Shaking Problems
April 28th, 2010, 11:46 AM
#1
CF Beginner
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Shaking Problems
Generic title, but I don't know for sure what it is so I can't be more descriptive there, but I'll be as descriptive as I can here.
First off, car is a 1994 Beretta Z26. Engine is the V6 3100 SFI. Car has about/a little under 106,000 miles on it.
I got the car recently. The long story short is, I bought it used and it was a lemon. The girl claimed this and that, a nice list of recent repairs, and said everything was in top shape except "it being a little loud" (needs a new muffler, it's full of holes, but doesn't sound "that" bad). Anyway, it ended up having many things wrong with it, but it's okay if it doesn't last forever. I paid $1,000, so if I can solve this one problem I'm having here, I'll be fine with it (I'm going to take her to court, well, try, she's in the military, and either get the initial $1,000 back, or have her cover the costs I had to pay to get it running up to what she claimed). In the meantime, I'm stuck with this car, and it has some shaking problems.
Anyway...
The car has some shaking issues, and I will describe them.
The first is, between roughly 45MPH-55MPH, the whole car shakes constantly (and pretty badly). It can be felt through the steering wheel. It feels and sounds like it is coming from the front passenger side. Once above roughly 55MPH-60MPH, it sort of goes away. When the weather is colder, this vibration can start at 40MPH or even as low as 35MPH, so weather/temperature is affecting it. Also, if I have my foot on the accelerator when it begins to start around 45MPH, it seems to lessen the vibration (but this obviously negated as I go faster and the shaking gets worse). If I "punch it" through this speed range, such as entering a freeway, the shaking is not really noticeable. It's just when normally accelerating, coasting, or decelerating through this range. Someone mentioned it could be a worn inner CV joint. That could be, but I read up on that, and that's supposed to introduce a thunking/clicking, namely when turning. My car does not do any of that, so could it still be the CV joint? My stepfather says it might be tie rods too. Clues? However, when I turn right, and only sharply to the right, the front passenger wheel makes a "grinding" noise.
The second is, once you go about 60MPH or higher (so, highway speeds), a new type of shaking occurs. Rather than the whole car shaking constantly, it seems to do so in a "pattern". It's hard to describe, but it shakes, then stops, then shakes, then stops, etc., etc. TRhe shaking is also not as bad, so rather than the whole car violently shaking, only the front end/steering wheel do a bit. The one is strangely sort of opposite to the above problem in where instead of it shaking during decelerating and the shaking being helped by acceleration, it's the other way around. If I accelerate or push the gas to keep a constant speed around 60MPH-70MPH, it does the shaking. If I let off the gas and decelerate, the car is smooth as a whistle. I think that leads me to believe it's not the wheels, tires, balance, and/or alignment, but I could be wrong. It almost goes away about 75MPH, not fully, but does not get worse with speed increases. It's hard to remember if this one goes away because I only took it up to 80MPH once, and it was "almost" fine then, but I'd rather not have to do 80MPH+ in a 60MPH zone.
However, I hope I gave enough symptoms to these problems.
So, to summarize:
The front passenger side shakes the whole car badly/constantly through 45MPH-55MPH (happens at lower speeds when colder). It can be felt through the steering wheel.
The seemingly entire front end of the car shakes/rattles subtly and in a pattern at 60MPH+. The shaking is not as bad as the shaking occurring during the lower speed range. It can be felt through the steering wheel.
The front passenger side makes a grinding noise, no clunking/thunking at all, when making the most tight right turns, like into a parking lot/driveway. Normal turns, like on roads, emit no such noise from the tire.
The previous owner claims the struts, shock, and ball joints have been replaced within the last year. I recently replaced the (badly rusted/warped) rotors and the pads.
If I can fix these two issues, I'd be fine with the car. I had a Corsica first, wrecked it a bit (the trunk/bumper is smashed, but it still drives very well), and wanted a Beretta afterward. It has other problems, like being rusty, one of the dash lights fading/going out unless I hit the dash, having to had to fix the serpentine belt and paying ~$85 for it, and the heat/AC only coming out of the vents facing towards you despite the **** set to, say, help heat the windshield during colder months. I'm going take it around and see what some shops say, but some advice from here would help too to narrow it down, add clues for the shops, and to know if a shop is trying to rip me off.
P.S. Chevy, bring back the Beretta!
First off, car is a 1994 Beretta Z26. Engine is the V6 3100 SFI. Car has about/a little under 106,000 miles on it.
