Wheel wobble

[Andrew]

So, I've had this wheel wobble problem for awhile. It occurs when I am slightly turning the car to the right (very slightly). It usually happens when I am on a bend for long stretches for example like a freeway on ramp. So basically I can feel my whole passenger side wheel wobbling thus making my steering wheel, sometimes the trans shifter will wobble too, but tonight I was passing this person (they were driving below the speed limit) on a slight right bend and I've never had this happen, but the wobble got so bad to the point it stopped my CD playing in the CD player and I got a bit scared so I just let off the gas and turned my steering wheel the other way to straighten out. I really don't know what it is. I feel that it might be an alignment problem because I haven't gotten an alignment ever since I lowered my car + I'm doing a 5lug swap in the next few weeks. It doesn't really affect my driving b/c I know what kind of turn will cause it so I usually take the turn a certain way. Any ideas on what it can be? Thanks in advance to anyone with any suggestions.

cliffs:
1) wheel wobbles when turning slightly right
2) my alignment isn't straight
3) trans shifter shakes sometimes during slight right turn

[codyep3]

CV joint
or
Wheel Bearing?

Do you know the seperate symptoms of either?

[Andrew]

i actually don't know the symptoms for either, but after reading it might be wheel bearing problems. i'm not so sure

bump for anyone that knows any information??

[RHCP0801]

sounds like a wheel bearing problem, an easy way to check is to jack the car up, go to the wheel with the problem and put your hands at 3 and 9 and push on it back and forth, if you have play than its a wheel bearing

[Andrew]

sounds like a wheel bearing problem, an easy way to check is to jack the car up, go to the wheel with the problem and put your hands at 3 and 9 and push on it back and forth, if you have play than its a wheel bearing

thanks dude i'll be sure to do this soon or should i even worry about it if i'm doing a 5lug swap in like the next few weeks?

[RHCP0801]

well the wheel bearing is in the knuckle and your replacing those with the swap so there is really no need to fix it....but it is dangerous so just drive with caution around turns and stuff

when your gonna do the swap just check out the old one and see, than check out the new one...it should be stiff with no play at all

[Twisted-X]

I've had to replace the passenger half shaft in the 'cord last year. It didn't really happen unless you gave it a fair amount of throttle or you were coasting downhill. It got worse the more throttle you gave it. I jacked the car up and with the car in park rotated the passengers tire with a fair amount of force while watching the half-shaft and I could see it climb up itself about 3/4".

[Andrew]

I've had to replace the passenger half shaft in the 'cord last year. It didn't really happen unless you gave it a fair amount of throttle or you were coasting downhill. It got worse the more throttle you gave it. I jacked the car up and with the car in park rotated the passengers tire with a fair amount of force while watching the half-shaft and I could see it climb up itself about 3/4".

oh i dont think its this it doesnt occur when i accelerate; something actually worse happened and ill post and update when im off of my iphone

[Andrew]

so as I posted before, my wheel wobble problems occurred more heavily and it started to bug me. I thought it might have been a wheel bearing issue or alignment issue. I'm not sure if the wheel wobble is in correlation to this, but the night before this happened I hit a pothole and thought nothing of it and the next day at school this incident occurred.

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j232/ac_martin/28715_456827682728_548522728_600162.jpg

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j232/ac_martin/28715_456827477728_548522728_600161.jpg

Now the scenario in the pictures is that, the two bolts that hold the rotor, knuckle, etc to the strut came lose. The top one completely disappeared while the bottom one showed signs of it being lose. I came to the conclusion that the pothole might have been the final straw to the wheel wobble and finally just came apart.

So I fixed the problem and installed the front camber bolts I had laying around for my 5lug swap, but when I put it together and test drove it there is a huge noise coming from the driver side when I engage the clutch and sometimes when shifting into 2nd (but not as much). My dad and I have came to the conclusion that the axle might be popped out a little, but I'm gonna take into consideration of anything. So if anyone has any ideas please post 'em up. I'm going to try to put the axle back in completely and test drive it probably tonight or sometime after Monday if I don't get to it. In the meanwhile please help and thanks to anyone in advance.

Cliffs:
1) wheel fell off pretty much
2) fixed it with camber bolts
3) test drove it and a huge noise comes about on the driver side when I engage the clutch and take off and sometimes when I shift into 2nd

[Mighty_Mouse_Ep]

Damn that sucks Andrew well hopefully you find out the problem

[beechstreet]

have you lifted the front wheels off the ground, started up the car, and engaged the clutch while having someone under the vehicle (make sure to have jackstands, etc) to see if they notice anything? hope you can figure it out

[HondaFreak]

Dang man that's messed up. Let me know if I can help.

Christian

[RHCP0801]

damn so it was the strut bolts that were loose? when was the last time you messed around down there....sorry for the wrong info but i never would've thought of that

[Andrew]

have you lifted the front wheels off the ground, started up the car, and engaged the clutch while having someone under the vehicle (make sure to have jackstands, etc) to see if they notice anything? hope you can figure it out

i havent tried this, but i'm really hoping and assuming it's the axle popped out somewhat. should i take the wheels off so it would be easier to observe?


Dang man that's messed up. Let me know if I can help.

Christian

will do sir, and thank you


damn so it was the strut bolts that were loose? when was the last time you messed around down there....sorry for the wrong info but i never would've thought of that

oh it's cool dude, i would have never thought it was the strut bolts being lose. i did hit a pothole the night before, but thought nothing of it so that might have triggered this incident

[EP3driver]

If the axle had popped out you would know it instantly! You should take care of that issue asap because it can be very dangerous to you or other drivers on the road...

[Andrew]

If the axle had popped out you would know it instantly! You should take care of that issue asap because it can be very dangerous to you or other drivers on the road...

the thing is at the angle the hub and wheel fell at i think the axle might be out just a tiny bit. I can still drive the car, but it makes a funny noise when i engage the clutch. although i am not driving the car because i don't want anything else to be damaged, so my hatch has just been sitting in the driveway since friday afternoon

bump if anyone can help me solve this solution please post up, thanks in advance.

[EP3driver]

Did you visually inspect the lower ball joint, tie rod, and CV joint to ensure they are not broke? If those are fine, I would try to pop the axle back in, basically you would need to jiggle it hard while turning slowly and pushing it hard to make it fall back in...

[Andrew]

Did you visually inspect the lower ball joint, tie rod, and CV joint to ensure they are not broke? If those are fine, I would try to pop the axle back in, basically you would need to jiggle it hard while turning slowly and pushing it hard to make it fall back in...

i did and it seemed okay to me, but i'm going to re-check everything over again when i go in and try to put the axle all the way into place and will update from there

[Drew1d]

Camber/pinch bolts are torques at close if not over 100ft/lbs. If they broke, then perhaps they weren't the right grade of bolt. If the wheel was wobbling as a result of camber change (those bolts slipping) you would feel where the steering wheel "centers" change when you turn.

Perhaps the axle is damaged. And it wiggled the bolts loose. When you did your five lug swap, did you have to change the axles? Tierods? Or did you just change the knuckle and control arm? Was it from an EP3 or an RSX?

[Andrew]

Camber/pinch bolts are torques at close if not over 100ft/lbs. If they broke, then perhaps they weren't the right grade of bolt. If the wheel was wobbling as a result of camber change (those bolts slipping) you would feel where the steering wheel "centers" change when you turn.

Perhaps the axle is damaged. And it wiggled the bolts loose. When you did your five lug swap, did you have to change the axles? Tierods? Or did you just change the knuckle and control arm? Was it from an EP3 or an RSX?

i havent done my 5lug swap yet. i am still in the process of buying everything for my 5lug. this happened to my 4lug and i don't know if the axle is damaged or not. still havent had a chance to look at it. been busy with school/work

[SUSHI_NE1]

WOW!... This happened to me a month ago, but only my bottom bolt came off so my wheel went inwards. Lately It started to wabble again... MAYBE I SHOULD CHECK THEM AGAIN... Better safe than sorry I guess.

[Drew1d]

i havent done my 5lug swap yet. i am still in the process of buying everything for my 5lug. this happened to my 4lug and i don't know if the axle is damaged or not. still havent had a chance to look at it. been busy with school/work I'm sorry. My misunderstanding. Good luck on fixing your EP.

[EP3driver]

Make sure everything is bolted up to torque specs, EVERY bolt you see in the area. If a ball joint is busted you will notice moveement when you pull the tire with both hands on each side and on top and bottom, there is something definitely amiss with that picture.

[Twisted-X]

This started to happen after I got an alignment. I was changing the oil back in April and had to take the passenger tire off and noticed that the bottom bolt was hanging on by threads.
The torque wrench is your friend. :msmile:


EDIT:
Axles Popped Out Help (http://www.ephatch.com/forum/showthread.php?52743-axles-poped-out-help!!&highlight=shaft+popped+out)

Mustclime:
"1) loosely thread on the 3 top strut nuts.
2) put in the lower bolt on the strut/knuckel( yes it will go in with the axel out)
3) put the palm of your hand on the uppermost part of the knuckel( where the upper bolt goes through)
4) now turn the disk while leaning in on the upper knuckel,if it "feels" close, smack it with a dead blow hammer......have fun. "

Hope this helps.

[siep3]

don't trust the impact gun. torque wrench is a must.

don't forget to torque your wheel nuts after you fix the issue. i've seen wheels flying off when people didn't torque them.

[Andrew]

Make sure everything is bolted up to torque specs, EVERY bolt you see in the area. If a ball joint is busted you will notice moveement when you pull the tire with both hands on each side and on top and bottom, there is something definitely amiss with that picture.


This started to happen after I got an alignment. I was changing the oil back in April and had to take the passenger tire off and noticed that the bottom bolt was hanging on by threads.
The torque wrench is your friend. :msmile:


EDIT:
Axles Popped Out Help (http://www.ephatch.com/forum/showthread.php?52743-axles-poped-out-help!!&highlight=shaft+popped+out)

Mustclime:
"1) loosely thread on the 3 top strut nuts.
2) put in the lower bolt on the strut/knuckel( yes it will go in with the axel out)
3) put the palm of your hand on the uppermost part of the knuckel( where the upper bolt goes through)
4) now turn the disk while leaning in on the upper knuckel,if it "feels" close, smack it with a dead blow hammer......have fun. "

Hope this helps.


don't trust the impact gun. torque wrench is a must.

don't forget to torque your wheel nuts after you fix the issue. i've seen wheels flying off when people didn't torque them.

thanks for all the help guys. my friend will, dad, and I figured out what was wrong with the axle. it's pretty much broken in the inner cv joint. there's so much play comparing it to the passenger side axle. so I guess my car will be down for a bit this summer

[EP3driver]

Yup, that will do it as well. Get a rebuilt and pop it in, good to go.

[Andrew]

Yup, that will do it as well. Get a rebuilt and pop it in, good to go.

well i have a 5lug waiting. so my whip will just be down until i do the 5lug swap