Vibration / Shimmy at Cruising Speed

some of these problems we're having are not easy to fix ,but if each one of us had a heated garage to work and exchange info these cars would run forever.

Only if I had a garage and parking lot and a annual Riviera meet would be nice

me too...i'm dying for a garage.

I'm dying to get rich and I'm dying to make my Riviera a equal contender with these new aged cars simply by keeping it alive. And I want to sound sporty look luxurious and drive like muscle cars lol

After reading zzp site gtp guy says the same thing we have been conjuring up

It very well could be your axles. I wasn't saying that it isn't. Axles will absolutely cause a vibration.

Axles can be bought for around $80 each. The labor on installing said axles should only be about 3 hours TOTAL (1.5 per side)....at least that's what I would charge. Anything more than that is rape.
WARRANTY replacement on a 2005 Grand Prix (same setup) is only .7 of an hour.....

$80 x 2 = ~$160
3.0 Labor + 1.0 diagnosis = 4.0 hours @ $90/hr (estimate) = $360

$360 + $160 = $520 Total

I'd say that you shouldn't pay no more than $600 for both axles to be replaced. I deal with aftermarket parts all the time, and there's no way it should cost you $1000 for axle replacements.

I'm just giving you a heads up. I hate top see people get screwed.

To back up what Abaddon said, I just got quoted $226.94 to get one of my axles replaced by, imo, the best repair shop in town. Looks like the axle costs $98 and labor is about $122. I'm getting mine replaced because:

a) The boot is torn and leaking grease like a mofo

b) There's an annoying clunking sound from the front when turning sometimes - a sign of an axle/boot issue

c) There's a vibration in the front when stopping and my brakes are in awesome shape, so it probably has something to do w/ an axle

Good luck!

[quote="Abaddon"]It very well could be your axles. I wasn't saying that it isn't. Axles will absolutely cause a vibration.

Axles can be bought for around $80 each. The labor on installing said axles should only be about 3 hours TOTAL (1.5 per side)....at least that's what I would charge. Anything more than that is rape.

In no way shape form or fashion am I trying to say you dont know what you are talking about, you told me to look thru this thread and I read every last page and to only see nobody has had a clue why our car reeks havoc on our weakly made drivetrain. My car should be running like a well oiled machine with all the time I spent in it fixing and renewing parts, But it is not and I just want to get these parts I bought on.Sears was only implying an estimate that made my balls skip a beat.  the parts were actually the problem shop fees were reasonable at 2 hours in your case, but 368 a axle they had me   but yeah zzp sells performance so its where im going. I hope to stumble across on how to do this control arm and knuckle swap maybe that will save me a few dollar

are these a possible fit for our rivs?

Oh man! thats the ticket rite dere! take some center to center bolt hole measurements and give em a call.

robotennis61 wrote:

Oh man! thats the ticket rite dere!   take some center to center bolt hole measurements and give em a call.

Lol rob man I can't do it today you will have me in the poor house

Johnny5 wrote:

robotennis61 wrote:

Oh man! thats the ticket rite dere!   take some center to center bolt hole measurements and give em a call.

Lol rob man I can't do it today you will have me in the poor house

Pricey little buggers fo sho.I would consider doing the heim jointed alu rear adjustable links.alot cheaper and will improve handling.more bang for buck.

robotennis61 wrote:

Johnny5 wrote:

robotennis61 wrote:

Oh man! thats the ticket rite dere!   take some center to center bolt hole measurements and give em a call.

Lol rob man I can't do it today you will have me in the poor house

Pricey little buggers fo sho.I would consider doing the heim jointed alu rear adjustable links.alot cheaper and will improve handling.more bang for buck.

I know it will be cheaper but I dont exactly know anybody who is trust worthy for that type of work

Abaddon wrote:

It very well could be your axles. I wasn't saying that it isn't.

I'll say it isn't - at least until you determine your axles are in as bad as shape!