I got the car recently. The long story short is, I bought it used and it was a lemon. The girl claimed this and that, a nice list of recent repairs, and said everything was in top shape except "it being a little loud" (needs a new muffler, it's full of holes, but doesn't sound "that" bad). Anyway, it ended up having many things wrong with it, but it's okay if it doesn't last forever. I paid $1,000, so if I can solve this one problem I'm having here, I'll be fine with it (I'm going to take her to court, well, try, she's in the military, and either get the initial $1,000 back, or have her cover the costs I had to pay to get it running up to what she claimed). In the meantime, I'm stuck with this car, and it has some shaking problems.
Anyway...
The car has some shaking issues, and I will describe them.
The first is, between roughly 45MPH-55MPH, the whole car shakes constantly (and pretty badly). It can be felt through the steering wheel. It feels and sounds like it is coming from the front passenger side. Once above roughly 55MPH-60MPH, it sort of goes away. When the weather is colder, this vibration can start at 40MPH or even as low as 35MPH, so weather/temperature is affecting it. Also, if I have my foot on the accelerator when it begins to start around 45MPH, it seems to lessen the vibration (but this obviously negated as I go faster and the shaking gets worse). If I "punch it" through this speed range, such as entering a freeway, the shaking is not really noticeable. It's just when normally accelerating, coasting, or decelerating through this range. Someone mentioned it could be a worn inner CV joint. That could be, but I read up on that, and that's supposed to introduce a thunking/clicking, namely when turning. My car does not do any of that, so could it still be the CV joint? My stepfather says it might be tie rods too. Clues? However, when I turn right, and only sharply to the right, the front passenger wheel makes a "grinding" noise.
The second is, once you go about 60MPH or higher (so, highway speeds), a new type of shaking occurs. Rather than the whole car shaking constantly, it seems to do so in a "pattern". It's hard to describe, but it shakes, then stops, then shakes, then stops, etc., etc. TRhe shaking is also not as bad, so rather than the whole car violently shaking, only the front end/steering wheel do a bit. The one is strangely sort of opposite to the above problem in where instead of it shaking during decelerating and the shaking being helped by acceleration, it's the other way around. If I accelerate or push the gas to keep a constant speed around 60MPH-70MPH, it does the shaking. If I let off the gas and decelerate, the car is smooth as a whistle. I think that leads me to believe it's not the wheels, tires, balance, and/or alignment, but I could be wrong. It almost goes away about 75MPH, not fully, but does not get worse with speed increases. It's hard to remember if this one goes away because I only took it up to 80MPH once, and it was "almost" fine then, but I'd rather not have to do 80MPH+ in a 60MPH zone.
However, I hope I gave enough symptoms to these problems.
So, to summarize:
The front passenger side shakes the whole car badly/constantly through 45MPH-55MPH (happens at lower speeds when colder). It can be felt through the steering wheel.
The seemingly entire front end of the car shakes/rattles subtly and in a pattern at 60MPH+. The shaking is not as bad as the shaking occurring during the lower speed range. It can be felt through the steering wheel.
The front passenger side makes a grinding noise, no clunking/thunking at all, when making the most tight right turns, like into a parking lot/driveway. Normal turns, like on roads, emit no such noise from the tire.
The previous owner claims the struts, shock, and ball joints have been replaced within the last year. I recently replaced the (badly rusted/warped) rotors and the pads.
If I can fix these two issues, I'd be fine with the car. I had a Corsica first, wrecked it a bit (the trunk/bumper is smashed, but it still drives very well), and wanted a Beretta afterward. It has other problems, like being rusty, one of the dash lights fading/going out unless I hit the dash, having to had to fix the serpentine belt and paying ~$85 for it, and the heat/AC only coming out of the vents facing towards you despite the **** set to, say, help heat the windshield during colder months. I'm going take it around and see what some shops say, but some advice from here would help too to narrow it down, add clues for the shops, and to know if a shop is trying to rip me off.
P.S. Chevy, bring back the Beretta!
Last edited by Kiwi76; April 28th, 2010 at 11:56 AM.
June 25th, 2013, 4:34 AM
#2
CF Beginner
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hi, I have the same problem on 1995 Chevy Beretta, did you figure out what the problem is??? I had one tire imbalance on the right side that cleared a lot of it up, but still shakes between 55 and 60 mph. CV shafts, wheel bearings, ball joints all check out. Maybe motor mount or engine misfire is causing the trouble??? Please reply. Thanks Bill
November 2nd, 2014, 8:39 PM
#3
CF Beginner
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Same issue
My 94 Chevy Beretta V6 3100 also has the same issue. Mine might just be something bent around the back tire but I'm going to take mine in next paycheck and see wut goin on. I'll reply with my findings. Did either of you figure out your problems?
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Outcastz89
Silverado & Fullsize Pick-ups
0
November 15th, 2007 12:21 AM
