[Supras] 89 NA Ball Joints... the continuing quest

[Bob Shapton]

If you rotated the tires from fron to back and the vibration changed location 
from steering to floorboards it is one of the tire/wheel assemblies that is 
now on the rear. Tires may be perfectly balanced and perfectly round but if 
there is a 'stiff' spot or 'thick' spot in one of the tires it will cause a vibration. 
I believe you have a defective tire. Borrow a wheel/tire from a friend's Supra 
and swap each of the back tires until you determine which one it is.

Bob

> Now after all of the work to change the ball joints and check over
> the rack
> I have now come to a new conclusion.  There is play in the rack but
> it now
> appears to be so minor that it isn't the problem.  
> 
> After spending several hours looking thing over and rotating the
> tires I
> took the car out for a test drive.  The car was smooth until about
> 60 mph
> and this time the vibration wasn't in the steering wheel (I had
> rotated the
> tires and removed the front hub-centric rings and it actually seemed
> to
> help).
> 
> Now the vibration is completely in the floor board and it is so bad
> at the
> gas pedal that my foot was getting numb.  From 60-80 mph it is
> horrible but
> the steering wheel is almost perfect.  The only vibration I notice
> seems to
> be transmitted from the floor to the steering column and even that
> is minor.
> 
> When I push in the clutch the vibrations is there until the car
> coasts down
> below 60 mph. There doesn't seem to be a connection with the engine
> or
> engine speed.  Leaving the car in 4th gear over 60 mph doesn't
> change the
> vibration and shutting off the engine doesn't seem to cause a
> difference.
> 
> I had a thought that the harmonic balancer could have slipped but
> the timing
> is fine 
> 
> I checked the motor mounts and they are dry and the motor doesn't
> rock.  
> 
> The engine cradle has never been off and the bolts appear tight and
> the
> mounts are in one piece.
> 
> Though I can feel some vibration in the shifter it is much less than
> the
> floor board and it just might be a resonance given that the rest of
> the car
> is vibrating
>  
> I have thrown an oem driveshaft assembly and a transmission mount at
> the car
> so at least I know those aren't the problem.  
> 
> It could be coming from the rear of the car and I haven't sat in the
> back
> seat but it sure feels strongest at the front of the floor board and
> I
> couldn't feel anything when I rested my hand on the transmission
> tunnel in
> the back.
>  
> Is a clutch problem a crazy guess?  
> 
> I would think that changing the load on the clutch or shutting off
> the
> engine would have some sort of effect on the vibration but if it
> does it
> isn't noticeable.
> 
> I am running out of parts to replace...
> 
> 
> Bob
> 
> 
> For those of you who have nothing better to do then follow my
> exciting
> exploits as I chase the elusive vibration in the front of my car.
> well the
> next chapter has begun.
> 
>  
> 
> After replacing tires, brake rotors and calipers I decided that
> since I had
> not replaced the ball joints, well. that was next on the list of
> things I
> had to do before I die.
> 
>  
> 
> Surprisingly only one was bad and even that one may have been ok. 
> The
> driver's side ball joint was not properly tightened down so the ball
> joint
> shaft was spinning in the spindle.  It didn't do any damage to the
> spindle
> and if the nut had not been rusted in place I might have been able
> to just
> tighten the nut and been fine.
> 
>  
> 
> It looks like this ball joint had been loose since it left the
> factory, I
> have owned the car since 1990 or so and I don't remember having to
> touch the
> ball joints before. 
> 
>  
> 
> Anyway, I changed both of the joints as a precaution and A clunk
> went away.
> The car feels tighter but the vibration is still there above 60
> mph.
> 
>  
> 
> Now I have found a different clunk when I rock the steering wheel
> back and
> forth.  I can tell it is coming from the driver's side of the rack
> and I
> suspect it is from the inner tie rod end.  
> 
>  
> 
> The outer tie rod is fine and I find it hard to believe the inner
> one has
> failed at 60K but there is a clunk.  Is there any other problem
> related to
> the rack that could cause this noise and potentially the
> vibration?
> 
>  
> 
> Grabbing at straws.
> 
>  
> 
> Bob
> 
>  
> 
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