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 98 RIV Left front shakes

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noteek1
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Name : jon keeton
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PostSubject: 98 RIV Left front shakes   98 RIV Left front shakes EmptyWed Jul 20, 2016 10:36 am

New member. First time posting. Good to be here. I have a 98 Riv. The left front wheel vibrates. I have changed, wheel bearings (both sides), new tires with high speed balancing, rotors and pads, half axles, the A frame on the left side. I put on two preloaded struts. This raised the front in pretty high which increased the shaking. It now vibrates while taking off, which it didn't before. The left front has always vibrated cruising down the Eway. It seems that when I brake, and the L front wheel grabs, and the entire front end shakes. I love my Riv. This is my 2nd one. The first was a 95. I sold it to a friend. He's still driving it with over 350K on it. Mine just rolled over 200K, and I want to drive it another 200K!  ANY suggestions are much appreciated.
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albertj
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PostSubject: Re: 98 RIV Left front shakes   98 RIV Left front shakes EmptyWed Jul 20, 2016 1:37 pm

noteek1 wrote:
New member. First time posting. Good to be here. I have a 98 Riv. The left front wheel vibrates. I have changed, wheel bearings (both sides), new tires with high speed balancing, rotors and pads, half axles, the A frame on the left side. I put on two preloaded struts. This raised the front in pretty high which increased the shaking. It now vibrates while taking off, which it didn't before. The left front has always vibrated cruising down the Eway. It seems that when I brake, and the L front wheel grabs, and the entire front end shakes. I love my Riv. This is my 2nd one. The first was a 95. I sold it to a friend. He's still driving it with over 350K on it. Mine just rolled over 200K, and I want to drive it another 200K!  ANY suggestions are much appreciated.






  • Bushings. If you have run the front control arms more than 100K without replacement, the bushings may be wack.  On the 96 you can replace bushings.  97 and later, you have to replace control arms. Don't buy crap parts...

  • High speed balancing is not adequate if the tech's average.  In my area the best balance I get is a static balance to 1/8 gram if necessary (2 - 1/4 oz at 90 degrees apart or some such).

  • MAKE SURE THE WHEEL TIRE ASSEMBLY IS ACTUALLY ROUND (it may not be, you have to measure it). If the runout is above a certain figure (I don't know what that figure is maybe whoever knows that is reading this will post) you need to repair or replace the (bent) wheel or bum tire.  A serious pothole hit can bend a wheel. Tires are not necessarily round and some brands are *notorious* for not being round.

  • assuming the wheel/tire assembly is actually round, knock the rust if any off the hub faces and the backs of the rotor hats so there is no lateral runout.  Measure runout with a dial gauge (it's quick, a cheap dial gauge works fine) and rotate the wheels 2 lug nuts at a time until you minimize lateral runout.  There are shims you can buy to take up more runout if you have it - they are typically sold for the utility vehicles like the Buick Rendezvous but a good counter person at a NAPA or CarQuest should know about them. There will be instructions for using the shims.   For radial runout, if you find that, try putting the lug nuts on finger tight then lower the car on the high spot and tighten, OR rotate the wheel/tire assembly on the hub 2 lug nuts at a time and remeasure -- hopefully not messing up the lateral runout.  

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noteek1
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Name : jon keeton
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PostSubject: Re: 98 RIV Left front shakes   98 RIV Left front shakes EmptyWed Jul 27, 2016 2:37 pm

Thanks for your response. I have been gone for a while. I drove the riv from s. Kentucky to Detroit. I shook all the way there and back. While I was there I took the riv to a pretty good mechanic I've known for years. He put it up on the hoist to check it out. He said all the bushings look fine etc. He said, the only suggestion he had was to replace the rear wheel hubs. Even then, he didn't know that would solve the problem. While driving back home, it does seems like the whole car shakes. I have rotated the wheels, new shocks all around, etc. I have not changed the rear wheel hubs. I thought when rears hubs go, they make a thumping sound? Also, he said whoever did the 4 wheel alignment, might not have done it correctly. Another thing that I think is strange, is that all 4 tires are wearing evenly. I am really perplexed. Thx.
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albertj
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PostSubject: Re: 98 RIV Left front shakes   98 RIV Left front shakes EmptyWed Jul 27, 2016 10:08 pm

Bushings on the Riv will look OK when they are wack.  You kind of have to go by miles/age. I had a shake that absolutely would not go away until I replaced those ^%&^%&^ control arms, although it was minimized by a very careful balance.

Whose struts did you install?

Did you measure hub, wheel rim and tire for runout? You'll need a dial gauge.
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noteek1
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Name : jon keeton
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PostSubject: Re: 98 RIV Left front shakes   98 RIV Left front shakes EmptyThu Jul 28, 2016 2:59 pm

I got my shocks from Detroit Axle in Ferndale MI. I plan on calling them this afternoon to find out why, after I installed them, it brought the front end up much higher than before. The front fenders set up a good 5 inches above the tires. I know this is shifting undue weight to the back of the car. The rear air shocks are maxed out trying to keep the car level. I have not yet tested for round out.
Thx!
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albertj
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albertj


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PostSubject: Re: 98 RIV Left front shakes   98 RIV Left front shakes EmptyFri Aug 05, 2016 2:46 pm

noteek1 wrote:
I got my shocks from Detroit Axle in Ferndale MI. I plan on calling them this afternoon to find out why, after I installed them, it brought the front end up much higher than before. The front fenders set up a good 5 inches above the tires. I know this is shifting undue weight to the back of the car. The rear air shocks are maxed out trying to keep the car level. I have not yet tested for round out.
Thx!


what was the SKU on those struts?  IF they are sitting so high something is obviously wrong. The FSM has measurements for the datum points on the chassis, maybe Abaddon can quote us how the fenders should sit.  I think the number you wanna measure is from the top of the wheel arch to the center of the axle or to the ground I forget which.

Det Axle makes rack/pinions and CV joints.  All the rest supposedly is jobbed.  Why not take a cell phone pic of the thing and send it back to Axle and ask them if that's what it's supposed to look like?
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