2005 Buick has weird vibration

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Spikedriver

Spikedriver

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My 2005 Buick Lesabre (173k miles) has a strange vibration in it. At speeds more than 60-65 mph there is an intermittent vibration that comes up through the body of the car. I feel it in the floor and the seat, not the steering wheel. It shakes for about 3 seconds then smooths out for about 1 second. I have talked to 5 mechanics who all had very different opinions on how to fix it, so I have no idea what to do. I was told it could be:

Torque converter, transmission mounts, rear hubs, bad tires, bent rim, CV joints/half shafts/transaxle, and alignment.

The car is not worth enough money to start chasing a problem around until I've replaced half the car in order to fix it. Any experience with a problem like this is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Spike
 
I would have to drive it to be sure, but it sounds to me like if it's doing it around 60-65, that's right around lock up, so I am going torque converter shudder. So I'm gonna say the guy who said torque converter is probably right !...........
 
I hope its that easy but the way I understand it the TC issue only happens when it locks up. This intermittent vibration keeps going as long as the speed is above 65 or so, 3 seconds of vibration and 1 second smooth. I was just reading today, and since it's on the internet it must be true, :rolleyes: that the Lesabres were notorious for vibrations that were difficult to track down...so I guess I've got some work ahead of me.
 
TO eliminate the tires remove one at a time and drive the car to see if the vibration is worse. Of course put the spare in place of the removed tire before driving. LOL Yank!

My 06 Malibu at speeds over 45 would get a very noticeable sound inside the car. The faster I went the louder it got. Come to find out it was from the tires breaking down in the rubber. The tires had 77,000 on them but still had fair tread. I replaced the tires and no more loud noise. When this set got around 80,000 I had the same noise.

You might pull the codes on the car and see if any code is showing for converter. I don't know if there is such a thing on your Buick but on many vehicles with OD lock up a light can come on or throw a code that OD has problems.

Have you checked your trans fluid level? If it doesn't have a dipstick it should have a window bottom side of trans to check for fluid at the level line in the eye. If level is low then that could be the problem.

Here is something you can do to check that might or might not rule out torq converter. Put the shift lever in drive but not OD position. This should keep the trans from going into OD lock up. See if you still have the vibration. If not then drive again with lever in OD position and see if again you have the vibration.

The cv joints could be bad. Moving slow turn the car hard one way or the other and listen for any clicking noises. If you hear a noise then you have a bad cv joint. Being your problem is intermittent I doubt that is your problem.

If it mostly only happens at certain speeds it could be a tire problem.
I had a Ford compact p/up and at speeds around 60 or more all of a sudden the front end would go to shaking something fierce. Usually after hitting a dip in the road. I believe that was bad tie rod ends and tire out of balance cause the shaking. When I applied the brakes the shake stopped till it happened again. You might check your tires for separations in the tread or seriously out of balance. A bad tire with worn car parts can really cause some bad vibrations.
 
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I drove it on a 60 mile round trip today. Its some kind of harmonic vibration. I almost seems to start toward the front and move backward. I feel it in my feet first, then the dash, then the seat. It makes me nervous!
 
Any peculiar sounds when going from reverse to drive or vice versa?

Do you by chance hear any clicking when you turn right or left?
 
Spikedriver said:
I hope its that easy but the way I understand it the TC issue only happens when it locks up. This intermittent vibration keeps going as long as the speed is above 65 or so, 3 seconds of vibration and 1 second smooth. I was just reading today, and since it's on the internet it must be true, :rolleyes: that the Lesabres were notorious for vibrations that were difficult to track down...so I guess I've got some work ahead of me.
Click to expand...

That reads like two (or more) vibration frequencies going in and out of phase. Probably rotating members, every one. There Spike, that's all the clue you should need. Get it up on a lift, go under there and shake stuff. :cool:
 
Also a harmonic balancer can possibly cause the problem. If the front engine seal leaks it can destroy the balancer. The motor mount under my balancer was totally wasted front leaking seal.
Did you try just using drive and not OD to see if it made a difference?
 
buster said:
Also a harmonic balancer can possibly cause the problem. If the front engine seal leaks it can destroy the balancer. The motor mount under my balancer was totally wasted front leaking seal.
Did you try just using drive and not OD to see if it made a difference?
Click to expand...
No I didn't. But that's a good idea. I don't think its the trans though. When I let off the gas and coast the vibration remains until the car slows down below 65 or so.
 
You just might have some bad wheel bearings. Jack up the car and take a long screw driver or rod to stick into the wheel and put pressure upwards to check if any movement up and down on the hub. Most newer cars have sealed hubs and they do go bad and need replaced. Also the prying can show if you have bad suspension/steering parts. My front hubs on my p/up have some wear but should last a good while longer.
Back in the seventies I was driving down the road and went over some rxr tracks. I saw a tire go rolling into a sign. OOPS! It was my tire, rim and hub that came off because the wheel bearings were totally gone. I know you aren't going to believe me but there really was no noticeable wheel noise before it happened and those bearings were totally gone meaning they had been going bad for a long time.
 
buster said:
You just might have some bad wheel bearings. Jack up the car and take a long screw driver or rod to stick into the wheel and put pressure upwards to check if any movement up and down on the hub. Most newer cars have sealed hubs and they do go bad and need replaced. Also the prying can show if you have bad suspension/steering parts. My front hubs on my p/up have some wear but should last a good while longer.
Back in the seventies I was driving down the road and went over some rxr tracks. I saw a tire go rolling into a sign. OOPS! It was my tire, rim and hub that came off because the wheel bearings were totally gone. I know you aren't going to believe me but there really was no noticeable wheel noise before it happened and those bearings were totally gone meaning they had been going bad for a long time.
Click to expand...
Just had my driver's side front bearing done this week. The mechanic was supposed to have checked them all.
 
VThillman said:
That reads like two (or more) vibration frequencies going in and out of phase. Probably rotating members, every one. There Spike, that's all the clue you should need. Get it up on a lift, go under there and shake stuff. :cool:
Click to expand...
You know, maybe one of the half shafts is out of balance. I've heard that can make strange vibes.
 
True a half shaft can be bent or have come out of position due to a clip having come out. I knew a woman with a Honda had that exact thing happen. She had the cv joints replaced and bigger than **** they used a rebuilt shaft that had a bent shaft. It pulled out of the clip and had to be towed back for another shaft.
Years ago my family was going to lunch and we heard a grinding sound. We pulled over and the wheel was smoking. Turns out the place that was supposed to repack the wheel bearings cleaned the bearing but didn't repack them before reinstalling them. **** happens sometimes.
If you ever have front tires replaced and then have the brakes act like it has warped rotors then remove the wheels and tighten by steps equally around the lugs. Often tire shops don't use a torque wrench and just run each lug down tight. This can cause the rotor to go out of line causing it to act like a warped rotor. It pisses me off when tire shops use to high of torque air guns and jam each lug instead of snugging down all the lugs then gradually tighten crisscrossing lugs.
 
Are you saying that the vibrations occurred from a certain road speed rather than an engine speed? If so then it's a balancing problem. Check your rear tires for balancing.

Could also be your drive shaft if you have one.
 
Negative on the tires. They've all been done. I took it on a 3 hour trip and the shudder seems to start at the front and work its way back before disappearing. I feel it at my feet first, then the dash a half second later, then in the seat.
 
Hmm... That got me thinking about my friend's weird problem years ago. Check that your bell housing (transmission) is firmly bolted to the engine block.
 
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