suloh

Just had my front tires balanced on the Hunter 9700 machine but vibration is still there. Had an alignment done yesterday but car still pulls to the right (the alignment printout showed that alignment was pretty much in spec to begin with)..

Vibrations starts at about 50 mph and gets worse as speed increase. Also if you try braking from say 80 mph, I get major vibration (you can see steering wheel moving left and right. But if you try braking from 40 mph, there is just a slight vibration. I do not think it is a warp brake rotors because at low speeds brakes feel pretty good even if you use them hard. Also the vibrations are felt in the steering and not the brake pedals.

BTW when i bought the car, the right front tire was very badly worn but the left front tire wasn't as bad. and yet when I did the alignment, the alignment was pretty much in spec.

So what's next - the dreaded control arm bushings?? Car already has 200K so I am looking to use the car another 30K max and as such I just need the least expensive fix. Also, I do not take corners hard and stuff like that. Just highway cruising at 70 to 80mph.

muldrick

Whoever did the alignment should've checked all the front-end and suspension components FIRST. That's where it would seem like there's an issue. Didn't they check this stuff first??
Don't just replace stuff, find out what needs replaced.

mtsao

Almost certainly the issue here is that your brake is dragging on one side, which a) causes the pulling to that side, and b) causes the rotor on that side to warp, due to heat generated from continuous friction. This in turn is what's causing your severe vibrations when you brake. The fact that your brakes feel good/normal at lower speeds does not rule out a problem--warped rotor symptoms are especially difficult to 'feel' until you are at highway speeds.

If you are still skeptical that this is related to your brakes/rotors, then consider that you've already balanced the tires and you've performed an alignment, both to no avail.

If you are at all DIY-inclined, there are numerous step-by-steps on CL that will guide you through how to remove and replace/resurface the brake rotors.