Wheel vibration/hop

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

1998 Saturn sedan. FWD

Front-left tire has bounce/hop between 45 - 70 MPH

Hop goes away when turning/curving to the left

Characteristic of a tire that is out-of-round but I switched tires.

When I had the car up and tire on, I shook the tire holding at the 12 and 6 o'clock positions to check wheel bearings. Negative.



Suggestions for diagnosis?

[Eupher]

Do you have your original struts on the car? Check for leakage, especially around the top of the struts and give each side of the front end a good up-and-down run to check for bounce/sway.

Tie rods might be worn. Probably only good way to check that is to have the mechanic check for looseness or play.

Ditto ball joints.

In short, it's probably time for a good all-round front end inspection. Boots might be leaking too and while that won't explain the bounce, all that that stuff adds up after awhile.

[Chris_]

Try moving left-right while hoding the wheel or rotor at 9-3.

Replacement tie rod ends usually come with the ball joint included.

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so0vL-ZOwY8&feature=related[/youtube]

[Odin's Hand]

Sounds like the caster is off.

[TVDOC]

Vibration problems such as you describe can be particularly difficult to diagnose.  Assuming that your suspension is tight and properly aligned as described above, the most frequent condition causing a vibration at your stated speed range is one of your prop shafts or CV joints is out of balance, and they can even come that way out of the box, so wear isn't always the issue.

These symptoms can also be caused by a bent spindle or wheel, or even something as innocous as a "flat spot" on a tire, caused by an emergency stop.

Most new car dealerships have a set of instruments that conduct a "frequency analysis" on vibration issues while the car is being driven, and point the technician toward where the problem lies.......unless it's something simple, that procedure is what I'd suggest.

doc

[IassaFTots]

You still have it???     Could it possibly be related to the earlier accident?

(Saturn owner, and former fan) 

I had a similar issue with my 2000 SC2.  After strut and shock replacement, along with a front end alignment and new tires, the problem resolved itself.