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Car Shakes when driving

21K views 39 replies 13 participants last post by  jlawr 
#1 ·
Hey Guys,

I recently acquired a 96 Chrysler Town and Country LXi from my parents. The car has about 112,000 miles on it and has a few problems. Most of the issues have been remedied. These included: valve cover seals, A/C compressor replacement, A/C drier, A/C line to compressor, tensioner pulley, plugs and wires, windshield washer pump, oil pan gasket and transmission filter and seal. I don't even want to talk about pulling the intake plenum to get at the rear plugs!

The biggest issue, and its been like this since i crammed all my stuff from college and drove it home, is that the car shakes side to side from about 40 mph to about 60mph. It drives fine down low, and only starts to shake around 35mph and then seriously shakes around 40mph. It shakes the most partial throttle, and still shakes WOT, but not as much. It also stops shaking for a second when i force it to shift from OD to 3rd, or 3rd to 2nd. I'm guessing its the torque converter? or maybe an Axle? I have checked the motor mounts, and they look fine, and the axles have no external damage. When i dropped the transmission pan, there were no metal shavings and only some metallic looking fluid coming out of the filter. The actual fluid was still red and wasn't burnt. I just wondered if anyone else had experienced this and had any insight into my issue.

Thanks in advanced.
 
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#2 ·
If you used ATF+4 in the trans, I would think it is fine.

I would be looking at a wheel bearing since you said it started after being heavily loaded. Jack up each wheel and grab it at the 12 and 6 oclock positions and see if you can rock the tire. If there is any movement, the bearings are shot. My van has similar mileage and I've had to replace every bearing on it.
 
#3 ·
Thanks for the idea, I'll give that a shot. The car is still being worked on so I'll try it tonight. Do you think if it was a bearing it would be making a noise as well?
 
#4 ·
Bad bearings typically make a rumbling noise, but not always. My last rear bearing that was bad would just bang loudly when I hit bumps.
 
#5 ·
The bearing do make noise, but not all the time. My 2000 plymouth was doing the exact same thing you speak of. It turned out to be the passenger side cv shaft. Once I changed it, it went back to being smooth as a whistle. I have a little vib nw, but that is due to the drivers side cv. But it is not bad enough to concern me yet.
 
#6 ·
Is there a way to check if its damaged without just replacing it? I've already gone over my budget for repairs as is, but will put the time and money in now to fix it if it means I'll have a reliable and smooth car.
 
#7 ·
You can usually do a visual inspection of the cv's exterior joint, but the vibration usually comes from the inside joint at the transmission. The cv's are around 70.00 a side, but its not a bad idea to go ahead and change them. They are a part that you do not want failing on you out of the blue. If they have never been changed that you know of it is probably your issue.

This may be a stupid question, but you have had the tires balanced recently right?? If your tires are unbalanced or are starting to separate, then that may also be an issue. When a tire separates it causes a large bulge in th tire causing it to shake from side to side real bad.
 
#9 ·
The axles are original. I was reading the Haynes manual on how to pull the axles and it says to drop the arm and end link and i got worried. Not because of what is needed to drop the stuff, but because of the condition of all the bolts and fittings. Every part of suspension is rusted, and badly too. Its interesting because i have no rust on the actual body, but the suspension is bad. Almost to the point where you can barely discern the bolts and threads. Any insight on how i should attack this issue!

In regards to the tires. They are old, mismatched and have rot. However, there are no bulges on the tires. I could rotate them around and see if the vibration goes away. I guess the reason i dont see it being the tires is that it doesn't vibrate when im not giving it power.
 
#8 ·
T Okie has a good point, I would check the inboard tie rod ball joint, inside the boot. Try to move the wheel in and out when jacked, you would probably feel a click or clunk in the tie rod. If the front bearing is bad, check the big nut holding on the CV joint. If it is loose, you can tighten it, your bearing is eating itself up. Should be no slop, and VERY tight, like 180 ft lbs.
 
#11 ·
If it has no vibration without power, hence only under trottle, then it is your cv shafts. Hopefully the bolts are just surface rust. If they are that that rusted and rough, then they are in need of replacement anyways. I have a feeling that its just surface rust and with a little WD or PB Blast you should be ok. Let um soak for a bit.

now jthe reason the suspension is rusted and not the body, is the body is usually paid attention to when cleaning. People often don't think about washing the wheel wells and the underside of the car to make sure to remove mud, salt etc. Mud is a great way to create rust as it gives every perfect opprotunity for rust.
 
#13 ·
Where can i find replacements for the bolts? Are there dealerships that ship this stuff? I come from the honda world and they have a lot of dealerships that will ship etc...
 
#14 ·
Just check your local parts stores. They usually have detailed parts list devoted to the area of the car you are working on. If need be take them a bolt. They can often match the bolts tread pattern and strength rating for you and find the suitable bolt. You can call a chrysler/dodge dealership and they can get you the parts probably, but take into consideration that dealerships are typically higher priced than other places.
 
