steph88

Hi all,
Haven't posted in forever, sowwy
I need some help! About a week ago, my car (98 ES300) started shaking violently when i exceeded 55mph. It has continued, somewhat randomly, since then. I cannot figure out why it usually happens but sometimes drives fine...The facts:
*Shakes violently at or above 55.. feels like the front of the car, and specifically the driver's side. No other audible noises other than those caused from the shaking though.
*Will also shake as I slow down from over 50.
*Strange rolling, clunking feeling as i'm braking from lower speeds..almost as if the wheels are egg-shaped.

So far I've considered it may be a ball joint, tie rod, or caliper problem..
My previous car had to have the ball joints & control arms replaced; similar feeling with my Lexus though not quite the same. I will be driving home from college later today to have my mechanic friend look at it, so during the trip I will pull over when it starts shaking to touch the wheels and determine if it is a caliper issue...
Though i am having it looked at today, i was wondering if any of you have had similar problems or know what needs to be done? It would help greatly!
Thank you!!

capnfred

could be drive axles.....have you tried to move the front wheels back and forth with it jacked up, what ever it is it is not safe..!!!, it mite be something simple, but then again it mite not..... so at least jack up each side and see if there is any play in the front end, you cannot check ball joints, but the rest you can check. One other thing with it in park and jacked up try and turn the wheel like it would be with the car rolling, see how much play there is, then take it out of park and turn the wheels again listening for the noise, clunking or what ever it does..... turn it slowly, safety note, make sure the hand brake is set, and the rear wheels chocked. good luck,

Capn

03 ES

is it only under loaded acceleration?
if so it would most likely be an axle issue.

have you ever had your tires balenced? how is the condition of the tires?
bald, out of round, cupped or unbalenced tires could all be the cause of your issues, and in my opinion thats the best (and cheapest) starting point.

Rollin'ES3

What condition are your front tires in? Are they matching in tread/size? Properly Inflated & balanced?

Problem should be with one of the above

steph88

Thanks for the advice!
My tires are only about 6 months old, seem to be fine. No wear and tear, no pulling or alignment concerns, seem to be balanced fine.
Took it to my mechanic friend, he lifted it and said the front passenger's tire was harder to roll in neutral than it should and that the rotors might be warped.
We took it for a spin so he could experience the shaking, but it didn't happen even after about 1/2 hour of driving above 55! (it likes to be somewhat random)
As we were braking though, i was sitting in the passenger's seat and noticed a faint burning smell so we got out and the rim on that tire was hot while the others were cold...So i definitely need new brake pads & rotors.. He said the caliper looked okay..
But because the car didn't start shaking while he was driving he couldn't be sure that it was caused by the brake problem too.

He suggested that the shaking could have been caused by the bad brakes becoming too hot while driving, and that possibly it wasn't getting as hot when it's super cold out like it was last night..

Now I'm lost.. we're going to replace the brakes and hope that was the problem.

But he suggested it could still be another problem..Tie rod ends, possibly ball joint or even alternator issues? He said he couldn't find out unless he experienced the shaking or was able to properly look under the car. (we just jacked it up in the garage)

I drove about 20 minutes to my apartment this morning on a 55mph road the whole way. It is cold out. No shaking! Just the weird rolling feeling when braking. SO CONFUSED.