stinyo7
Buick Newbie
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2014
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- Buick Ownership
- 2001 LeSabre Custom
I genuinely will buy pizza online for anyone who can solve my problem.
BACKGROUND: My '01 LeSabre Custom has 120,000 miles on it. I was feeling a nasty vibration up front about three months ago. After some online research I determined it was the front control arms. When I went to replace those, I saw the inner boot of the driver's side CV axle was ripped and that grease was everywhere. I decided to replace those before the control arms to see if that fixed my problem. I used two Duralast remanufactured CVs from Autozone. Vibration did not go away. Decided to do the control arms next. While doing those, I saw how bad the driver's side sway bar link was, so I decided to do those too. When I got over to the right side, that link was busted. Voila, new CVs, new control arms, and new sway bar links. The big vibration is gone, but there is still an annoying "wa wa wa wa" that increases in frequency when I accelerate and decreases when I decelerate. So, I decided I would try the wheel hub assemblies next, a little play in the wheel, not a big job. With 120,000 miles I decided to do the outer tie rod ends and the struts while I'm at it. I get all of that done and take it in for an alignment. Thinking this would fix all of my troubles, I got the car back from the shop with much excitement. Only to find that the "wa wa wa wa" is still there, and now there's a big shake when I accelerate, generally between 1,000 and 2,000 RPM. I had the tires balanced about four months ago, but decided I would give that a shot (maybe the bad suspension parts caused them to wear unevenly and a balance would fix the noise; at least the "wa wa wa wa"). When I took it in, I explained why I was doing the balance, the tech said he noticed the noise I was talking about when he test drove it after my recent alignment. He calls me up after an hour or so and says that one of my engine mounts was broken. They could fix it for $200. I had them do that. They called me back after and explained that the noise was still there. But that they didn't think I should pay them to balance the tires. I agreed. I was at least hoping that the shaking was gone. To no avail. I since decided to do the rear toe link because those ball joints and bushings were shot. I unfortunately had to have it realigned after that.
SPECIFIC SYMPTOMS: The car shakes heavily between 1,000 and 2,250 RPM. Usually, if it shifts into 2nd early, still around 2,000 RPM, the shaking goes away. It will not do this in reverse, and it doesn't do it in neutral. Only under load. The vibration/"wa wa wa wa" gets worse as you move faster. The vibration really only happens on the highway under load; if you're coasting, there's less/no vibration. It gets worse if you're at highway speeds (not coasting/decelerating) and you turn - the noise/vibration I get when turning left at highway speeds is different then the vibration I get when I turn right at highway speeds. But they are both loud and the vibration is noticeable. The "wa wa wa wa" is constant.
QUESTION: What are the chances that the remanufactured CVs I put in are bad? Should I replace them with new ones to see? Do you think these symptoms are interconnected, or are they probably independent of one another? Is this a tire problem? I have looked at the tires closely and so has the shop, they don't feel that there's a belt problem and the tires (Hankook Optimos) have worn very well. My fear is that this is a transmission or torque converter problem, but those issues are above my level knowledge. Plus, my car isn't worth much, so I don't want to have to put in any more than I have at this point.
All assistance is much appreciated. I am serious about the pizza thing.
Thank you so very much in advance.
BACKGROUND: My '01 LeSabre Custom has 120,000 miles on it. I was feeling a nasty vibration up front about three months ago. After some online research I determined it was the front control arms. When I went to replace those, I saw the inner boot of the driver's side CV axle was ripped and that grease was everywhere. I decided to replace those before the control arms to see if that fixed my problem. I used two Duralast remanufactured CVs from Autozone. Vibration did not go away. Decided to do the control arms next. While doing those, I saw how bad the driver's side sway bar link was, so I decided to do those too. When I got over to the right side, that link was busted. Voila, new CVs, new control arms, and new sway bar links. The big vibration is gone, but there is still an annoying "wa wa wa wa" that increases in frequency when I accelerate and decreases when I decelerate. So, I decided I would try the wheel hub assemblies next, a little play in the wheel, not a big job. With 120,000 miles I decided to do the outer tie rod ends and the struts while I'm at it. I get all of that done and take it in for an alignment. Thinking this would fix all of my troubles, I got the car back from the shop with much excitement. Only to find that the "wa wa wa wa" is still there, and now there's a big shake when I accelerate, generally between 1,000 and 2,000 RPM. I had the tires balanced about four months ago, but decided I would give that a shot (maybe the bad suspension parts caused them to wear unevenly and a balance would fix the noise; at least the "wa wa wa wa"). When I took it in, I explained why I was doing the balance, the tech said he noticed the noise I was talking about when he test drove it after my recent alignment. He calls me up after an hour or so and says that one of my engine mounts was broken. They could fix it for $200. I had them do that. They called me back after and explained that the noise was still there. But that they didn't think I should pay them to balance the tires. I agreed. I was at least hoping that the shaking was gone. To no avail. I since decided to do the rear toe link because those ball joints and bushings were shot. I unfortunately had to have it realigned after that.
SPECIFIC SYMPTOMS: The car shakes heavily between 1,000 and 2,250 RPM. Usually, if it shifts into 2nd early, still around 2,000 RPM, the shaking goes away. It will not do this in reverse, and it doesn't do it in neutral. Only under load. The vibration/"wa wa wa wa" gets worse as you move faster. The vibration really only happens on the highway under load; if you're coasting, there's less/no vibration. It gets worse if you're at highway speeds (not coasting/decelerating) and you turn - the noise/vibration I get when turning left at highway speeds is different then the vibration I get when I turn right at highway speeds. But they are both loud and the vibration is noticeable. The "wa wa wa wa" is constant.
QUESTION: What are the chances that the remanufactured CVs I put in are bad? Should I replace them with new ones to see? Do you think these symptoms are interconnected, or are they probably independent of one another? Is this a tire problem? I have looked at the tires closely and so has the shop, they don't feel that there's a belt problem and the tires (Hankook Optimos) have worn very well. My fear is that this is a transmission or torque converter problem, but those issues are above my level knowledge. Plus, my car isn't worth much, so I don't want to have to put in any more than I have at this point.
All assistance is much appreciated. I am serious about the pizza thing.
Thank you so very much in advance.
