Vibration

[- Pete -]

Any evidence of grease having left any of the boots? That could be a sign as to which is bad, or which is worse than the other anyhow.

[vtl]

Replace both =) 150k miles is about right time when P2 axles die even in not abused vehicles.

[Dynomite6985]

Thing is, i couldnt get either front axle to move at all when i rrached under there and tried to wiggle them, neither one moved in any direction, the rears had a bit of movement but the fronts felt solid, and no trace of any moisture on or around the boots or anywhere for that matter

[vtl]

One more thing: what's your front toe numbers and how bad a the front LCA bushings? Bad toe, ether static or dynamic (when bad bushings flex too much) causes tires to run away and jump back on track.

[firstv70volvo]

Ok perfect, thank you for the quick reply. Now i just need to figure out which one is bad

I've had two cars (Volvo V70 and Acura RDX) that vibrated under throttle at certain speeds and in both cases it was the inner tripod joint. I spent considerable time trying to determine which axle was causing the problem and I couldn't do it. It's been my experience checking for play doesn't work because it's only a small pitted area on the surface where the tripod bearings slide and roll that causes the vibration. You can't manually feel this type of problem at the axle joints by hand. See the attached photo. If you really don't want to replace both axles you could take the axle you suspect is causing the problem and confirm by taking it off and taking the inner joint apart to inspect or just replace the side you suspect is bad and hope for the best. On my Volvo I was able to fix the vibration by just replacing the passenger side axle, which was a best guess but my best guess for the Acura didn't work, ended up replacing both axles and it was the driver's side for that car.

[Dynomite6985]

One more thing: what's your front toe numbers and how bad a the front LCA bushings? Bad toe, ether static or dynamic (when bad bushings flex too much) causes tires to run away and jump back on track.

I have no idea what the toe is set at, its on factory struts and springs, alignment is good, according to the butt dyno anyway.

[vtl]

I have no idea what the toe is set at, its on factory struts and springs, alignment is good, according to the butt dyno anyway.

If alignment is good and LCA front bushings are intact too, I'd look at replacing the axles.

[Dynomite6985]

I would think too that if the alignment was bad or control arms were worn out that the vibration would be there all the time, regardless of throttle input.

[Dynomite6985]

So turns out im just a dummy. On my way home from work today I realized that the front axles werent showing any play in them because of the way the car is parked. My driveway has a fair incline to it, i backed the car into the drive way, popped it into park and then checked the front axles like a week later, of course they didnt show movement, they were holding the weight of the car up the driveway. Today after I realized my error, i hopped in the car, put it in neutral, let it roll a foot or so, set the hand brake, left it in neutral and checked...sure enough, both front CVs are wobbling around. What a feckin dummy.

[oragex]

I had vibrations from cv joints, but it was constant above 50mph speeds - basically exactly like an unbalanced wheel however with the difference the vibration would differ in intensity depending on the road surface sideways angle - somehow different on the left vs right line. I also had at a different period vibrations only under acceleration and especially when climbing a slope, that was the control arms. May also look at the upper and lower engine torque mounts. The right lower mount near the crank pulley can also go bad.