New member question
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Intermediate
Joined: Mar 2020
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From: Spartanburg sc
New member question
Just bought a 2002 c5 with the six speed. I love the car and it's a blast to drive but I have a vibration when I get to 60 mph. It's not that bad but it's definitely noticeable. I have seen on you tube horror stories abut the torque tube and the damage they can cause. It has 82000 miles on it and I was wondering if this is something that I should have checked or could there be something else causing the vibration. Is their someway to confirm that it is the torque tube or do you have to take it apart to diagnose the problem.
Pro
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From: Carol Stream (Chicago suburbs) IL
I'd say don't panic. I have an '01 manual and I noticed a bit of a harmonic vibration at constant highway speeds several months ago. I jumped to thinking the worst- harmonic balance or torque tube. But my first step was to get the wheels/tires checked and it turned out my driver's side rear wheel had thrown a 1/4 ounce wheel weight. Believe it or not, that was it. So I would start with the wheels and tires (if you haven't already ruled that out).
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From: Morristown New Jersey
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Discount tire can do it. Tire balancing is not that big of a deal. There are many things that can cause vibrations. I get super OCD over sounds and vibes too. I typically jump to worst case and drive people crazy with it.
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Tire balancing is where I would start too. Any tire shop could do this and probably do a better job than the dealership as tire shops do it for there only job. I've had great luck with Discount Tire. I trust them with my expensive and rare rims.
Best wishes
Best wishes
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AMEN! I have some creaks that are more pronounced in cold weather. Not sure what they are but I’d like to find them. I’m thinking about greasable end links?
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These cars are getting older. I'd look at all of your bushings, greaseable links, and suspension parts. There is all kinds of threads out there on here and tech that will help you work through all of the creaks and noises that these cars make as they age and what routine maintenance to do in order to stay on top of it. Mine is getting new tie rod ends and bushings as we speak. I figured that since I had it up to do the headers, I would investigate the steering clunk that I have and found the front and rear tie rods to have play in them on the left side. So what started as a header install has turned into a "let's fix all of this while it's in the air" project. Enjoy the car.
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First, welcome to the Forum and congratulations on your C5!
Agree with the others; start with the simplest and work your way from there. Tire balance is probably the most simple place to start..
Did you get to test drive the car before purchasing? If no vibration at 60mph during your test drive, but you have it now, a thrown wheel balance weight is the likely culprit.
You didn't say, but does the vibration lessen as you accelerate past 60? If so, that probably again speaks to wheel balance.
Try matching your 60mph engine RPM at a slower speed (60mph in 6th gear is about 1500rpm, so drop down to 4th or 5th and keep a steady 1500rpm. If the vibration is gone, it most probably is wheel/tire balance. If you have vibration in other gears at the same 1500rpm, then your problem is either engine or drive train related).
Hopefully this gives you a good starting point for diagnosing your problem.
Best wishes for a simple and inexpensive fix!
Agree with the others; start with the simplest and work your way from there. Tire balance is probably the most simple place to start..
Did you get to test drive the car before purchasing? If no vibration at 60mph during your test drive, but you have it now, a thrown wheel balance weight is the likely culprit.
You didn't say, but does the vibration lessen as you accelerate past 60? If so, that probably again speaks to wheel balance.
Try matching your 60mph engine RPM at a slower speed (60mph in 6th gear is about 1500rpm, so drop down to 4th or 5th and keep a steady 1500rpm. If the vibration is gone, it most probably is wheel/tire balance. If you have vibration in other gears at the same 1500rpm, then your problem is either engine or drive train related).
Hopefully this gives you a good starting point for diagnosing your problem.
Best wishes for a simple and inexpensive fix!
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Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Mar 2020
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From: Spartanburg sc
Just a follow up on my vibration issue. Took the corvette to discount tire and had my tires balanced. The guy balancing the tires said that one of my wheels seemed to be a little bent but he thought he could balance it out. When he got through I took it for a ride on the interstate and the balancing helped a lot. Still a little bit of vibration but a lot better than what it was. I may look at replacing the bad wheel in the near future. Thanks to those that gave there input to help me solve my vibration problem.
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Racer
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I'd say don't panic. I have an '01 manual and I noticed a bit of a harmonic vibration at constant highway speeds several months ago. I jumped to thinking the worst- harmonic balance or torque tube. But my first step was to get the wheels/tires checked and it turned out my driver's side rear wheel had thrown a 1/4 ounce wheel weight. Believe it or not, that was it. So I would start with the wheels and tires (if you haven't already ruled that out).
You may also want to have the wheels (all four) aligned, once you replace your wheel.
Last edited by Big_George_S; Apr 2, 2020 at 01:50 PM.
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