I've picked up a nasty vibration between 71 and 74 miles an hour. With the interstate speed limit at 70 in Illinois, that's a horrible speed for a vibration to manifest itself.
The tire dealer has now re-balanced the tires twice, with no success in removing the vibration. I'm tired (no pun intended) of them screwing around here, and would like them to resolve the issue.
Took it in on Monday (for the second attempt at re-balancing), and from what I've felt, I told the tech that I thought that one of the tires on the rear axle has a problem. So, he pulls them off, and re-balances them. When he got done, he tells me that he drove it himself, and all is good. He also told me if it continues, that I need to check my drive shaft, u-joints, rear brakes... (insert a laundry list of any other component that might possibly cause a rear axle vibration here).
Since there is an interstate a half-mile away from the store, I take it out on the interstate... still vibrates. Nothing has changed. I go back to the shop, let him know that the vibration is still there. Upon hearing that, the tech gets all [censored] off, all red in the face, tells me that he's not doing anything more.
So, I responded with since he's told me that he's not doing anything more, that he can get me a manager. He then points towards the main building, and storms off, slamming a door on the way just to make his point. (With a handful of now wide-eyed customers in the waiting room).
So, I went and found the manager.
The manager agreed to Road Force balance all four tires this afternoon at 4:30pm.
Out of sheer curiosity last night, I took the spare, and pulled the driver's side rear tire off of the vehicle, and put on the spare on in its place. Let's see if I can at least figure out which tire is the problem, or if I may have a mechanical issue of some sort.
Luckily, with 1 out of 4 odds... I picked the correct tire on the first try. I took the driver's side rear tire off, swapped it with the spare it, and at 71-74mph... 90% of the vibration has now disappeared (who knows how well balanced the spare tire is...).
On the tire that vibrates, they have 4 ounces of weight (16 - 1/4 ounce stick on weights) all piled up in behind one of the spokes on the aluminum wheel, with no other weight anywhere else on the wheel. That should be a sign of a potential problem right there.
When I go to the appointment this afternoon, do I tell them up front that I know that around 90% of the vibration is coming from driver's side rear tire (note that I was correct about the problem tire being on the rear axle), or do I let them do the Road Force balancing first, and see if THEY can finally figure it out?
What are the odds that the Road Force machine can reduce some of the 4 ounces of weight on that one wheel? I'm also wondering if the tire has slipped a belt, and there's no fixing this issue.
Last night, I very discretely marked the position of the stem on each of the tires, to see if they end up re-positioning any of the tires on the rim, with the Road Force balancing.
The tire dealer has now re-balanced the tires twice, with no success in removing the vibration. I'm tired (no pun intended) of them screwing around here, and would like them to resolve the issue.
Took it in on Monday (for the second attempt at re-balancing), and from what I've felt, I told the tech that I thought that one of the tires on the rear axle has a problem. So, he pulls them off, and re-balances them. When he got done, he tells me that he drove it himself, and all is good. He also told me if it continues, that I need to check my drive shaft, u-joints, rear brakes... (insert a laundry list of any other component that might possibly cause a rear axle vibration here).
Since there is an interstate a half-mile away from the store, I take it out on the interstate... still vibrates. Nothing has changed. I go back to the shop, let him know that the vibration is still there. Upon hearing that, the tech gets all [censored] off, all red in the face, tells me that he's not doing anything more.
So, I responded with since he's told me that he's not doing anything more, that he can get me a manager. He then points towards the main building, and storms off, slamming a door on the way just to make his point. (With a handful of now wide-eyed customers in the waiting room).
So, I went and found the manager.
The manager agreed to Road Force balance all four tires this afternoon at 4:30pm.
Out of sheer curiosity last night, I took the spare, and pulled the driver's side rear tire off of the vehicle, and put on the spare on in its place. Let's see if I can at least figure out which tire is the problem, or if I may have a mechanical issue of some sort.
Luckily, with 1 out of 4 odds... I picked the correct tire on the first try. I took the driver's side rear tire off, swapped it with the spare it, and at 71-74mph... 90% of the vibration has now disappeared (who knows how well balanced the spare tire is...).
On the tire that vibrates, they have 4 ounces of weight (16 - 1/4 ounce stick on weights) all piled up in behind one of the spokes on the aluminum wheel, with no other weight anywhere else on the wheel. That should be a sign of a potential problem right there.
When I go to the appointment this afternoon, do I tell them up front that I know that around 90% of the vibration is coming from driver's side rear tire (note that I was correct about the problem tire being on the rear axle), or do I let them do the Road Force balancing first, and see if THEY can finally figure it out?
What are the odds that the Road Force machine can reduce some of the 4 ounces of weight on that one wheel? I'm also wondering if the tire has slipped a belt, and there's no fixing this issue.
Last night, I very discretely marked the position of the stem on each of the tires, to see if they end up re-positioning any of the tires on the rim, with the Road Force balancing.
