Mine was bad since I got the car. At first, like an unbalanced tire, it would vibrate at 55 to 65 MPH. So I replaced Rims and tires, I needed those anyway, struts, needed them, outer tie rods, you guest it! But still had that elusive vibration. Felt like the wheel was gonna come off. And then it got worse. The vibration started at 20 MPH. It was like driving a washing machine. 3 weeks ago I went to Pepboys and got the new axle. It was $62 + $10 core charge. It gave me a bit of a hassle, the I need CV joint came apart leaving g the cup in the Trans. Had to buy a 4' long Crowbar. But it was otherwise easy.
Now, 3 weeks later and because the car had this vibration for 18 months, I look for it to start vibrating every time I drive the car. Lol

 

Ouch...you're describing what I've been through. So you got the axle at pep boys? I was looking on rock auto at some of their axles but there seem to be horror stories about every brand except OEM. Is this typical people on the internet complaining or are non-OEM parts going to be a problem?

 

What speeds do you notice the shaking? High speeds or low speeds? Is it a violent shake or something not so noticeable? Is it mostly in the steering or do you feel it in the floor/seat? You can simply diagnose a vibration by answering these questions.

If it was a bad mount you would feel the engine shaking under idle.. It would even make a clunking noise if you were to brake torque the car. Assuming it is a broken mount. If it was a bad axle you would notice a clunking noise while making a turn, or it would have a wobble/hop while rolling @ 30km/hr or so (slow speeds). In most cases a brand new tire could have a shifted belt causing the vibration, also a bent rim will cause a vibration. The best way to diagnose this issue would be to raise the car up, disable TRAC and put the car in drive and have someone either inside or outside to eyeball the front wheels to see if it is in fact an axle or a tire/rim issue. I wouldnt accelerate more than 80 km/hr as it is known you can rip the CV apart. Usually before I balance a wheel I spin it on the machine and eyeball the rim to see if it is perfectly concentric, you can also check if a tire is bad on the balancer if it wobbles left to right and if it asks for more than 3oz of weights on one side of the rim. If your vibration is happening at high speeds I would suspect a tire issue. Check the front end carefully as well, have the car raised up and check the wheels to see if there is play in the tie-rods/ball joints/wheel bearings. 12 oclock + 6 oclock = wheel bearings, 3 oclock + 9 oclock = tie-rods and sometimes ball joints but essentially have someone check with you and grab the wheel everwhere and give it a quick shake just to eliminate the possibility. Check the rear wheels too, a vibration in the back will transfer through the car as well. Don't spend money if you don't have to.. Believe me I've made the same mistake. Good luck.

 

Yes I got it at Pepboys. No matter who you get it from it's going to do the same job. The complaints you see online may or may not be valid. Some people just have to complain. I don't know what brand my new axle is, I just know that other is doing it's job very well. As I said previously, I still did myself waiting for a vibration that isn't coming!

 

The axle will only make a clunking noise if the outer CV joint is bad. If the inner CV joint is bad it may or may not make noise. It is not affected by the turning of the wheel. It moves in and out to allow the suspension to move up and down over bumps and dips. The other thing is you can't drive on a bad outer CV joint for long. Just like a "U" joint, a bad CV outer CV joint will snap if driven on too long. A bad inner CV joint, due to it's construction, will just get worse and worse. But it will definitely feel like you are driving a washing machine in spin with an unbalanced load and a wobbling wheel. With this, if your suspension and tires are good, you will see NO excessive ware on the tires. It's not a motor mount. You would feel that when you put the car in gear. And if you excellorate hard you will see your Hood lift a little.
I'm betting this is a bad inner CV joint.

 

Well, finally got under the car to change oil and wiggled the axles. Passenger side is rock solid, driver has a slight bit of play accompanied by a clicking noise from the inner joint. Think I have located the problem. Would you agree?

 

Play in that inner joint will cause severe vibrations in the trans that make the entire car shake on that side. If you found play in the inner joint you found the source of your vibration. Replace the axle and your car will be good as new!

 

Sweet! I'm hoping this is a terribly urgent fix as it is Christmas and will take a bit for me to get to it. and when I say there was play, it was VERY minor-but more so than the passenger side. I'll post back once I finish and let you know the results!

 

Glad I could help. I just did Mine on the street. If you are doing it yourself I may be able to help if You need it. Mine cost me $63 at Pep Boys. If you have one near you. And they had it in stock. Good Luck and Safe Driving!!!

 

Just wanted to let you know-the inner CV was busted and that's what was causing the issues. The lower ball joint and tie rod are also going, it seems, so those are the next project. Luckily neither seem to be too hard (or expensive).