89 GC 3.0 A604 tranny shaking under accel

[Ric]

There is a history on this van.. My sister drove it to my house. She lived more than 100 miles away. She was visiting for Thanksgiving Day and said 'I'd thank you if you looked at my van brother!'. OK, I look at tires and fronts are cupped AND worn on insides. I asked how it rides. 'It bumps on the highway" She says. Story over... she has major work needed on this one. I got it from her for free because I'm her big brother ( 'nuther story I have put in two ball joints, a steering rack and a tie rod end that was bad. The dam car should be tight, but I still feel a vibration when I am at about 35-40 mph. I searched google and heard there may be a problem with the torque converter?

Btw I have new tires on front and the rims are excellent. I really am stumped and wonder if this could a tranny related prob.. axles.. motor oil.. I'm done. HELP!!!

 

[Lew Barton]

Hi,

This sounds like CV joints to me. My '90 GV (3.3 A604) did that a few years ago--had axles replaced, and it cleared up. It is starting to come back, but these axles have about as many miles as the first set. What appears to happen is that the CV joints get worn and become less flexible or sticky--torsional load as under acceleration makes them less flexible, or tries to straighten them out, so this stiffness of the joints gets imparted into the front wheels and you feel vibration. I had mine replaced by a Les Schwab tire center here in Oregon and they said it was a very common failure. Remember these rigs are fairly big and heavy, so I think they put fairly heavy wear on the CV joints. There was also a front engine mount they had me replace. That was another fairly common part for them, and when I bought the part at the dealer they said it was a very common replacement. My experience with CV joints is that it is easiest to purchase remanufactured axle assemblies and put them in. The general price range for the parts is $60-75.

Good luck,

Lew