Car "Hopping"

[RoughRex]

Anyone have ideas as to what could cause this problem? It varies in intensity with speed and it's been doing it for a little while, seems to get worse if the brakes are applied and worse at low speeds say... 35mph and below. It feels like the car is shaking rhythmically but not left to right, it feels like up and down. The car is in the shop right now being "inspected" and getting the lifetime alignment checked.

If this helps rule out some answers, the problem existed BEFORE I recently replaced the following:

Clutch (NEW, LUK)
Transmission (rebuilt)
Driveshaft (NEW, Mazdatrix aluminum)
Control arm bushings (NEW, F&R, Energy Susp.)
Rear wheel bearings (NEW, KOYO)
Engine mounts (NEW, OEM)
Transmission Mounts/Cradle (NEW, OEM)

[Hecubus84]

Just because it's new don't assume it's good. I've read a few threads where people are complaining of vibration issues after installing a aftermarket driveshaft. If you still have your stocker try installing it to see if the vibration disappears. I'd also consider having your tires rebalanced by an outfit that has a road-force balancer. I had a bad imbalance on my car after getting two new tires installed, I then balanced them at my school and found they were both off by about 8oz.

[To_Slow]

Sounds like your shocks....

[Herblenny]

Sounds like your shocks....

I kind of agree..

Check this site.. Its informative..

http://free-auto-repair-advice.blogspot.com/2007/05/shocks-and-struts-what-they-do-when-to.html

[RoughRex]

That would definitely suck, the Struts are tokico blues and are less than two years old also have new eibach pro kit springs and eibach pro kit sways, used all new hardware except for the little cap that goes on top of the bumpstop when installing.

[Herblenny]

Do you see any unusual tire wear? That's first thing I look for when I'm having issues with suspension related...

Hope you get it all worked out.. less than 2 years on a suspension seems pretty low to have issues.. How about bushings?

[djmtsu]

Are your wheels hub centric? Do they have a centering ring?

Maybe one has broken, or is missing? Just thinking of things to check.

[RoughRex]

ok... just got it back.

1 slightly bent wheel
1 slightly loose front wheel bearing
1 bad tire (no unusual wear, manufacturing flaw... not on the bent wheel of course..)

I got the wheels balanced and rotated for now... the rest will have to wait until after DGRR. There's a good wheel repair shop here in Nashville I've used before and I'll probably just let the tires ride until I can't stand it anymore.

Thanks for the help guys

[My5ABaby]

ok... just got it back.

1 slightly bent wheel
1 slightly loose front wheel bearing
1 bad tire (no unusual wear, manufacturing flaw... not on the bent wheel of course..)

I got the wheels balanced and rotated for now... the rest will have to wait until after DGRR. There's a good wheel repair shop here in Nashville I've used before and I'll probably just let the tires ride until I can't stand it anymore.

Thanks for the help guys
Front wheel bearings are my arch-nemesis... :leaving: They're such a pain in the ass to replace if you don't have the right tools.

[Max777]

/\ here's a trick I found when I was doing this:

clean the bearing races, and weld a flat tab to the bearing race.

hammer it out, then repeat on the other side.

press in new bearing races.

install bearings and put the hub onto the spindle.

torque hub down to spec to seat the bearings, give em a spin, etc.

loosen it

install wheel with the bearing "cap" off.

do the "wiggle" test on the bearing

tighten slowly,

repeat test,

keep doing this untill the wheel spins nice and smooth, but does not "jolt around" when you are wiggling the top and bottom of the wheel.

After this, you can use a pull scale if you are really paranoid, or just install the bolt "cap" using a new cotter pin, smack the cap back on, and put the wheel back on.

works wonderfull.

[TehMonkay]

I had this problem due to blown struts.