papapayne

So in my 84 z28 5.0 HO got a few problems suspension? or possiably drive train.

After about 55-65 MPh the car shakes real bad. Even after letting off gas still shakes. Asked around, some people said replace steel drive shaft with alum. others said crank/turning assembly out of balance others said motor mounts...any ideas? or how to narrow it down to know what to replace. Car only has 110 k on it so don't really want to dig into the rotating assembly....esp since is only a 305.

customblackbird

iTrader: (15)

umm could be drive shaft, i dont think engine bc it would be at that RPM at all times... say ur doin 2000rpms at 65mph and u have shaking... it would mean that all times u hit 2000rpms u would have the same shaking. i would say it has drivetrain/suspension as the problem. does it continue above 65mph? if thats the case i could be driveshaft, maybe a wheel out of balance or something. i wouldnt think motor mounts, it would have to be something that has to do with vehicle speed. parts that increase or decrease with speed and i would say parts that increase with speed is the prob. get your wheels checked.

rallysport383

Sounds like a wheel/tire out of balance. I have a truck with a bad tire on it and it does ok until I get to about 65mph and then it starts to vibrate.

papapayne

yeah it starts at 60-65 and will continue after that. Its gets worse the faster I go after 60.

85gulstrandTA

what is the last thing you did to the car before it started, or is it some thing that it just started doing?

91_5.7_TPI

iTrader: (2)

Start at the cheap end of the spectrum. Wheels/tires.

noroxus

iTrader: (1)

a driveshaft vibration would be a very fast vibration,almost a hum. your problem is almost certainly a wheel/tire

Holio

I have the same car as you and sounds like the same problem I fixed with an LS1 aluminum drive shaft. It was about $100 or so used.

85gulstrandTA

If the car did not shake b4, and then started shaking. Idon't see how the drive shaft would go out of balance. unless the u-joint are going bad then just check that would be free to do. if that is the problem then decide to get new u-joint or replace with aluminum. maybe the wheels have trown a wieght off of them. it is cheap to have wheel and tires balanced. Some time 4x4's will get mudd in the rims and do the same thing.....where you ouy four wheeling..lol

papapayne

nope no 4 wheeling lol. well not in the camaro anyway.

85gulstrandTA

check wheel bearing, a-arms, lug nuts, yoke from trans and rear,flex plate,balancer,rotor warped,engine miss,tire flat spotted, tire balance,u-joints. if it does it at a certain mph and not rpm then it is probly not an engine issue becuase it would do it at the same rpm. mine was the lower a-arm was loose, but found out when the castle nut and cotter pin came out.
what a ride...hopefully never again.

91_5.7_TPI

iTrader: (2)

Still, weights can come off and wheels/tires go out of balance due to normal wear. It shouldn't be much to have them done.

customblackbird

iTrader: (15)

not the flexplate or the balancer. already kno its not engine related bc it would happen throughout the engine RPMS. tire flat spotted is a no... that would make noise everytime the wheel turned. and a warped rotor doesnt mean anything until u step on the brake and u get the shutter... so its not that. not an engine miss either. i would say stick to the wheels/tires... around me its 25$ to mount/balance a tire... not sure how much for just balancing. now would be a good time to replace tires if your getting them balanced. when the wheels are off i would check the bearings as well... pull them out and check them and then regrease them. also make sure the ball joints arent bad etc.

neagan

iTrader: (7)

Have you put the front end up on jack stands and checked for any front end play? do you feel it at the steering wheel mostly OR most of the vibration at the front wheels? I've had steering box's do this when worn and loose wheel bearings. Iv'e also had cheap radial tires start to internally seperate. That you can see when the tire is up off the ground and spun by hand. Best of luck solving it!

Flip 2

iTrader: (1)

Could be the drive shaft is installed a hair out of position. I had that with a Monza I owned. I chased this, that, and the other for a couple of years. Then, on a clutch change (I think- it has been a WHILE) I got the install right, and no more wobble at 55-65.
U-joints are easy to check- grab the drive shaft and try to rotate- any play/clunking and a u-joint (or two) is out.
Generally, diveshafts out of balance, or badly out of whack, get worse as speed increases.
Good luck, there is no shortage of ideas ;-)

papapayne

lol yeah...lots of suggestions. the vibration is in the entire car so severe after 65 that you can visually see the dash shaking. also when I rotate wheel really far either way especially in parking lots it lets out really nasty squeels.

Stippy17

iTrader: (6)

Like said above check your front suspension. It may be something as simple as an Idler Arm. Mine shook at 60 mph, and after replacing the Idler Arm it went away.


As for the squeels, that is most likely because your low on power steering fluid.

papapayne

fluid is full used lucas power steering fix too...no improvement

gunner53227

I had a similar problem. My pinion gear was on its way out, it finally gave up and blew one day. I got rid of my stock 9-bolt and replaced it with a 10-bolt from a 94 camaro.

92camaroz28ss

iTrader: (1)

i have the same problem, but mine starts about 70 or 75, and have done these things thus far
- 4th gen aluminum driveshaft balanced with new u joints
- newidler arm (twice), center link, outer tierod ends, and sleeves
- new tires
- found and fixed 2 bent rims
- replaced rear drums with newly turned aluminum ones
- replaced axles with used ones guaranteed straight
- rotated tires - no difference
- adjusted pinion angle - this helped but did not take away all of shake
thats all i can remember right now - and i have been dealing with this for well over a year now

btw - have you found anything out yet for a solution?

91_5.7_TPI

iTrader: (2)

Rotating tires won't do anything to balance them.... Balancing them balances them. That's probably your vibration problem.

mark87Z28

We had the same problem. This weekend we replaced the front left rotor and wheels bearing ($50.00 autozone ) and the vibration problem was solved. Now we have only three more rotors to replace.

92camaroz28ss

iTrader: (1)

my tires were balanced twice when replaced a few months back, but i was thinking about road frocing them - im told it is a higher speed balancing and is supposed to be more accurate.

btw - how do you know if wheel bearings are bad?

63bravo!!

where did u get them balanced? some (most) places are using the same old single plane balancing. it works but now we have dual plane(up and down / side to side) also you can ride match your wheel/ tire at some places which does wonders. if they balance with side to side ask em to do up and down(if they cant they b s ing u its the only way to balance offroads without spending f***ing days on em lol)
also if you have aftermarket wheels and there universal they usualy have some gap inbetween the hub ring and the wheel a spacer will fix that wut its rare that that would be the prob

also look int a bent wheel or bald spot. (my friend thinks its funny to slam on his ebrake and i think its funny that his car vibrates so bad now that i get a massage in the back seat lol)

customblackbird

iTrader: (15)

you prob just have a frog holding on for dear life on the inside of your rim.... that would throw it off

mark87Z28

Take them out, clean, and inspect. You can compare them to new ones at the store. Also check the bearing races and the wheel spindle for wear.

BTW the outer bearing on ours showed normal wear as well as the race. I haven't checked the inner bearing. The spindle was a little discolored where the inner bearing rides. The wheels and tires were recently replaced with a good set. One of the old wheels was badly bent and I suspect the rotor had been damaged as a result of an unwanted road impact.

91_5.7_TPI

iTrader: (2)

lmao, yeah, I just caught that.


Just make sure when you reinstall, not to overtighten. Don't want to damage them if they are still good or new.