Car shakes when it goes over 70 mph

[maddogchen]

I drive a Nissan Maxima 1996. This week the car started shaking when I drove over 70 mph. I especially feel the shaking through the steering wheel. When I slow down to 60-65 mph I don't notice any shaking.

I'm going to take the car to the mechanic Saturday, but just wanted to get any ideas on what could it possibly be? My guess is I need a wheel alignment/balance?

In the meantime I guess I'll save gas by driving slower.

 

[imhungry]

Same thing happens with my '95 Accord

 

[woodie1]

I suspect you have a wheel out of balance. Or did you hit a curb recently and bend a rim.

 

[maddogchen]

i have not hit any curbs recently and I have checked the tires they seem fine.

 

[woodie1]

Originally posted by: maddogchen
i have not hit any curbs recently and I have checked the tires they seem fine.

A bad pot hole can bend a rim too. Hopefully it is just a balance problem though.

 

[Elstupido]

More than likely a balance weight got thrown, check your wheel balance first. Could be other problems, such as front end components, but unlikely

 

[cmf21]

My parents 2000 Lesabre recently started shaking around 40-55. Turned out the front axles were shot. The plunge joints were very worn and one was just hanging there. They also had 2 broken strut mounts.

 

[punjabiplaya]

Originally posted by: woodie1
I suspect you have a wheel out of balance. Or did you hit a curb recently and bend a rim.

My guess too.

 

[LTC8K6]

Most likley a tire problem. Either balance or damage. You can have a belt problem which affects the balance of the tire but is not visible to you, for example.

It could be a suspension problem too.

 

[StageLeft]

I've had this before, it was old tires that had gotten out of balance.

 

[klod]

I had a tire that had the tread starting to seperate. Could only be felt at highway speeds, and it looked fine.

 

[funboy6942]

Too much fix a flat in a tire will cause the balance to go off big time, if you used anything like that. But I would suspect, tie rods/ball joints, or lose rack on a car that old.

 

[maddogchen]

alright, gonna go take it in tomorrow to get it checked. Thanks for the information, appreciate it.

 

[Bignate603]

If the tires check out see if they have the ability to check your alignment. It's less likely that it's that, but it's possible if it's really screwed up.

 

[Vic]

And the result? My bet is something a bit more serious, like tie rod ends. Out of balance tires or bent wheels tend to show up earlier than 70 and go away (by harmonizing 'out') not long after. If you're still shaking after 80, it's usually something more serious.

 

[bruceb]

Could be anything from Tie Rods, Ball Joints, Bad Shocks or Shock Mount Bearing Plates,
Motor or Tranny Mount broken, tires not balanced or out-of-round, tire belt seperation (in
which case only fix is new tires) and rims can be dented on the inner surface where you
can't see it.

 

[The Green Bean]

same happens with my grandmom's 2005 accord :S ... Too bad I never get to go over 70mph 99% of the tiem

 

[maddogchen]

took it to my local mechanic. they took a look at it and said they didn't see anything wrong with the joints or shocks, etc. They balanced the tires and did a wheel alignment and from the report I guess it was the wheel alignment cuz a few of those numbers were red, out of range.

Drove it around on the highway and drove 70-80 and no more shaking.

thanks

 

[ElFenix]

alignment usually causes a pull. i think the balance fixed your shaking problem.