B4 Wagon Front End Shimmy

4thdiesel

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 17, 2006
Location
Haverhill, Ma
TDI
96 Passat Wagon, 2010 Jetta TDI
I have a significant shimmy when applying the brakes, and/or at speeds of 65+. There is no pulsation in the brake pedal and no steering wheel play.
Most front end suspension components have been replaced: Koni-yellow struts, ball joints, both tie rods (inner & outer), control arm bushings, bad passenger side bearing, new tires & balance, as well as brake rotors.

I do notice a significant imbalance when jacking up the front-left wheel and running in a low gear. I've tried this with the donut-spare as well as other tires. Some are better than others, but the imbalance still exists. Also, swapped tires with my wife's 97 Jetta....all tires seem fine on her car.

Having sifted through many "shimmy" threads, I suspect the inner CV Joints.
Is in/out play at this area enough to determine cause of the shimmy?

The car has 356K miles and runs well...gas mileage has dropped from 43 to 39 and I have some sort of vacuum link (limp mode on accel)....but that's for another thread. Any thoughts about the shimmy??
 

TonyJetta

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 15, 2005
Location
Tucson, Az
TDI
'15 Jetta TDI SE / '06 Jetta TDI DSG Pkg0 / '96 Passat TDI
How long have you had this car? Possibly a bent rim? How old are the tires? When were they last balanced?

My story, short version:
1) Had tires balanced, got better but still there
2) Spoke to Discount Tire about it - checked all four rims - found 2 bent rims. Moved them to the rear, shimmy cleared up a LOT
3) Found a forum member in Ca that had rims to sell. BOught 2
4) Installed 2 rims, got rid of badly bent rim and kept the not-so-badly bent rim for a future full size spare.

Tony
 

4thdiesel

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 17, 2006
Location
Haverhill, Ma
TDI
96 Passat Wagon, 2010 Jetta TDI
I bough this car new.
I can see the front drivers' side tire wobble when looking head on. I then put the spare on with the same wobble effect. Could this be a warped hub?
When driving, the shimmy is most evident when braking, but there is no pulsation felt in the brake peddle.
 

TonyJetta

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 15, 2005
Location
Tucson, Az
TDI
'15 Jetta TDI SE / '06 Jetta TDI DSG Pkg0 / '96 Passat TDI
I'd suggest replacing the wheel bearing. The hub presses into the ID of the bearing.

Tony
 

TonyJetta

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 15, 2005
Location
Tucson, Az
TDI
'15 Jetta TDI SE / '06 Jetta TDI DSG Pkg0 / '96 Passat TDI
Just the bearing. Theoretically, the bearing takes all the wear, so the hub does not.

There are a few how-to's posted here. Should be a quick search.

Personally, I prefer to remove the whole knuckle from the car and have a machine shop remove and press in a new bearing.

New bearings can be purchased from many sources. I bought mine from azautohaus.com

HTH

Tony
 

4thdiesel

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 17, 2006
Location
Haverhill, Ma
TDI
96 Passat Wagon, 2010 Jetta TDI
Tony,

Sorry for so many questions but here is another....

This bearing is not making any noise to indicate wear. Does it make sense that it could be failing without the standard whirring noise?

I'm unable locate the correct part number for a 96 B4 hub. My source for part numbers is Vagcat.com....however, they do not list a part number for my car (B4 Z1 no ABS). Anyone have the correct part number?

Thanks
 

TonyJetta

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 15, 2005
Location
Tucson, Az
TDI
'15 Jetta TDI SE / '06 Jetta TDI DSG Pkg0 / '96 Passat TDI
No problem...Bearing noise is one indicator of failure. Visual inspection is another criteria: blue, gray, or black, coloring of the bearing races. A third, is physical slop in the bearing. Usually, the noise shows up in combination with color changing. Extreme failuire is when the ball bearings wear to the point of detectable slop.

It may be of value to have an alignment shop look it over. My preference is Firestone - buy their lifetime alignment. Take it back as many time as you want /need.

Tony
 

4thdiesel

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 17, 2006
Location
Haverhill, Ma
TDI
96 Passat Wagon, 2010 Jetta TDI
OK...just replaced FL (drivers) wheel bearing and hub, but shimmy still remains. It is most pronounced while braking. Remember, just about every suspension component has been replaced.

I've been sifting through cv joint threads but none indicate a shimmy during braking as a bad inner cv joint symptom.

Jacked up the car, removed the FR tire, started the car and let the wheel rotate in 5th gear. I can feel a vibration in the drive shaft. There is also some axial play in the drive shaft in/out of the inner cv joint (1/8"-1/4").

Does this sound like the inner cv joint is bad? Where to buy? I've read about poor quality chinese joints and unbalanced shafts.

Thanks!
 
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