shimmy

[Guest imported_bcboy]

had front wheels balanced (twice) but my 89 shimmies at startup uptil 25/30mph then seems fine? Local mechanic says everything seems ok but is stumped! Could it be a bad tire?// it feels like a wheel is loose??????? any ideas? already had alignment done.

[porchdawg]

I have the same problem with my 91. If I find out whats up I will let you know. and if you do please let me know?

[Willhelm Reichert]

You need "Hemi dude" on this. 25 isn't wheel balance. I worked in tires for 15? years?? Some ideas. There are still some stupid nylon tires being sold. they will vibrate till warmed up. Too large a splice in belts will cause a hard spot...no way to confirm except eliminate all other possibilites.

The tread could be coming loose (aka Firestone specialty even 40 years ago) You will see flat spot in tire if it's been doing it awhile. You will hear a thwaap, thwaap, thwaap going down the highway with the windows down and another car next to you to bounce the sound back.

On the mechanical side, a sagging passenger motor mount will put extra strain on the cv joints. I had one collapse just AFTER getting off highway (thank God) It tore up the right driveshaft and shook the whole car violently till I stopped.

The differential in the transmissions are known to fail on these cars if abused. the fix is simple if caught in time.

My guess is a cv joint going out.

[Guest imported_bcboy]

thanks for the info....my shimmy does not go away when the tires are warmed up but is only felt at low speed ( startup). Also I don't get the clicking noise I am told cv joint makes when failing......still searching

[Willhelm Reichert]

It's 12:32 here is St. Louis. I just got up because the spirits told me. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

There it was. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

The answer from the great Hemi dude where the sun sets 2 hours later. His post time was 10:22. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

" [color:"red"] The last line says it! "My guess is a cv joint going out." Most likely INNER TRIPOD joint failing on one of the shafts. This is what beginning failure feels like.

Hemi... "

The gods in the land of sun and surf have spoken. Get the guilty driveshaft replaced. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

[Willhelm Reichert]

Ask your mechanic how come a piano tuner knew. Don't tell him where I live though.

[Guest imported_bcboy]

one last question from one who knows little or nothing about mechanics...is this life threatening ..... is the driveshaft available for the tc......is the cost high?. Just went through a long (but finally successful) search for a coil spring. Is this the beginning of the end (or how do I explain this to my wife)

Thanks again for your info and help

[Richard Smith]

I would check to see if either front tires has a large wheel weight. I had new tires installed and had a very bad shimmy at 35 mph. They had spun balanced to 75 mph. One of the tires was egged shaped. Smooth at 60 - 70, yet very bad at 35. They claimed there was nothing wrong with the tires. I had them place the car on the hoist and had a tape measure with me. We slowly spun the tire with a very large wheel weight on it and saw a 1/4 inch variance (from the floor to the bottom of the tire) as we spun the tire thru one revolution. I hope that helps. Rich Smith

[Willhelm Reichert]

A Napa parts store should be able to get a rebuilt one. I don't tnik too much of the parts at the chain stores. I have nicknames for them such as Autostoned, The fishin' hole, etc. (The fishin' hole is gonna take some deep thought)

Tell your wife the cost is 1/2 one payment on the BMW that you didn't want.