1997 Neon - shakes violently at 105 km/hr

Hi all,

I have a 1997 Neon. In recent weeks, I have noticed that when driving on
the highway reaching the speed of 105 km/hr or more, the steering wheel
would start to shake violently! The shaking would not stop unless I reduce
the speed back to 100 km/hr.

A second problem I've noticed recently is when starting the car cold in the
morning, as soon as I change from Park to Reverse, there is a loud noise
(sounded like problem with gear shifting??).

I've not had these problems before and they only started to happen in recent
weeks.

The 1997 Neon has 90,000 km on it. It is an automatic.

What is causing this shaking, and how to repair this problem?

Thanks very much!

 

Sounds like you need to check and possibly replace one or more engine
mounts.

DS

 

Probably front end alignment needed, maybe tire balance, maybe tie rod /
linkage problem.

Hard to say, without hearing the noise. Check your trans fluid level
lately?

 

Well, I sent the car to a Chrysler dealer recently to have oil & filter
change. They included a "free" tire rotation. Come to think of it, the
shaking problem didn't happen before that. Could the tire rotation have
caused this problem?

What should the correct tire pressure be for the four tires? Maybe I'll
just go to the local gas station to fix the tire pressure myself?

How do I check this and how would I know if there is a problem with it?

Thanks.

 

Tire balance. Air pressure can play a part but the problem is tire balance.
The rear of the car will not play as big a part in steering as the front
tires do so the vibration will not be as noticeable. The tires that were on
the rear, that are now on the front, are out of balance - simple. Take the
car to a tire store (or where you bought the tires from) and have them
balance the 2 front wheels. If you don't do this soon then you "will" have
some serious front end suspension or steering problems in the very near
future. The front suspension and steering is not designed to take abuse
like that and will result in costly problems. Do it as soon as you can to
prevent problems. The wheels (or one wheel) may have lost a weight in the
transfer from rear to front or you hit something to loosen it and fall off.
They just need to be balanced. Shouldn't cost you more than $10 each (or
there abouts). The resulting front end problems from neglecting to do this
could cost you the entire car or your life.

The tire pressure is listed in your owner's manual - based on the tire size
and manufacturer. I put them to 35 PSI (right or wrong - I am consistant).
Check with the tire mfg or it may even be on the tire itself.

Transmission noises? That is best diagnosed by a "competent" transmission
shop (dealer or private owner). I personally would never go to a franchise
outfit (Triple A or Midas or any of those). They may try to sell you a sky
hook for your abledot frankerstone gadget box.

my $0.02 worth

 

Another possibility is that the wheels weren't bolted on good. The torque
used on the lugnuts could be way off. 1st generation Neons tend to be
susceptible to the one hundred and (insert number here) kilometer an hour
steering wheel shimmy.

Should say in the manual. How do they put it? RTFM

Do this: Drive around for a while till the engine is nice and warm, then
drive around for a bit more. stop somewhere flat (driveway, gas station),
with the engine running. Let it idle for a couple minutes, then move the
selector to all positions for a couple seconds: P-R-N-D-2-1-2-D-N-R-P. With
the engine running open the hood and find the trans fluid dipstick. Pull it
out, wipe of the tip (with a lint free cloth) and note the temperature and
stick it back in. Pull it out again and look at where there is fluid. If the
fluid was hot to touch, the fluid should be up at "Hot". If it was warm it
should go to warm. If it below these positions you need to add fluid. Also
the fluid shouldn't be too dirty or smell like sulfur.

 

Possibly. I'd go back and tell them, and have them check the tire
balancing.

Inside the driver's door, on the part that's hidden when the door is
closed, there should be a sticker/label that tells you the proper tire
pressure. Or, the owner's manual if you have it.

There should be a dipstick under the hood labeled Trans Fluid. Warm up
the transmission by driving a little, then check the dipstick with the car
running in Park. Again, you should refer to the owner's manual...

 

It's probable that tire imbalance is the fundamental cause. In
another post, you note that during servicing, the tires were rotated.
I have had wheel weights get dislodged during rotations a couple of
times in the past; this is worth checking.

As for the clunk in the drivetrain on the P-R shift, check the engine
and trans mounts.

 

Possibly out-of-round tires on front of vehicle.

