Unusual Vibration
Thread Starter
8th Gear
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
From: Virginia
Unusual Vibration
I just bought a 2008 Vette with less than 8,000 miles on it. I took it on a short road trip and when I got out on the highway I noticed a light vibration that came and went (pulsed) in 1 second intervals throughout the entire trip. At first I thought it may have been the road, but it was consistent regardless of the road surface. Then I noticed it subsided when I turned to the left and worsened a little when I turned to the right. It also became more noticeable the faster I went, but was not associated with engine RPM. I can feel the vibration through the steering wheel, the pedals, and the floor boards. It can be heard as well when the radio is off. All signs point to the start of a bad wheel bearing, any thoughts?
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 25,001
Likes: 2,701
From: Far NW 'burbs of Chicago
St. Jude Donor '13
A good start would be to check the bearings for looseness, and get your wheels/tires balanced; and the only good way to do that is on a Hunter Road Force Balancer. That machine will not only check the normal balance, it will also detect an out-of-round or out-of-true wheel/tire. Billy Bob will claim he can do just as well with his normal balancer, but he's lying.
Of course, be sure to have the tech do a good visual inspection on both the treads and the sidewalls of the tires. Plus the bearing check.
You can Google "Hunter Balancing Machine" and the company website has a locator so you can find a shop with the Road Force balancer. Caution- sometimes the machine may be broken and they will try to get by with just a regular balancer. Don't let that happen.
Let us know how it works out.
This can certainly be fixed.
Of course, be sure to have the tech do a good visual inspection on both the treads and the sidewalls of the tires. Plus the bearing check.
You can Google "Hunter Balancing Machine" and the company website has a locator so you can find a shop with the Road Force balancer. Caution- sometimes the machine may be broken and they will try to get by with just a regular balancer. Don't let that happen.
Let us know how it works out.
This can certainly be fixed.
Pro
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 689
Likes: 47
Wheel bearings. Exact same thing happened to me when I bought my 08. After 4 new wheels and tires, dealer finally changed front wheel bearings and all was well. It felt like I was driving on a washboard starting at 40mph and increasing with intensity as speed increased.
Edit: forgot to mention I had 3 dealers look at the issue and state "they could not replicate symptoms" before I got frustrated with one dealer and he got a second opinion and what do you know...I was right about it being wheels bearings based on searches on here and symptoms disappearing when I turned a certain way on the interstate. They simply did the "move the wheel back and forth" test and it showed no signs of being bad that way. Hope this helps
Edit: forgot to mention I had 3 dealers look at the issue and state "they could not replicate symptoms" before I got frustrated with one dealer and he got a second opinion and what do you know...I was right about it being wheels bearings based on searches on here and symptoms disappearing when I turned a certain way on the interstate. They simply did the "move the wheel back and forth" test and it showed no signs of being bad that way. Hope this helps
Last edited by MR_JLR; May 9, 2012 at 07:20 PM.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 943
Likes: 159
From: Brighton Mi
Wheel bearings. Exact same thing happened to me when I bought my 08. After 4 new wheels and tires, dealer finally changed front wheel bearings and all was well. It felt like I was driving on a washboard starting at 40mph and increasing with intensity as speed increased.
Edit: forgot to mention I had 3 dealers look at the issue and state "they could not replicate symptoms" before I got frustrated with one dealer and he got a second opinion and what do you know...I was right about it being wheels bearings based on searches on here and symptoms disappearing when I turned a certain way on the interstate. They simply did the "move the wheel back and forth" test and it showed no signs of being bad that way. Hope this helps
Edit: forgot to mention I had 3 dealers look at the issue and state "they could not replicate symptoms" before I got frustrated with one dealer and he got a second opinion and what do you know...I was right about it being wheels bearings based on searches on here and symptoms disappearing when I turned a certain way on the interstate. They simply did the "move the wheel back and forth" test and it showed no signs of being bad that way. Hope this helps
Thread Starter
8th Gear
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
From: Virginia
After reading your advice and MR JLR's situation I finally got the problem fixed. I first took the Vette to Carmax where I bought it because I still have the 30 day bumper to bumper warranty. They agreed with me after a test drive that the driver side wheel bearing was bad but told me to take it to a Chevy dealership because it was still covered under the factory powertrain warranty. So I took it to the one closest to me and they could not determine the problem. They never took it out on the highway, which is the only place to get the car fast enough to replicate the symptoms. They said they took a stethoscope to the bearings and did not hear a problem. So I took it to Rick Hendrick's Chevy dealership and they felt the symptoms I described and decided to change both bearings to take them out of the equation because they thought it might have been the CVs on the rear differential. Turns out it was the wheel bearings and now the car rides smooth like it is supposed to. Thanks you guys for the advice!
Pro
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 689
Likes: 47
After reading your advice and MR JLR's situation I finally got the problem fixed. I first took the Vette to Carmax where I bought it because I still have the 30 day bumper to bumper warranty. They agreed with me after a test drive that the driver side wheel bearing was bad but told me to take it to a Chevy dealership because it was still covered under the factory powertrain warranty. So I took it to the one closest to me and they could not determine the problem. They never took it out on the highway, which is the only place to get the car fast enough to replicate the symptoms. They said they took a stethoscope to the bearings and did not hear a problem. So I took it to Rick Hendrick's Chevy dealership and they felt the symptoms I described and decided to change both bearings to take them out of the equation because they thought it might have been the CVs on the rear differential. Turns out it was the wheel bearings and now the car rides smooth like it is supposed to. Thanks you guys for the advice!
