01 Jetta TDI: Shimmy / Vibration / Shake

ERICKTDI · February 21st, 2009, 18:06

I am at a dead end and can't figure out this problem. Hopefully someone can help???

Over the past 5k miles or so our car has developed a nasty shimmy, shake, or vibration most noticable between 35 and 45 mph under acceleration. The vibration is minimal (if at all) when braking or coasting. I am set to get new tires and an alignment but want to resolve the vibration first.

Here is the car info...
We have a 2001 Jetta TDI that is bone stock with 188,000 miles. Maintenance is up to date for timing belt service, brake fluid flush, auto transmission fluid flush and filter, oil, and intake cleaning. The front sway bar bushings were replaced in the last 10k miles. The shocks are stock original. The tires are 205/60/R15 and are due for replacement.

Attempts to diagnose...
I put the front end in the air and checked for any loose steering drivetrain or supension parts, none were identified. I rotated the tires thinking it was a wheel out of balance, no noticeable difference.

HELP PLEASE!!!

Thanks,
Erick

JASONP · February 21st, 2009, 18:09

Warped rotor?

roadhard1960 · February 21st, 2009, 18:52

Bad cv joints? If it is nasty can you drive on a 4 lane highway with someone watching from the second car. If you see wheels hopping about you might have a clue.

Where do you live? I live in a smooth road area so my suspension does not suffer the same way that a car driven in Ohio or Michigan might suffer.

cadman1940 · February 21st, 2009, 19:46

First thing to check is for loose rubber inside of tire. This is done with car jacked up in neutral grip tire top and bottom and very quickly switch top & bottom maintaining contact with tire note if you feel marbles inside tire if so remove loose rubber and rebalance assembly. Another possibility is a bent wheel this can be checked for by simply rotating wheel while holding a stabilized rod to determine runout or woble in wheel. A warped rotor will only cause problems when braking. These are just a few but the first ones I check when I have problems. Thanks cadman1940

ERICKTDI · February 22nd, 2009, 10:04

I have updates...

I just took the car for a 10-12 mile drive. The vibration is probably better described as a rhythmic pounding felt in the steering wheel. At parking lot speeds on a smooth surface it is very slow and results in a rhythmic tug on the steering wheel that jerks it about 3-4 degrees at each rotation of the wheels. Obviously as speed increases the piston like movement turns into a violent shake at 40 mph and then over 60 mph it is a smooth buzzing vibration. If I brake or accelerate the vibration does not change and by shifting into neutral and coasting the behavior continues with no change.

Based on all this I am leaning toward it not being a wheel balance, rotor, or drivetrain issue. It seems more like a bent axle, if that is even possible. If this were my old rear drive chevy I would say that a front spindle was bent?

Also to answer roadhard's question, yes we live in a pot hole prone area of Kentucky.

I am trying to figure if there is something on this car that I should target for diagnostics or if I am over my head and need an expert.

Thanks always for any help!
Erick

JASONP · February 22nd, 2009, 10:07

I'm still guessing rotor,let us know!
GL!

roadhard1960 · February 22nd, 2009, 10:27

Someone just mentioned a good idea. Jack up car. Spin every tire looking to see how true the tires are. Post results of runout. It is possible that you have more than one tire damaged or running out of true or out of round. Rotating tires might just put another bad tire in the same place. I had a set of tires where one tire would always cause a pull. When it was rotated to the back the pull went away. Same car never had tires that were all that true. Maybe the Brazilian GTI wheels were not that true to start with.

My brother has destroyed at least one tire in a chuckhole. It may be possible that you have done belt damage to more than one tire so that is the reason for inspecting each tire looking at them from the front or back and from the side while spinning. Weird wiggles and weird hump/high spots are problems.

ERICKTDI · February 24th, 2009, 15:21

And the winner is... Roadhard and Cadman.
After lifting the car and checking every possible suspension and drivetrain component for the third time I still found nothing. My fear was paying for 4 new tires and the problem not going away. I just got home from the tire place with 4 new tires and the problem is solved. It appears that the tread or belt had seperated in a tire which caused the vibration. When I rotated the tires the vibration went from not so bad in the rear to nearly unbearable when the bad tire was up front. Anyway, thanks again for the help.
Erick

IWUScott · July 16th, 2016, 05:03

Ever find out what this was? Mine (2005 Jetta TDI) is doing the same thing now. I am leaning toward premature torque converter lockup?

IWUScott · July 16th, 2016, 05:06

Doh! I see you solved your issue.....but I just put on a new set of treads, and the shop says my axle joints are all okay. Anyone have any other thoughts?

UhOh · July 16th, 2016, 16:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by IWUScott

Doh! I see you solved your issue.....but I just put on a new set of treads, and the shop says my axle joints are all okay. Anyone have any other thoughts?

How do they KNOW the CV joints are OK? Possibly bad axles (cheap ones)?

joep1234 · July 16th, 2016, 17:16

Glad it was tires. Other things to watch for is a inner CV joint, bad wheel bearing and/or a brake caliper sticking causing the rotor to warp and pulse while driving and stopping.

Tdijarhead · July 16th, 2016, 18:11

Are the axles original? How many miles on your car? If you have a vibration it can be several different things in addition to the tires. Inner cv joint, inner tie rod, wheel bearing, outer tie rod. You'll need to check them all. While it could be your transmission, I'd sooner think its one of these others unless there is additional info?

IWUScott · July 26th, 2016, 21:07

I just had the car up on stands again today, to take another look. Seems there may be too much play in the left inner, which I intend to replace (dad did it a couple years ago, before I bought it from him. He has said he wasn't real happy with it (rebuilt) when he got it) next week. Any ideas where to purchase would be appreciated. I also noticed the rear bushing on the driver's side A-arm looks to need replaced also. Might this cause the "shimmy?"

Being new to the site, I am not familiar with where the best place to post the following is. If anyone else feels it valuable and wants to copy/paste somewhere else, please do so. It might help other Jetta owners prevent impending issues.

While checking my axles, I also thought it a good time to work on a couple of beginning rust issues.

First, the fender well lip on the top of the driver's side fender was rusting. I believe this issue is caused by the foam rubber block installed in the fender cavity. It is probably wet most of the time(at least, here IN Pennsylvania) and it sits right up against the fender lip. I will trim it back after painting. Can't see doing so causing an issue.

The second issue has arisen in front of both front doors, at the bottom of the frame, just behind the fender well. When I removed the plastic well liners, I found the space between the liners and the frame packed with mud, sand and leaves on both sides. When the liner is mounted, there is a small slot between the frame and liner, probably to allow drainage? Unfortunately, it appears the cast off from the wheels must get thrown directly into this slot. I intend to attach a bit of screen wire to keep sand and leaves out, when I reattach the liners.

UhOh · July 27th, 2016, 02:19

There's a fair amount of options out there on CV joints/axles. Need more information: if they're cheap axles don't bother trying to replace the CV joints.

Check at a local VW dealer about that fender. You might still be covered under their extended warranty: 12 years?