#15 ·
It sure sounds like the halfshaft has a bad c/v.

I bet every bolt will be fine. You may be surprisedd to find that with some spray oil and a wire brush, the threads come pretty clean. You may be seeing just road buildup on the bolts.

When I do the c/v's though, I just unbolt the strut to spindle nuts and pop the tie rod if necessary. I don't bother with the lower ball joint or anything else. Just use some string to tie the spindle so it doesn't hang funny on the ball joint.
 
#17 ·
It sure sounds like the halfshaft has a bad c/v.
When I do the c/v's though, I just unbolt the strut to spindle nuts and pop the tie rod if necessary. I don't bother with the lower ball joint or anything else. Just use some string to tie the spindle so it doesn't hang funny on the ball joint.
If you do it that way you have to have an alignment done, better to just pop the ball joints, very easy.
 
#20 ·
believe it or not but this is crazy and sounds weird to me,but it happened to me few months ago.I know this is stupid but you should check all the wheel sensor,first you try to take out the ABS fuse and drive your van to see if it's still shaking or not.(of course the ABS light will come on) This is the link that I posted for help before and finally found out the ABS caused the problem: http://forum.chryslerminivan.net/showthread.php?t=13344 I have been driving my van with the ABS light on and nothing wrong with it,I hope this will help you.
 
#21 ·
Guess what ?

My van recently started with a similar problem. Steering wheel shaking - upto an inch of movement - at speeds upto about 35mph, after that it calms down until barely noticable.

Suspecting a wheel bearing or driveshaft, and having 3 inches of solid ice on my driveway, I took it to a friends vehicle testing station.

Put it up on the hoist, wheels off the ground, and he inspected everything but found nothing at all wrong mechanically.

Then he started spinning the wheels. Even with 5mm of tread on it, the left side front tyre is history !
There is no visible damage at all, but when he placed a bar across the tread and spun the wheel you could see that the tyre is no longer round !

Tomorrow I get 2 new tyres for the front.


P.S. If you think a driveshaft is worn, drive down a quiet piece of road and slip the transmission in to neutral. If the van is still shaking, it's unlikely to be the driveshaft.
 
#22 ·
thanks for all the recs. Do i need to remove the caliper and rotor to do the work? I'm guessing i could just knock the axle out without it, but the haynes says to do it. I'm looking to remove the least amount of rusted bolts. I'll try and post a pic for you guys to see how badly they are rusted.
 
#23 ·
Yes the caliper and rotor need to be moved out of the way. Don't need to undo the brake hose, just tie the caliper up and out of the way and never let it hang from the hose.
 
#24 ·
You need to remove the caliper for the repair yes, but more importantly, it gives you the chance to inspet the caliper bolts a slide guides. These fail you can be in a world of danger. I understand why you don't want to mess with to many bolts, but on these components it is best to inspect all hardware for faults. I have seen severe damage resulting in busted hardware.

You want it road worthy I understand this, but do us all a favor and please take the proper steps in these repairs. For one, your life depends on it and also it could result in even more expensive damage down the road.
 
#25 ·
I have a 96 that did the same thing at 203k miles,but I drove it about 100 miles back home. Wheel felt fine only having a slight clink turning but after removing 9 spindle bearings fell onto the groung. Forteen years and it all come apart with little effort. Got 2 spindle bearings and new cv's off ebay for $200. Had to replace tranny 20k later and it'r ready for another 200k.
The rear plugs are easy to replace from the bottom. Follow the exhaust pipe and they are within an arms reach.
 
#26 ·
Tires are Old, Mismatched and Have Rot

So RadioPrune

If I'm not mistaken the CV Joints on your vehicle are not the only thing you'll
need to address really soon.
 
#27 ·
Unfortunately you may need a new hub too when you do it. The hubs fall apart when you remove the axle nut because while the assembly looks like a solid piece when new, the axle nut is really what holds the bearing together. You can put it all back together IF you don't loose any of the ball bearings and don't get dirt on them. Could also maybe throw a bit of new wheel bearing grease in them if you have any.
 
#29 ·
OK, so i wasn't able to change out the axle because i didn't have the right sized ratchet attachment for axle nut. For some reason i thought it was the same size as the one for my honda... Anway, the reason i say this is because the shaking has decreased ALOT compared to how it was before i gave it a major overhaul. This overhaul included:
New Alternator
New A/C Compressor/ Dryer/ seals/ line from condenser to compressor (compressor had seized and bearings on flywheel were making a loud noise)
new oil pan seal/ oil change/ filter
Transmission gasket/ oil filter/ flush
Valve cover seals
Spark Plugs/ wires/ gapped to .050
new pulley on tensioner
windshield wiper pump
new intake plenum gasket and cleaned out plenum and IACV

The car still shakes a bit from 35-50, but the severity has decreased alot.
 