When I read that ZZP post, it reminded me of what I've seen at our board and other forums: replace parts like CV axles with the false hope it will cure a wheel vibration issue. Sure, it's possible if your axle is about to fall off the car, but not likely if the axle isn't loose. I read that ZZP post and see misdiagnosis, not a cure for vibration issue. There are so many other things wrong with the that guy's car (he even mentions a few of them), I do not believe the axle replacement solved the issue at all, especially since he says the vibration remained after the axle swap.

And the ZZP guy says his axle was "totally trashed", "in two pieces". Well of course it's going to seem like it contributes to the vibration with all that grinding rolling down the road. From the description, it seems like he has neglected so much maintenance - not the best situation to draw solid conclusions from.

[quote="AA"]

Abaddon wrote:

It very well could be your axles. I wasn't saying that it isn't.

I dont have a vibration or a shimmy, its more of a bent rim feeling   that you feel right around 65-70 but smooths out around 80, but during deceleration in to those speeds it feels as if the car is going to come a loose. Long as its under 65 its a cruiser  

Check your CV joints for play. If they're bad, replace them. I agree this is likely a wheel or tire issue.

AA wrote:

Check your CV joints for play. If they're bad, replace them. I agree this is likely a wheel or tire issue.

But if you go to my thread AA you can see what they told me at Sears for the reason and what it would cost. Just dont dont want to re-explain the topic how we got here "Riviera From hell"

Johnny5 wrote:

But if you go to my thread AA you can see what they told me at Sears for the reason and what it would cost

It would be far from the first time a mechanic has made a misdiagnosis. You'd be surprised how many mechanics throw parts at something and cost a customer unnecessary cash. Sometimes they dont really know, but they're not going to tell you that. Its their job to know and the customer expects they will.

Take the advice you've been getting and check these other possibilities. There are certain things that will cause the same issue. Just because symptoms are the same doesnt mean the problem is the same. Like was said before, the axle problem is not something that usually happens on our cars, but the vibration is quite common. Its very likely it is something else.

Also, replacing any old part could and often will make something better but often its just masking the actual problem. In the ZZP case mentioned before, the vibration didnt go away, so the axle replacement DID NOT fix the problem. And the improvement could be completely mental resulting from the hole in his pocket.

I dont think I would ever advise someone to take their car to Sears for a mechanical problem.

[quote="th3fr4nchi5e"]

Johnny5 wrote:

But if you go to my thread AA you can see what they told me at Sears for the reason and what it would cost

It would be far from the first time a mechanic has made a !!!??m(if I didn't see it with my own two then I would have called his bluff. in regards to the amount of stuff that I changed this may well be a suitable suggestion on what needs to be fixed, the motor went out before the suspension so i didn't think much of it untill riding on Louisiana crater sized pot holes in these streets everything is playing a factor right about now. But read thru this thread and my thread Riviera From hell thread you will see its not a vibration or a shimmy

No vibration at 70mph?.....

I get a vibration at 70 and it goes away at 80. Nothing above or below those speeds.

Me too,@70-75...that's it.

stan wrote:

No vibration at 70mph?.....

No vibration. Put new tires on in the late fall. Checked pressure before the trip as we've had -20s in the past couple weeks and around here that guarantees pressure drop. I'm generally a speed limit driver so as not to call attention to when I may not be following all the "other" laws but I ran it over 80+ a few times getting in and out of traffic. My Suburban has more motor and even pulling 5,000 lbs. it still has some delayed jump but the pickup in a Riv is instant. As a kid, I recall "passing gear" or some pull-knob thing like a choke under the dash that was referred to as overdrive.

Recall that my 88 Silverado with 5-speed stick had the OD as the 5th gear. Still not the same as my kid neighborhood memory which may include late 50s Fords, Buicks, Nashes and Ramblers. My brothers may have had 57-58 Fords with transmissions that had "sawdust" gears. They were sleek and chromy and probably cost a summer wage of $100.

Did you check your tire balance? How about your struts?

I apologize for resurrecting an old thread, but did anyone find a solution?