89droptop

what could cause my car to shake when i am doing greater than 40mph and when i hit the brakes the front end shakes like mad. It was doing this when i bought the car and i thought that it was the struts (they were bad anyway) so i replaced them and the sway bar end bolts (which were missing). Now the problem still exists. The only thing i can think of is Maybe the springs. Any Ideas? Oh the car is an 1989rs convertible 305ci Tbi. Thanks sorry so long just wanted to make sure everything was said. Thanks again Richard.

CrazyHawaiian

sounds like it needs to be realigned. measure the distance from the ground to the body at each corner and if one corner is way different maybe a spring went bad. did you realign it since you bought it? to test the alignment, drive at 35 and slam the brakes .. if it pulls one way or the other alignment is off.

mrr23

brake rotors warped is why it shakes madly when braking. if the car pulls one way ir the other when hitting the brakes, it is not because it is out of alignment. you would have a caliper not engaging or a brake hose clogged. look into your brakes.

sIcK pUpPy

Warped rotors for the braking issue, but under driving conditions and shaking, check you front suspension parts for wear.

For example:
Center link
Inner/ Outer tie rod ends


I had a vibration just like you described and it turned out to be my front wheel bearings weren't corectly pre-loaded. Check them as well.

JD

mechanicalmehem

gee lemme think, the first thing i'd do is get the tires dynamically and statically balanced. Many of the 4X4 trucks that you see out there have the exact same problem, yes i realize that it is a different vehicle/type but i'd try that first, could be an easy fix, ya know.
Justin

sIcK pUpPy

I think the rest of us had made the assumption that was already tried. Good catch if that wasn't already addressed.

JD

89droptop

no i have not checked the tires yet, but would the car shake at high speeds if they were off balance? I checked the brake fluid and the fluid in the master cylinder is black an has debrie in it. So the first thing i am going to do is replace the fluid the bleed it. If that does not fix it I am going to Have the rotors checked and turned, after that replace the bearings and repack them. And if that doesnt work (cause so far everything is still cheap) I am going to change the springs after all of that i am going to get the front end re-aligned. It does need re-aligned cause it does pull to the left when i hit the brakes of course when it is not shaking. Thanks for all of the advise. I will post and tell you guys what it was. Richard Sorry for the long thread

ZZ28ZZ

Mine did that.
Replaced the center link ("drag bar" I think it's called) steering linkage under front end. It was sloppy where the tie rods connect.

89droptop

what do you mean sloppy I dont understand

sIcK pUpPy

If you are not mechanically inclined, take your ride to a shop that will do a free estimate and have them check for front end wear and bad wheel bearings. If everyting checks out ok, then have your tires balanced.

JD

ZZ28ZZ

Sloppy meaning there's play (a gap) between the the drag bar and the tie rod/s.
In other words, the drag bar starts to move and the tie rod, dosen't start moving at exactly the same instant; it's delayed.
When working properly, everything in the steering linkage assy should move together, with no play bewteen the pieces.
Get someone to cycle steering wheel back and forth while you watching the linkages. If there's play between them, you'll see it. Look closely. A bright light helps.

89droptop

thanks i will check that out

David Trimble

My '84 TA was doing the exact same thing. I rebuilt the LCAs- replaced the bushings and ball joints and the problem went away...