#30 · (Edited)
I got my van last Wednesday. I have an issue like this and had it diagnosed. Found a good repair shop and they were willing to take it up on the lift and look it over, at no charge.

My van seems to shake a bit from 0-45mph, and the faster it goes, the less shaking there is. It doesn't sound as bad as the shake in your van is. I get a noise from the right front wheel and what feels like some shimmy in the steering wheel, not really measurable, maybe half an inch at the most. And my steering wheel has to be c ocked to the left a little bit in order to drive the van straight.

I couldn't tell from the noise whether it was a motor mount or a front end issue (and I still suspect one of the motor mounts might be bad, because the noise seems to get worse during acceleration.) Its only because of the off-center steering wheel that I investigated the front end first.

First thing the shop noticed is the right rear tire - one of the better looking ones - had a bad separation, and said that should be my first priority.

Next was that the front right tie rod is loose. Suggested taking care of the tie rod and getting an alignment immediately after. Its on the calendar for mid-March. The estimate for the repair isn't too bad.

Called everywhere to find a tire (I'm on a low budget here, too.) No one had 14's. Found a yard that had one in north Toledo, started driving there down the city streets (to avoid driving at highway speeds), and on the way I found the mother lode of used tires... an old Shell station now painted blue and stocked to the ceiling with tires of all sizes, in neatly marked piles. For $30 I got a really decent tire, mounted, and drove home feeling much safer. I couldn't believe how bad the old one looked once it was off. Between the middle two belts, across the horizontal surface where the tire hits the road, there was literally a big tear. If you've never seen a separated tire, its something to see.

Tires are pretty damn strong I guess, because I can't believe that tire made it the 60 miles I've driven the van from the time it was purchased until I got the replacement tire.

Most of our Ohio shops seem willing to take ten minutes to diagnose front end work for free, so, to me it was worth my time to have that done, just so I know. I need the tie rod to hold out for about 2 more weeks till I can afford to get the repair done, but since it isn't shaking too bad, I think it'll hold.

Good luck with yours, whatever it is.
 
#31 ·
One other thing - before this I had an older Nissan Altima that had a lot of engine shake on idle especially. The day before I sold it, I noticed it was low on oil (again,) and just stopped at the nearest gas station instead of getting the cheapo oil at Meijer or Walmart.

All they had was a $5.69 oil in a silver bottle called "Mobil 5000" or something similar. I grudgingly bought it because I didn't feel like hitting Walmart too that day. Poured it in.. and to my amazement most of the shaking stopped with the new oil. The car really never ran smoother.
 
#33 ·
I use an 1.25 inch socket on my breaker bar and it fits perfectly. We don't have a huge selection of metric tools but usually there is a standard size to come close. Especially that big, you will be hard pressed to strip it off when it is a close fit.

Edit.. 1.25 inches= 31.75mm according to google, so I guess 32mm is correct.
 
#35 ·
Same here. Except my outer CV joint tore itself apart and left me with no drive 32 miles from home.
At least when that happens, the van can be towed with the engine running for power brakes and steering.
 
#39 · (Edited)
I read a number of posts here and elsewhere having to do with vibration occurring in the power range from about 25-40 mph. Obviously, there's a troubleshooting sequence to eliminate possibilities. It appears like everything was covered here from the tie-rod ends, to the ball joints, to the tires, etc. What I found interesting was curing a problem with my recently acquired 94 Grand Voyager and how it related to my recently bone-yarded 95 Grand Caravan. The 95 Caravan went to its grave with my never being able to find out why it would vibrate/shimmy in the power range noted above. I did everything to it trying to get it to go away. It was my work vehicle, as is the Grand Voyager, so the vibration was an irritant like a burr under the saddle.

The mystery for me was solved yesterday with the replacement of the front axle on the Grand Voyager. Shimmy went away...smooth as silk. There were no visible signs of inner CV wear...it just kept getting worse through that 25-40 power range. Once over 40 mph it would smooth out, but you could still feel it, although livable.

The red flag went up when I read others pointing fingers at re-man axles. I had replaced the 95s axles without the problem going away. I too had replaced everything involved and the problem still existed. I now feel like the Cold Case investigators. The problems others pointed out regarding similar, replaced it all, and the shimmy didn't go away pointing to re-man axles is letting me put the RIP on the 95 Caravan.

The solution for many was to re-look at the re-man axle replacement. Some re-manufacturers are apparently not doing their homework and looking for wear...slap new boots on and back in the box they go. I decided not to toss the dice with the Voyager and opted to pay the extra for a "new" axle. It took care of my problem, but I believe also resolved my questions regarding the 95's shake-rattle when it rolled... ;-)\

So, if you've done all the homework, replaced the axles, and the problem has not gone away. I would strongly suggest revisiting the axles...especially, if they are re-manufactured.
 
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