gmg614

I have a 2011 RX 350 AWD and i am getting a vibration that varys with speed. I had the wheels balanced. I did a check under vehicle and found that one of the drive shaft support carriers was not straight. I checked my online ALLDATA info
for the RX 350 and looked up specs for theses drive shaft support carriers. They should be square to the drive shaft. After correcting the issue I still have the vibration, One thing I did notice that if I accelerate quickly that vibration does not occur. I get the vibration normally around 40 MPH driving normal and again around 60 MPH. I am thinking either a u-joint or bad support carrier. Any assistance on how to troubleshoot would be great. Thanks

tus

Would guess you have a bad CV joint. The misalignment of the support was caused by the bad joint, not the reason it went bad.

Putting a greater load on the thing loads up the internals of the joint which would explain why it doesn't vibrate.

Have you had the suspect wheel off the ground and turned it by hand?

gmg614

Not, yet but was going to try on all wheels to narrow it down to witch one.

Clutchless

Are you referring to the main drive shaft that runs front to rear or one of the axles to a wheel? I suspect you mean the main drive shaft, and it only has U-joints and I suspect you have a bad one that should be replaced and maybe the formerly bent carrier at the same time.

gmg614

Yes, I believe it is the main drive shaft going from front to rear but I am not sure. I have to check it better. I think I have to jack it up to get a better feel if any part is bad.
thanks,

gmg614

Had the RX in the alignment shop today, alignment was out, wheels re balanced( they were out). One of the wheel rims is bent slightly.
Will see it it helped any when I pick it up today. I will update.

Clutchless

There are shops that will straighten bent wheels for far less than buying a replacement wheel. Just search for wheel repair. I have done this a couple of times.

RX in NC

^^ What he said....

gmg614

After car was in alignment shop, rides better and quieter. still slight vibration.

NixGS350

If it was one of the front wheels that was bent, its possible the wheel bearing was damaged too. You can check it fairly easily using a jack and your hands! Check excessive vertical play.

gmg614

I removed all wheels and found no play or roughness in the wheels bearings. I did find that the rear rotors on the inside were the parking brake shoes are the inner surface of the rotor had heavy amounts of rust build up were the parking brake shoes contact it. I am going to replace those rotors with new ones. See if that makes any difference.

gmg614

Does anyone recommend an aftermarket center supports for the main drive shaft?

Clutchless

Are you asking if it would be safe or possible to use an aftermarket drive shaft center support as opposed to an OEM one? They have not really been the subject of any complaints on the forum. How many miles are on your RX?
Also there are shops that specialize in balancing and repairing driveshafts. Maybe you should visit one of them. If you had a bent driveshaft support bearing you may have other damage since you said the replacement of the support did not completely eliminate the issue.

Did you fix the bent wheel mentioned above as that may also be a vibration source.

RockAuto has many aftermarket driveshaft supports but describes them as front or rear supports.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...+support,12743

HSVRX350

Glad it is just wheel alignment issue with bent rim. Just wondering how many miles on your AWD? I sold the FWD and might buy AWD. AWD are just as reliable? Are there issues with AWD that one needs to know?

Clutchless

The only AWD issues are the requirements to change the fluids in the rear differential, transfer case and to check the tightness of the driveshaft bolts.