I have a 1998 Accord EX. City driving is fine, but when I get above 50-55 mph, it shakes a bit. If I let go of the wheel, the wheel shakes back and forth. The shaking in not bad enough to be uncomfortable. My concern is safety. Is this safe to drive? Tires are somewhat worn but otherwise look fine. Is there a way to check the bearings and suspension? What else should I be checking?

I'm trying not to put hardly any money into this car because it's not worth anything and I'll be getting a newer car in about 3 months (when I start my new job). But I just found out I will have to drive 70 miles, 5 days a week, for 3 weeks, in this car. Normally I don't drive that much.

 

To check the ball joints/tie-rod ends, jack up a front tire one at a time. I suggest a jack stand for added safety. Try pushing/pulling the tire in the 12/6 o'clock then the 3/9 o'clock position. The tire should not move at all. 3/9 will move with the slight play in the steering wheel lock. Having someone hold the steering wheel should stop the 3/9 slight play.

If you have a worn ball joint, it should be obvious. Search youtube for How to Check if a Ball Joint is Bad. He describes what I'm talking about.

Take a look at the CV boots to see if they are torn or there is grease everywhere.

 

I just did this. The passenger side wheel is solid. No movement/play at all. The driver's side had only a hair of movement for the 3/9 o'clock position. But was solid in the 12/6 position.

​​​​​​Visually, the suspension parts look great for such an old car. They are dirty but don't appear to be too rusted or worn. Granted, I'm not knowledgeable on suspension components, but it still looks way better than I expected. The underside also looks great. I was shocked at how little rust it has.

I'll have to check the ball joints. I don't recall seeing any grease around the CV boots but I wasn't specifically looking at them. I'll double check next time I'm out there.

 

I just watched this YouTube video on how to check the ball joints: So I'll do that tomorrow. My car just today started making that squeak/creak noise that's in the video. So bad ball joints are a possibility.

I didn't see this before, but the CV boot on the driver's side is almost entirely gone (picture below). I imagine the squeak/creak nose could also be coming from there. I knew a mechanic in the past that would inject grease into a non-greaseable boot. That's probably what someone did here.

I need this car to last me for about 3 more months, and my budget is super tight until then. I've never done suspension work and I'm certain it's beyond my current capability. What should I expect a mechanic to charge to replace ball joints (lower and/or upper)?

Is the broken CV boot an immediate or safety issue, or can I let that go for a while? If it is, what would it cost to get that fixed/replaced? Could the broken CV boot (and dirty/unprotected CV joint) be the cause of the shaking on the highway?

 

The CV joint can definitely be the cause of the wobble and noise. You'd have to get some quotes for a new CV joint.

There are some split CV boots that you can install over the broken CV boot. You could repack with grease and give the split boot a shot.

A broken CV joint is dangerous when it fails with a separated joint. It would cause the tire to likely fall off/collapse. That kind of failure takes a while, but who knows how long the boot has been damaged. It isn't a terrible DIY, but removing the axle nut and getting the lower ball joint separated are the hardest steps IMO.

 

Even with the broken CV boot, I don't suspect the CV joint is bad. I watched this video: My problem does not sound anything like that clicking. I took the car to a parking lot and drove forward and backwards in circles both directions. No noise at all. There is a VERY faint clicking/rubbing only briefly while I'm letting the wheel unwind. But I believe that may be the tire brushing up against the wheel-well or body.

My squeak/creek noise sounds just like in the video from my post yesterday. So I suspect bad ball joints(s). I wanted to jack the car up today and check for movement in the ball joints but someone blocked my driveway. So another day.

I'm sure I could DIY these repairs, but I'm not too confident that I could get an axle nut off. Lack of tools is one problem.

I watched a video about replacing a CV boot and they took the whole CV axle out to do it. Is that required, or could I just remove the old boot and slip a new one on? I assume, I'd have to clean the joint first. What is an effective way to clean that joint?

Could bad ball joints alone be causing the shakiness?

 

Not sure if you did this or not but have you checked wheel balance ??,,,Bad cv joint is not going to make steering wheel shake side to side ,

 

No I have not. Is there a simple DIY way to do that? Or do I have to have a shop do it? If that were the only problem, I wouldn't be too concerned because that's not so much a safety issue, and I only need this car to last a few more months.

The squeaking/creaking noise in the suspension/steering has gotten much worse now. I suspect ball joint(s) are bad. The rubber boots are broken on the ball joints and CV joint (only on the driver's side) and we had some wet weather recently. So the grease probably got rinsed/contaminated, making the noises worse. I'm going to try adding grease, but one of the ball joints is definitely a little loose. So I need to take it to a shop to get replaced.

 

Here's the steering wheel shaking. You can also hear some noise that the car is making. The noises occur whenever I'm coasting/driving straight and seem to go away when I am slightly veering/steering to the right. The shaking is mostly just on the highway.

I jacked up the car and did the 12/6 o'clock and 9/3 o'clock tests. There is no play/movement for the 12/6 position. But there is a very small amount of movement in the 9/3 position. This video was my attempt to do this one handed while also holding my phone to record.

As far as I can tell, there is no play in the ball joints (if I'm doing this correctly).

This tie-rod may be a concern. And might be causing the shaking? As you can see, this connector moves up and down and the rod will twist/rotate if I grab it and turn. I assume this is not normal?

The rubber boots on the CV joint, ball joints, and all the others are broken. I decided to put some moly lithium grease on/in them. No grease gun, so I just used my fingers. This helped the horrible squeaking/creaking but did not get rid of it entirely. Specifically, the steering squeaks when I am sitting in the car, but not when I stand on the ground and reach in to turn the wheel.

Thoughts? Am I putting myself at a serious safety risk by driving this car in this condition? I only need this car for a few more months and I don't really have the money right now for repairs. But if I'm risking a loss of control accident, I will have to figure something out.

 

Nobody can tell you when the ball joints will fail, so you are at risk of injuring yourself or others when driving this vehicle.

The boots are replaceable, so any ball joint that is still tight can get a new boot and grease. Loose ball joints like the tie-rod end should be replaced. If you go to the effort to replace the boots, then you are a few bolts away from doing the CV joint and just replacing the ball joint(s). Difficult call on what to do since your budget is tight.

DIY saves you money. I grew up in your region of the country, so removing any suspension stuff is potentially much harder as road salt causes rust making fasteners hard to remove. I bought my TSX in Cleveland, and when I had a Houston shop replace the clutch, the mechanic asked me where this car came from. He told me a few 12mm bolts are now 11mm!