What are the different parts that could need replacing if my car shakes violently when going over 55? The ride is very smooth up until 55 and then it feels like the wheels are going to fall off. We thought it was the ball joints and replaced both front upper ball joints (the one definitely needed replacing, and although the other didn't we still replaced it). We tugged and pulled on the wheels while the front of the car was jacked up, and everything is tight now. I rarely use the thruway but it would be nice to be able to go 65 in a 65. I know that I need new shocks soon but I don't think the shocks that are making the car shake violently when driving 55....the reason for this is because when I hit bumps, the shocks still absorb the shock as they should.
Could you please list any parts of the front suspension that might be the culprit?

Thanks in advance

 

Swap tires around to see if the shaking moves. Sounds like out-of-balance tires.

There's 3 ball joints on each front wheel. Upper control arm, lower control arm, and steering rack. All 3 good??

 

Thank you for replying...I'll try moving the front tires to the back and the back to the front. I just replaced the ball joints on the upper control arm and the others looked fine.

Thanks again

 

Even if the boot looks fine, a balljoint can move inside it's socket. Depending on how you support the car, the balljoint might be under load so you don't see the movement.

Other possibilities can be loose suspension bushings, for example at the inboard end of the lower control arms.

 

I had an identical problem on my jeep wrangler. I spent over a grand trying to fix it, we rotated the tires, got new weights on the tires and replaced the tires. None of it worked. This is what fixed it..there's a bar that goes across the front of the jeep, where the suspension is(its horizontal, sorry for not knowing the name). Anyway, we replaced that bar and got new shocks which came with the bar. It cost about 150 for me and it fixed it perfectly. I hope this helps if you're still having the problem!

 

When this type of problem occurs please get the tire balance checked before you tear into anything more expensive i worked at sears auto center for a good amount of time and i always had to deal with stuff like this (them wanting me to replace a ball joint or tie rod end becuase it shakes after a certain speed).

 

Have fun with that. Its called death rattle by the way. Youtube it