My 95 has recently developed an intermittent shimmy/vibration. This is a new issue that has just recently developed. The car is an automatic and has just over 61,000 miles on it. This is Z07 equipped and I put Kuhmo 712s on it around 6,500 miles ago but the vibration just started within the past 200 miles.

The car did receive some trauma about a month ago as I hit a pothole on interstate while running about 55 mph. I hit it hard enough that it bent the rear rim and I had that rim straighted at a local shop that does a lot of work on Corvettes. With this in mind I'm wondering if the car now needs aligned and if this could be causing my problem.

The strange thing is that I cannot come up with any common factor for when this happens and it is not a constant or consistent vibration. At times the car is perfectly smooth at anywhere up to 85 mph (not that I would do this on public roads of course). It also doesn't seem to matter whether there is a steady throttle applied or if coasting. The vibration can take place at anywhere from around 80 mph down to 60 mph but never lower than that.

Post the start of this issue the tires have been balanced and rotated and since then the tires have been rotated back to their original position. I am thinking about getting some new shocks on order this weekend but I would really appreciate any and all thoughts concerning what is or might be causing this vibration.

Any thoughts or feedback will be greatly appreciated...
Thanks

 

ttt

 

It sounds like the CAMBERS are out of whack! I had a jetta that had the exact problem.

 

The tire that was on the bent rim was it ever replaced??? If not that may be the culprit....I would also check that shock.

 

Thanks. No the tire was not replaced. That wheel and tire are on the back. That's where it was when it got bent. The shock looks fine.

I am taking it in this morning to have the alignment checked. I will see if it is within spec.

Thanks again.

 

Alignment will usually not cause a vibration or shimmy unless it is so far out of whack that you can see the tire has moved.

I went through the same issue with my car at the same mileage (but not the pothole) Turns out the problem were the worn out shocks. They could not control the tire motion and it across as a shimmy.

So I would check the shocks for leaks, if they are the original Bilsteins I would replace them ( I did a set of KYB's from Summit Racing for $128.75, drives like a new car). I would also suspect the tire may have suffered internal damage and cannot hold it's shape as the speed and tire temperature changes.

 

i had the same problem when i hit a curb with the rear (was really tired after a football game and wasn't paying attention) i had to get the alignment checked three times and the wheel bearing replaced (don't know if that had anything to do with it but it was loud)

 

Thank you for all the words of wisdom.

Found the source by process of elimination.

I had the wheels balanced last Friday at NTB (bought the Kuhmos from NTB with lifetime balance) in hopes to stop this shimmy and vibration. But didn't solve it.

I took it back into NTB today to have the alignment checked. Suspecting the wheel alignment since I had hit the pothole pretty hard. Everything fell into the specs. The guys gathered around and I described the symptoms that I was experiencing (I love being surrounded by men!). The decision was made that they would balance the wheels again. On Friday the guy(who wasn't there today) had static balanced the wheels and put the wheel weights on the inside of the rim.

Today, the guy balanced the wheels with tape weights, which the wheels had before except for the one that had been straightened about a month ago.

Driving the car home tonight, there is no shimmy and absolutely no vibration. Problem solved!!!!

I know that this can't be the solution for everybody experiencing this sort of thing, but this is how mine got solved.

Thanks again everybody!!! The forum is awesome!!!