Well here goes a long post. had a good workweek that ended with a call off due to flying off the highway into a ditch. Took to gm for a visual insp and they said it was all good. I have not done my own thourough inspection yet. I did not notice the vibration untill i went back to work due to a fairly decent long drive to work. The car front end seems to vibrate when turning left. More noticeable at high speeds. Even just a slight left veer makes it vibrate. When i veer the steer wheel ever so slightly right it goes away. The vibration is more like a out of balance wheel type instance. Its like a womp womp womp sound exactly like a bad tire, bent rim, etc. Braking doesnt seem to play a factor in the problem.

What i have done
Disconnected tie rod ends from knuckle and checked for axial play of inner tie rod ends. No play was felt. Looked over control arms, struts, brakes, calipers, sway bar, and related area. Nothing visually wrong. Swapped front wheels with a different set. Problem still present.

My plan is to take it to get alignment checked. If alignment needs adjusted then i will have to see after i drive it a bit. If alignment is bad most likely struts or knuckles. The questions come after if the alignment checks good as to what to do.

I am thinking if alignment checks good and problem still persists changing wheel bearing hub assys first. They are still factory original at 110k on the car. The second possibility is the cv axles. I have no experience or even a clue about problems with these. Has anyone actually had the cv axles go bad? Furthermore i read on a post here that if you hear a clicking noise when turning it means the cv axles are bad. Does anyone know if this is true? My monte has had that clciking noise since i bought it at 42k. Just figured out it was something with the steering this year when i did a power steering flush and added a filter. I wrote it off as normal cause i think the steer rack backlash is adjusted extra tight. The steering is tight and i love that.

Has anyone had a similiar vibration problem? Anyone got any ideas for what to do if my plan above does not fix it? Gota figure out what to do so i can do it quickly as i only have 2 cars and as of now both are broke in different ways.
Would appreciate any help......

 

Sounds like a good plan. I agree with getting an alignment first. Any time you hit the ditch you can expect to need an alignment. Hopefully that's all it is. The clicking from a CV usually happens in low speed turns. Could also be a tire out of balance.

 

So the clicking is a normal thing then? Eliminated tires by swapping with different wheels with different tires. So tired of paying 90 bucks for an alignment. Here lately i have been running into probs with both cars where its almost back to back alignments. Just changed tie rod ends and had aligned the week before i took it into the ditch. Wish there was a surefire way to align it manually.

 

No. Clicking is not normal, that could be wheel hubs which often wear out after 100-120k miles. You may want to replace them because they will probably be worn out soon anyway if not already. Just saying the "clicking" noise caused by bad CV axles in usually heard in SLOW turns as opposed to fast ones and the sound is a "click, click, click" as opposed to a "womp, womp, womp". The "click is probably there at higher speeds, it's just hard to hear over engine and road noise. A noise heard when turning left would indicate a bad passenger side CV joint because the weight shifts to the right when turning left, and visa-versa for the driver side when turning right. Check the rubber boots for tears that allow dirt to get in, contaminate the grease and ruin the bearings. You might see small globs of dirty grease under the boots. If you do replace CV axles you will need an alignment afterward.
Here's a couple good videos about CV axle problems:
1. 2.
"Clicking" can also come from bad strut mount bearings, or ball joints. The vibration could be any one of the above or misalignment, but alignment would be the first thing I would check after hitting the ditch.
Unfortunately, there is no way to do an accurate alignment without an alignment rack.
Please keep us posted

 

Take a good look at the axles, probably the left one is bad. I did not hit a ditch but mine started vibrating when I turned left. I replaced the left front axle and the problem went away. And like plumbob said, clicking aint normal. CV joints and axles don't always click when they are bad but if they are clicking might as well change them. Its money well spent if you have a good mechanic you trust or even do it your self.

 

I would bet on either the cv axles or hubs. I had an 03 mcss that would dam near shake your teeth out when turning. Got to the point that with any acceleration I would feel a vibration. Take foot of the gas and vibration disappeared. The axles looked fine visually, the rf hub had a tick of slop in it. While I had it apart I just changed both hubs and axles. Took about 3 hours, wasn't hard. But I had tools and mechanically inclined.
Put her back together, drove like a Cadillac. My issue was rf but I figured while I had one side apart might as well do the other.
Amazon had hell of a buy on ac delco hubs at the time think was like 70$ each. I just got the axles at local Napa, new we're only 60$ or so.

 

Well thanks for the reply guys. Boy what a list of damage. Every fairing on the front of the car is cracked including the bumper. Plan on plastic welding all the panels as they seem to be made of abs plastic including part or all of the bumper. However the bumper is distorted/dented. I was able to hit the dent out with a hammer but its still distorted. Aside from trying heat and rework i have no idea how or if i am going to be able to undistort the bumper. In other news the carriage is bowed on the rh side but no welds are cracked and its only on the bottom side of the triangle type main beam extrusion outside edge. I dont think it will affect the car structuraly so il prob leave that go. The cv joints on both sides have axial slop in and out. Have no idea if thats normal. No noticed play in the hubs by moving tire with car on jacks. I can not at this point test the struts untill the wife gets home to move the wheel while i watch. The lh motor mount is cracked in half on one side prob 1/4 of the mount so i will have to replace that im sure that plays a role in the vibration. The control arms are nearly rotted through at the aft carriage bushing. There is no longer metal all around the bushing but a huge gap on bottom fwd side. Might be normal gm but i know aftermarket isnt as i changed them on my grand prix.

So untill i can test the struts 2 questions.

1.is axial play in and out on the cv shafts normal?
2. How or is there a way to undistort the abs plastic front bumper?

Appreciate the replies so far. Eh what a nightmare. And this is only what i found upon inspecting from the doors forward who knows what fun the a#! of the car will bring...

 

And i already got an alignment. It aligned all godd except rear left toe.

 

Ok. Further testing of cv axle from video above. Not only does it have axial play in and out but if i grab the axle and pull up and down it has play and clicks that way too. Looks like its the box to the transaxle. If i grab the inner box or joint i beleive its called and move it up and down i can visually see the box moving loose in the transaxle.

 

Well just welded all the fairings back together. Was able to undistort bumper with heat gun and constant working it with a body working tool. Seems to be holding shape. Plastic welded the bumper. That seems to hold. Now contouring and getting it smooth not so easy. Prob will have to use epoxy or bondo to put a coating over the plastic weld material that wont sand smooth and likes to peel. Then i guess ill blend the epoxy or bondo. Then comes paint. Bet that will look crappy. Body shop im guessing will want 300 or more even with the bumper off the car