Feels like its gonna shake apart
03-28-12, 11:19 AM
#1
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Feels like its gonna shake apart
I'm brand new to this forum. Have already found a lot of posts a great help. I have a '04 GS300. 125K Miles. I take extremely good care of my car. The engine is running fine as well as the transmission but I recently was on the highway, the wheel started shaking violently. I pulled over, thought I had a flat, nothing wrong with my tires, they're not even wearing uneven. It seems way to violent to be rotors or misalignment. I read some other posts about notorious problems with the GS and they mentioned the steering rack. I was also thinking maybe I have some break or shock issues because when I start from a light it creeks like an old machine trying to move for the first time in years!
I'm all ears. Let me know if I didn't provide enough info. Just trying to get some ideas. Scared to take it to the dealership, looking for a trustworthy mechanic who will use quality parts and has experience with toyota lexus. Thanks for all your help!
I'm all ears. Let me know if I didn't provide enough info. Just trying to get some ideas. Scared to take it to the dealership, looking for a trustworthy mechanic who will use quality parts and has experience with toyota lexus. Thanks for all your help!
03-28-12, 05:17 PM
#4
Get it liftedin the air and inspect ur bushings on the steering rack, caster arms, and lowerballjoints. I replaced all of these and now my steering wheel is solid at any speed. Best thing to do is a visual inpection before u start replacing stuff. My shakes could be different from urs and so on...
Could be missing a weight on a rim... Could be missing a few studs from the rotor... Could be a lot of anything
Could be missing a weight on a rim... Could be missing a few studs from the rotor... Could be a lot of anything
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04-11-12, 06:38 PM
#9
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Jack the front end up, grab the tire and give it a shake. Off out moves your control arm bushings are probably done. This was my case. Replace, align, enjoy
04-12-12, 08:43 AM
#10
Don't listen to negative nancy here, it IS curable.
Your biggest culprits will be the following:
-Lower Ball joints (search for pics on what happens when these fail..yeesh)
-Control arm bushings (upper AND lower)
-Tie rod ends (inner AND outer)
-Steering rack bushings
-Wheel Bearings
Do the creaks when taking off from a stop come from the front or rear? I'm assuming front as this is where your problem is. This also signifies a bushing issue.
-Lower Ball joints (search for pics on what happens when these fail..yeesh)
-Control arm bushings (upper AND lower)
-Tie rod ends (inner AND outer)
-Steering rack bushings
-Wheel Bearings
Do the creaks when taking off from a stop come from the front or rear? I'm assuming front as this is where your problem is. This also signifies a bushing issue.
04-22-12, 08:12 AM
#12
Keep replacing bad rims and tires with more bad rims and tires, and you'll continue to have shakes.
There are only two things that can cause vibration - unbalanced rims and tires (could be a simple fix by just getting a balance, but could be something more complex, such as a bent rim, out of round rim, out of round tire).
The other thing that causes vibration that is if your rim/rotor isn't properly installed onto the hub. People don't even realize how often it happens, but your rotors rust, and that rust gets between the rotor and hub, and rotor and rim, causing the wheels to wobble as you drive. When you repeatedly remove your rims, rust collects between the rotor and the hub, and you can't see it until you remove the rotor. I strongly suggest checking that.
The rest of the suspension could be completely shot and wont cause any vibration if the two things above are in proper order.
P.S. If the shake is extremely violent, could be stuck brake caliper.
There are only two things that can cause vibration - unbalanced rims and tires (could be a simple fix by just getting a balance, but could be something more complex, such as a bent rim, out of round rim, out of round tire).
The other thing that causes vibration that is if your rim/rotor isn't properly installed onto the hub. People don't even realize how often it happens, but your rotors rust, and that rust gets between the rotor and hub, and rotor and rim, causing the wheels to wobble as you drive. When you repeatedly remove your rims, rust collects between the rotor and the hub, and you can't see it until you remove the rotor. I strongly suggest checking that.
The rest of the suspension could be completely shot and wont cause any vibration if the two things above are in proper order.
P.S. If the shake is extremely violent, could be stuck brake caliper.
Last edited by Och; 04-22-12 at 08:15 AM.
04-23-12, 07:55 AM
#13
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Thanks everyone for your advice. I ended up replacing my lower control arms because uppers were recently replaced as well. Didn't fix the problem one bit. Had the car reinspected at 2 diff shops, got a free alignment and still nothing. Finally broke down and took it to the dealership, stuck brake caliper........Running beautifully, chalk the control arm repairs up to preventative maintenance now that I'm at 125K miles. Thanks again for all the suggestions.
04-23-12, 08:00 AM
#14
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Thread Starter
From now on, I will be asking you first......
Och,
You were dead on. It took the dealer to figure out the issue, got my brakes inspected twice. In Chicago with no reliable place to go but the dealer. Such a shame. I will be investing a lot of my time in the future learning as much as I can about my car because I will have it forever. I greatly appreciate your feedback and advice.
RAM
You were dead on. It took the dealer to figure out the issue, got my brakes inspected twice. In Chicago with no reliable place to go but the dealer. Such a shame. I will be investing a lot of my time in the future learning as much as I can about my car because I will have it forever. I greatly appreciate your feedback and advice.
RAM
04-28-12, 07:16 AM
#15
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mine just started the shakes as well and im leaning towards the brake caliper as well since all my suspension parts are replaced as well except inner tie rods and from what i researched the tranny mount can cause vibrations/shakes.