Vibration

[Dynomite6985]

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.

Yeah I will check all the various mounts and joints when i hoist it to do the axles. Thanks for the info

[firstv70volvo]

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.

Vibration that changes from the road sideways angle is a good indication the problem is the inner tripod joint. If the inner joint cup is pitted like I show in a photo in an earlier post then any change in the ride height (or axle angle) will either push the tripod bearing into the cup deeper or pull it out further within the cup. Either way is moves the tripod bearings a different distant away from the pitted area and can change the vibration characteristics. The vibration is caused when the bearing isn't sliding smoothly on the inner race because it's pitted. It's more of side to side shudder vibration then an up and down vibration like an out of balance wheel.
One way to test for this might be to load up the car with passengers, which should lower the ride height (and change axle angle) some and then check to see if there are any changes in the vibration. Does the vibration get worse, better or occur at a different speed?
Since the inner joint is a plunge type joint to compensate for axle angle and length changes the idea of added weight to the car is to change the axle length and angle some to move the tripod bearings within the cup and away from the pitted area, if there is one, which should reduce or at least change the vibration some. This may help confirm it's an inner joint problem or not.

[oragex]

Very possible for a pit inside the tripod joint. The cv joint vibration was rather stable from 45-50mph up. It was actually a little strange because it also felt like something was 'kicking' in the steering, it wasn't a 'steady' shake but rather a 'kicking' one, like the steering would also shake front and back. Anyway, replaced both axles and now the steering is stable again. These cv joints get play with age and may start shimming. Other thing is when a garage is replacing the outer dust boot, they need to pop out a locking ring and some places put back the old bent ring - this will cause vibration from the CV joint at the wheel.

[firstv70volvo]

Very possible for a pit inside the tripod joint. The cv joint vibration was rather stable from 45-50mph up. It was actually a little strange because it also felt like something was 'kicking' in the steering, it wasn't a 'steady' shake but rather a 'kicking' one, like the steering would also shake front and back. Anyway, replaced both axles and now the steering is stable again. These cv joints get play with age and may start shimming. Other thing is when a garage is replacing the outer dust boot, they need to pop out a locking ring and some places put back the old bent ring - this will cause vibration from the CV joint at the wheel.

I think what happens when there's a pitted area in the inner joint cup the outer race of the tripod bearing gets held in the pit and as the axle spins instead of the bearing rolling and sliding (because of the axle angle) on a smooth surface inside the cup the pit acts as a detent and it's worse under load when accelerating. This causes a sideways back and forth force on the axle and joints causing a vibration and the "kicking' in the steering as you mentioned.
I've not had any problems with the outer CV joint or circlip causing any vibration problems and the only way the old ring would be bent is it was pried off incorrectly. This ring only needs to compress some to remove and install the outer CV joint and I've read it's best to keep the OEM ring in place if it's not damaged and you don't have an OEM ring for replacement.