So i have been chasing a vibration through my car for some time now and its about time i asked some outside sources for help. While driving my 95 accord (F22-B1) the vehicle will begin to shake. Its not your standard wheel balance vibration, it is a vibration that shakes the entire front end. The problem is, it comes and goes sporadically. One day i can drive it for 30 minutes on the freeway and it drives smooth as butter. Stop, grab a monster, get back on freeway, shakes like a chihuahua in canada. Ive gone through and replaced shocks and struts (for fun, some skunk 2 drop springs), my wheel bearings are good and i have inspected my steering system and cant find any looseness. When the car first begins to shake it is apparent only in the steering wheel, but then it grows. The vehicle does vibrate at an idle and if i put the vehicle in neutral and turn it off (while driving on the freeway) the vibration continues. Any ideas at this point are helpful. Thanks in advance.

 

Just set up my signature, but 1995 Accord 2.2 EX AT

 

Cleaning the EGR ports may help the engine run smoother. In the common diy thread on top of the gen tech help forum, there is a link to EGR cleaning for the 94/97 accords.

This doesn't sound like the vibration problem. Did you jack up the front of the car, turn the steering wheel until it locks, then push/pull on the tire at the 12/6 o'clock and 3/9 o'clock.

Also, inspect your motor mounts. The one on the front mount and the driver's side motor mount are easy to see. The rear mount is kind of a pain to see. You have to look at it from the passenger side of the car. It is under the intake manifold.

 

I have looked at the motor mounts and they are all in good condition. Yes i did jack the front up and check my ball joints and tie rod ends. I will try the egr cleaning tomorrow though and get back with you about how that turns out.

 

check all suspension pivots (tie rod, ball joint, control arm bushings)
motor mounts, trans mounts........
point being, you have to go through proper diagnosis, in a driveway its tough to duplicate what a mechanic can do on a lift.
jacking up your frontend at the frame will not allow you to properly check the lower ball joints.
the lower control arms need to be lowered onto jackstands to check play, if the ball joint is really bad you need no stands, the play is obvious.
rasie the front wheels and move the wheel left to right, up and down and get a helper to check for play as you move the wheel, or viseversa.
suspension can be a tricky deal, dont overlook bad tires or wheel balance, i see countless frontend shakes and the wheels are out of balance.
second opinions have saved lives, dont be afraid to get one.

 

I inspected all parts on a runway lift. Went through all suspension components with one of my instructors at UTI. Balanced the tires and checked wheel for out of round. No one seems to be able to come up with an answer here, so i put it to you guys. Could a brake rotor be causing this?

 

Did you use a caliper to check the thickness on various part of the rotor? Does the car shake when braking?

How much play is in the CV joint?

 

I haven't looked at the brake rotors at all at this point. Because it came and went I didn't really think it could be this, but one of my instructors made the point today in class so I figured maybe it was worth a look. It does shake when braking and if the car is shaking already it amplifies the problem 10 fold. My cv axles are still relatively new, maybe 8,000 miles on them. It also kind of goes with the fact that the problem persists even if the car is shut down while rolling at freeway speeds. I'm gonna get my car jacked up and put a mic on it right now. I will post results when finished. X]

 

Sorry its been so long since i posted anything, my left front rotor was warped pretty bad and it turns out that that brake caliper was hung up. Replaced the caliper, rotor and pads and the car is running like a dream now. Thanks for all the input guys. You all werd a big help in this diagnosis. =]