 

| | > On Sun, 09 Nov 2003 11:46:16 -0500, Grant wrote:
| >
| > > I have a 1997 Neon. In recent weeks, I have noticed that when driving
| on
| > > the highway reaching the speed of 105 km/hr or more, the steering
wheel
| > > would start to shake violently! The shaking would not stop unless I
| reduce
| > > the speed back to 100 km/hr.
| >
| > Probably front end alignment needed, maybe tire balance, maybe tie rod /
| > linkage problem.
|
| Well, I sent the car to a Chrysler dealer recently to have oil & filter
| change. They included a "free" tire rotation. Come to think of it, the
| shaking problem didn't happen before that. Could the tire rotation have
| caused this problem?
|
| What should the correct tire pressure be for the four tires? Maybe I'll
| just go to the local gas station to fix the tire pressure myself?
|
|
| >
| > > A second problem I've noticed recently is when starting the car cold
in
| > > the morning, as soon as I change from Park to Reverse, there is a loud
| > > noise (sounded like problem with gear shifting??).
| >
| > Hard to say, without hearing the noise. Check your trans fluid level
| > lately?
|
| How do I check this and how would I know if there is a problem with it?
|
| Thanks.
|
|

You could have thrown a wheel balancing weight...

 

Possibly. You have a tire jack in your trunk, yes? If all else fails,
use it to rotate your tires again. Just swap the fronts with the rears
(of course, using only the tire jack, this will take all day). Anywhoo,
if this cures the problem, well, there ya go.

Still, I don't think a simple rotation would make that much problem unless
you have the old kind of radials that come apart when installed in the
reverse direction to the original install. Most shops just rotate
front-to-back-to-front anyway, so this shouldn't be a major concern,
especially considering radials have vastly improved in recent decades.

If the car is shaking "violently" as you say, then it should be visible
from beside the car. Have a friend drive beside you with a passenger who
can look at your wheels to see if they are shaking while you're on the
highway. If they can't see any vibration in the wheels, it might not have
anything at all to do with them.

I have a 1973 Volkswagen Beetle. When I was driving it daily, if I hit a
pothole wrong, my wheels would literally point left-right very fast. This
was due to a faulty steering damper. I don't think cars today have that:
I think the power steering pump serves this purpose. Still, something to
consider.

BTW, you never mentioned: Is the vibration visible in the steering wheel?
Does it bob up and down, side to side, or rotationally? These are clues
to various different problems you might have.

Still, it is possible that simply putting the rear tires up front and vice
versa is the cause. Maybe the rear tires have mild flat spots on them
that aren't noticeable until they're the /drive/ tires. Do you have a
teenage son and a handbrake?

I doubt pressure has anything at all to do with this. Typically, 32
Pounds per Square Inch (what is that, 45 kpa? I have no clue!) is normal.
The tires will read a maximum pressure, usually about 35 PSI; normally, a
few PSI below this is acceptable. In any case, read the owner's manual if
possible, otherwise, check the rear of the driver's or passenger's
doors... there is usually a placard there that says what the pressure
should be.

Drive the car until it's at normal operating temperature. Make sure you
hit all 3 / 4 gears, AND reverse. When you get to your driveway (or a
level spot on the roadside if your driveway is a hill), LEAVE THE ENGINE
RUNNING with the transmission in PARK. Pop the hood, grab a rag, pull the
stick that is marked "TRANSMISSION" and wipe it off. Stick the stick back
in the hole and pull it back out... erm, I know that looks a little
nasty, but stick with it... after you pull the stick out, you read it
just like you're checking engine oil.

If you need to add fluid, ******DO NOT USE DEXRON******. Some people say
it works fine, some say it doesn't. When it comes down to it, how much
are you willing to pay for a rebuild? Play it safe and use ATF +3 or ATF
+4, whichever the '97 chryslers take.

No problem. Just remember, I'm no expert. Dan_C might be, thought, dunno
;-)

 

Hye, if the dealer rotated the wheels, I'd sure suspect loose lug
nuts...that would explain ALL symptoms!

Rick

 

[This followup was posted to alt.autos.dodge and a copy was sent to the
cited author.]

It is very possible that when they rotated the tires, they may have
knocked off a wheel weight. I have had that happen before.

It is most likely one of your tires is out of balance and hitting 105K
is the sweet spot.

Mine started vibrating badly around 63mph and after I had the tires
rebalanced, it went away. The culprit was only out of balance half an
ounce.

Very touchy if you ask me.

--
Chas Stokes


I have no idea why this stupid service is making me anonymous now. Most
annoying.

Also, this is a real email account but it is my spam catching account
and I do look at it very occasionally. Best to reply in the group.