• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

YACT: 94 Prizm shakes like crazy when turning right and accelerating

V

VTEC01EX

Senior member
Here's the deal: My girlfriend has a 94 Geo Prizm LSi (Toyota Corolla). The car drives fine except when turning the wheel to the right and hitting the gas, it shakes. Not a little "wheel out of balance" shake, but a much more pronounced "What the hell is that" kind of shake. Turning left and accelerating is fine, as is turning right without accelerating. I'm afraid something's going to break, leaving her (or me) stranded. What could this possibly be? Oh yeah, 170K miles on the ticker. No other major problems, other than some light oil consumption.
 
could be alot of things, maybe the wheels are way out of alignment, or maybe a wheel is loose (very bad) Could be a steering linkage problem too, so take it to the shop and get them to drive it and see what they think...... if its bad and you loose a front wheel or steering capability while driving your screwed, so go get it checked
 
It's not a loose wheel, and the car is out of alignment now after a pothole-laden winter. It was shaking when perfectly aligned as well. I'm getting it checked out this week, just want to get an idea of what I might be in for.
 
I actually had a tire do this before - the steel belting in the tire was actually broken. If you spin the tire you could actually see the treads "ripple" back and forth in a couple spots on the tire.

At around 45MPH the tire would actually bounce on the road and sounded like I was riding on rumblestrips.
 
It's got new tires on it - and it did it on the old tires too. I had a tire do this to me once too, and this car needed new tires anyway, so I had my fingers crossed that the problem would go away with new rubber. As I read up on CV joints, it's looking like thats what the problem is. Hopefully it's not crazy expensive.
 
I would say CV joint. You can get rebuilt ones or get one from an auto dismantler (junkyard).

They are not that hard to change. At autozone.com they should have a full explanation, with pics 🙂

You said that it did it before the tire change, so that ones OK.
 
Inner CV join on that side. Toyotas are easy to change. Losen up the axle bolt 30mm losen the tire bolts jack it up high and support with stands unbolt the joint from the trannie take off the axle bolt push it in pull down and then pull it out of the hub (probably need a pully or screw the bolt on and tap it in) have fun! some were along the line don't forget to remove the tire 😀
 
I would assume it's not something as simple as the tire spinning (as in a peelout/burnout kind of spinning)?
Does it do it under light acceleration?
 
Yeah, it does it under any kind of acceleration. If I had a garage or lived in a state that had decent weather for the next week, I'd probably attempt this one. Luckily I've got a friend at a shop who cuts me a good deal (if he wants me to fix his computer). What are the consequences if this part should completely fail?
 
Sounds like a bad CV joint or wheel bearing. It could run $200 to $400 depending on parts and labor requirements.
 
If it totally fails and brakes you will not move anymore. I have never seen the inner joint break but the outer ones will do it quite often. Fix it now before you have a big towing bill.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top