Fixing Car / Steering / Pedal Vibrations (4)

Reason #4: The Driveshaft (FWD) or Propeller Shaft (RWD)

Symptoms are usually acceleration / deceleration sensitive. Vibrations can also occur when the vehicle is being driven at a steady speed.

• With FWD cars, vibrations related to driveshafts are uncommon. If the car seems to bob up and down in the front:

1. Did your front suspension suffer a severe hit recently? The suspension components could be bent or damaged. Bent suspensions are accompanied by unusual tyre wear.

2. Is there a 'crackling' or 'kat-kat-kat' noise from the front end when taking a tight turn in reverse? Classic case of a worn out / broken CV joint. Excessive wear will lead to vibrations while driving. Either the driveshaft needs to be replaced, or the CV joint can be refurbished.

3. Did you have a refurbished driveshaft installed? The CV joint may be too tight.

4. Worn CV joints don't commonly cause vibrations, unless a ball is broken inside the joint.

• RWD - The rear of the car seems to bob up and down. The whole body shell vibrates in direct proportion to speed:

1. Look for worn out universal joints (U-joints) on the propeller shaft. A worn U-joint or eccentric propeller shaft tends to vibrate more when decelerating from high speed.

2. Either the U-joints or the entire propeller shaft needs replacement. Inaccurate replacement of new U-joints will perpetuate vibrations!

3. Did you hit the underbody hard or beach your car recently? If the propeller shaft was hit, you can end up with an imbalanced shaft.