Death Wobble?
I have an 89 Lxi and last month i checked a curb after it snowed at maybe 10-15 mph and now my car has a major death wobble, or as i like to call it "auto-pilot" because it steers by itself and there is a ton of play in the wheel. I was wondering if you guys could help me out with this, i was thinking maybe bent half-shafts? I dunno though, any pointers are appreciated! I recently bought a truck so i havent messed with the car yet...
*-=Duckumz=-*
Id be more willing to say either a severely bent wheel or you bent the lower control arm. Thats usually what bends/breaks on these cars.
get under it and find out, why are you even posting this? it's called a jack, and your eyeballs, compare the one side to the other... go, do it now as you shouldn't drive a car like that.
dead white and blue
Maybe the best thing is to take it to a garage, have someone put it up on a lift, and for 10 bucks take a quick look and see what is probably obvious. Could be the wheel, control arms, maybe the steering.
was it the front or the back wheel that checked the curb? Based on what you're saying I'm guessing it's the front, but please confirm.
Is the gap from the outer edge of the tire in the wheel well (both front and back of the wheel well) the same as on the other side that didn't hit?
Pop the hood and look for cracked or stress bent shock towers.
As Statik and w261 said, get under the car and take a look asap.
Inspect the tire as Adam said, and see if it's got any bubbles, or if the wheel has any bends in it (front and back of the wheel).
Then check your radius rod, front crossmember, upper control arm, tie-rod, ball-joints, and finally the lower control arm and it's mounting point on the rear crossmember. The problem you describe is way too vague and there's so many possibilities of what's wrong, but it's dead clear there's something very wrong from a safety standpoint. Something's bent for sure.
Pics?
-Mark D.
I would have figured out what went wong before I drove it again, let alone made it to a computer to post about it.
ICHIBAN!
"Now, even more better!"
Dude why even bother posting if your just gonna bash him for driving it again and posting about it? Get off your fuckin high and mighty horse and help the dude out. You guys think that just cause you have over 1,000 posts that everyone should feel inferior to you. You too Stat1k. Almost every post from you has some wise ass comment before you get to your point. If you have something to say that could help em out, just say it! On that note, w261w261 is right. Take it to a garage and see what they have to say about it.
^ me too? how bout me especially, threads like this are pointless, this is what he said,
"i hit a curb and now my car wobbles, what did i fuck up"
no pics, no other explanation, just that he hit a curb and now his car wobbles, yeah let me guess 10 things that it could be.
my attitude has nothing to do with my post count, as you can see it's pretty low compared to the real pw's on this site. it has to do with general laziness and everyone wanting a quick fix without any work... get me?
i can be like the rest of you,
oh man you hit a curb? wow you should really check the wheel, the tie rods, the lca, the uca, the strut, the spring, the axle, the motor mount, and your radius rod to make sure it's not bent, there wasn't that more helpful?
... please.
dead white and blue
That was more helpful, thanks! And I'm sure the OP appreciates it more than, "Duh, check it out, duh".
wow you read sarcasm horribly... hey man i dented my fridge and now it's making a noise what's the problem?
dead white and blue
Well I'd suggest you check out a Frigidaire forum and see if they can help you. They might just tell you to fuck off and check it out yourself though...
as i would expect them to.
the real problem with it is i tried to knock myself out by running full speed face first into it after reading your lame ass response.
dead white and blue
Hahaha I'd only hope you would!
You've gotta be shitting me. stat1K took the works right out of my mouth.
Like, I think there's something wrong with my car, I don't know what it is, and I'm not gonna tell you. Can you come here and fix it please? By the way, I'm posting this on my phone from inside my car, have over 1000 posts, a bad attitude, and am afraid to get out and look at what might be wrong.
Please hurry, because it's getting cold out and I'm hungry. I'd like to get out of my car soon.
ICHIBAN!
"Now, even more better!"
By the way, "death wobble" more than implies he knows he shouldn't be driving it like this.
But he still does, then posts here about it. Why should I have any patience for someone who's endangering my family's life.
Or yours for that matter.
ICHIBAN!
"Now, even more better!"
^
dead white and blue
Originally Posted by Ichiban
+98709985437543!
for real go fucking jack the car up and check things out and then post man..
1988 Honda Accord LX-i Coupe 123k miles.
Whew! You know, there's "whip 'em into shape" the Marine Corps way, and then there's the "guide them to the path of righteousness" the Father Flanigan way. I'm not partial to Father F., but I'm not sure this site needs to be like the Marines either. I say, cut the kid some slack, he's got 3 or 4 posts and maybe doesn't have much experience or knowledge about the car. He hasn't demonstrated chronic laziness or unwillingness to learn. He asked a respectful question, and I think deserves at a minimum our tentative respect. I don't think he deserves derision, and the almost instant flaming of him and between the members here drags the site into the muck. I know I'm here because I value the experience of learning more about my car and supporting others that feel the same way. I suggest that the short fuses that seem to be popping up more and more be lengthened somewhat.
I usually don't spend the time to reply to posts like this because I feel same way about it stat1k does, but I would rather not get people fired up.
Bass like Base... Not fish.
He also said he has a truck and hasnt messed with tha accord. I mean i understand what you guys are saying but there is no need to talk shit maybe he has no jack or jack stands i know i didnt when i first joined this site. And it is difficult to learn about these cars when you search and find nuthing but people talking shit an telling them to search. Im on Bass mans side with this one
quit hitting the fridge with your head, is it a noise from the fridge? or a ringing in your ears from hitting the fridge with your head and denting it? If it's a ringing in your ears and you find yourself answering it, drive yourself straight to the nearest emergency room asap!!
If he has a ringing in his ears from hitting his head so hard on the fridge why in the name of everything holy would anyone suggest he drive himself to the nearest ER? That's like telling senor death wobble to drive his car to a garage across town on the highway while speeding the whole way just to get there faster to find out what's wrong.
Alright guys so we're in agreement there's a ton of shit that could be wrong and we need more pics of it with the car jacked up? ...and yeah he did say it has a death wobble, implying that he's driven it since, but he also mentioned (as Juggs pointed out) that he's got a truck he's using so he doesn't have to drive the death wobbler.
-Mark D.
Maybe you forgot to mention that the weather (snow) may make car inspection difficult if not impossible especially if being done on a driveway/street/backyard.
Anyway, YOU SHOULD NOT BE DRIVING IT!!! As for what to do, do what others have said: raise it and check both sides and the differences (bent/broken stuff) will become apparent. If in doubt, take photos and post'em... did I say DON'T DRIVE IT???
If it ain't broke... I fix it!
lol icp.
dead white and blue
Well, if the OP has bothered to read this far and hasn't headed off to Honda-Tech for some better treatment, then I'd look for a bent wheel first. How hard did you hit?
Please bear with us. A lot of us have been hit real hard by the economy and our jobs are crap and our lives suck. We're usually a lot more tolerant and helpful than this.
Dr_Snooz
"I like to take hammers, and just break stuff, just break stuff." - Beavis
1989 Honda Accord LX-i Coupe, 240k miles, MT swap, rear disc swap
Shop manual downloads available here: CLICK TO VIEW
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks