBlu3″ post=60720]Honestly, IF you get a new rim, I would only do the one you need. That’s like some folks who say never buy one tire if you need it. Sure it’s better to buy two or even four but if you can’t afford it, you can’t, so you buy what you can afford. (I’ve never bought 4 tires at the same time in my 30 years of driving by the way). [/quote]

AGREED :cheer: I have 3 different brand tyres on my Daewoo 2 matching in the front the original factory tyre on the driver rear and a new tyre on passenger rear. Id have all 4 original tyres but the 2 in front picked up screws and the passenger rear got a tear in the inner sidewall somehow.

[MARK FELDSTEIN]

Excellent suggestion ! I agree.

[Johnny K.]

So lets recap, the vibration over 50mph you feel is probably the result of a bent rim or missing wheel weights. (curb rash takes wheel weights off in a quick hurry, I myself prefer to have my tires balanced “insert fancy word here” so that all wheel-weights are on the inside of the rim, cleaner looking rim, and wont scratch off or deteriate the clear coating on the aluminum.

The rapid tire wear though, is most likely caused by a mis-allignment. a sudden jar on the suspension system can shift adjustable joints as some alignments are held in place by an egg shaped washer or just a simple nut and bolt. they are made to be able to adjust to compensate worn parts and sudden jars can simply “alter” there setting. worst case senario is there is a bent part, but being that the car does not stray, and alignment will most likely solve the problem. but mentioning it to the mechanic…if even vaugely as said.. is a good idea, just in case something is bent to the point of where it is a safty concern. either way, get it taken care of as a harsh vibration from the rim can cause further damage to your hubs, CV joint failure, or leaky or broken seals in the transmission. From what I gather, your not horribly mechanically inclined (I mean no offense) and turning the key and driving is very irrisponsible considering your criusing at a deadly speed with a four thousand pound bullet and being unsafe with yourself and others is not cool. even something as simple as a shimmy or vibration should be taken care of asap. repairs from not taking care of this can be deveastatingly expensive and or cost somebody a life.

[Author]

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