Hello,
I picked up my 02 STS used with about 60k miles, it always seemed to have a tire shake. The dealer was a friend and his guys went over and over this car replacing and rebalancing etc but still it shook.
Finally we all agreed it must be the tires (lots of complaints on the internet concerning the Goodyears on it seemed to back that theory...)
So we drove it that way for about 25k miles.

Lately theGoodyears just wouldn't keep air for more than a couple days without popping warnings... and they made a kind of "squishing" sound at low speed... and the ride was deteriorating...These Goodyear's were not all that worn but they looked/sounded awful and there was that shaking at speed.

As a resultI put a new set of Michelin's on it to the tune of about $1k.
The ride changed dramatically... Itrides/handles like new...
EXCEPT:
On the way home it started to shake at about 63mph so afterjust oneday I took it back and had all four tires rebalanced... and rotated...Although the shake seemed to "change" in quality it is still there.

So here I am: 2 different sets of pretty expensive tires, at least 4-5 balances done between them and lots of eyballs all over the car yet I still have this shake...

It really takes away from the enjoyment of driving this beautiful car...

I do also have an RSScode C0620 Right Front Position Sensor malfunction, but that only started recently after I had some work done under the hood...
Any ideas?
Thanks.
Jim

Jim, I've too had this issue since purchasing my 05 Deville. I've since replaced the tires with Goddyear Assurance. Notably the right rear seems to be where the shake (past about 68mph) comes from, so the wheel was removed and found to be out of round. The tire was replaced and still the shake continued, only this time it seemed to now consume not only the passenger seat but the front dash and steering wheel as well. I even went so far as to buy a new "true" wheel and place it on that right rear side which offered a dampening but still a shake. I'm really at my witts end here. One mech suggested that one or both front drive shafts could have run out or have a bad "CV" joint. Has ANYONE a bit of advice or suggestions or had the same problem as us? Could it possibly be the same thing? It's depressing to own a cadillac and have it ride like a Geo. Thanks, Kevin

Most Cadillac dealers will have a book that is a gathering of all bulletins from a couple of years. Bulletins, unlike recalls, are "in the field" reported repairs for things like this. I have one for my 91 Allante separate from the factory service manual. It covers all Cadillac bulletins from 90 to 91. Get friendly with the service advisor to be able to read the book.

i too have the same with my '99 sts.... almost a mirror to your story...... and too have spent big $$ to try to correct...... at this point i have learned to live with it. i will say that there are times that it is not there (the shimmy) and times it is. mine starts at 66 mph, and seems to go away at 77 mph..... you know i might add that it seems more like a vibration, in that if it were front end problem i shouldfeel it in the steering wheel, and if problem were rear i should feel it in the seat......

my arms are still up in the air on this one....??????? so hopin maybe someone might have some answers.........

wheel bearing??? i really havent had these checked. maybe that will be next.....

please, lets keep the forum posted on this one.........

rickyd

also need to mention.... the vibration is more pronounced when i give er a little gas in that cruising speed, 66 to 77 mph. and seems to go away when i am off gas.........

HOLY Sh** rickyd, i have the EXACT! same problem with my 99 STS. I have done the same as everyone on here....Mulitple tires....numerous Balances!! rotations etc!!!! and nothing. You are 100% right Rick, its everything you described i thought same thing "you know i might add that it seems more like a vibration, in that if it were front end problem i shouldfeel it in the steering wheel, and if problem were rear i should feel it in the seat......" i cant figure that either and how when you accerlate it gets worse than "seems" to go away when you let off. I have had car 3 years now and been searching for an answer ever since! Will be keeping my eye on this post.

have you had any break workdone? frt,rr.........

ya know too..... ??? do you think the viberation is there at lower speed, though we just dont feel it? its not as pronounced.

how many miles on your sts?

yea i had break work done both front and rear (did my self) didnt see anything out of ordinary in there actually when i did it everything looked somewhat "new" in front end. I had car three years exaclty bought with 105K now i have 145K on it and since first day i bought it i drive it back from NJ to FL on I-95 and whole trip i was experimenting with the shimmy shake. and till this day its the same.

It might be there at lower speeds but i dont think because having drove long periods of time at speeds from 40- all the way to 60 its a smooth as can be. but i think your right it feels more like a "vibration" because steering wheel doesnt shake and i dont feel it in the seat.

but its weird because i read somehwere once that the "sts chassis is sensitive to harmonic frequencies" because when i re balance the wheelslike every couplemonths it gets better but still there. Maybe it just the type of rims cadillac used. I also heard that having the wheels "road forced" will show any irregularaties if any..

*excuse spelling please*

gotcha.... yea, lets hope someone on the Forum might have some answers.....

hey guy, and oil leaks? and how much oil do you use between oil changes.... its something us n* owners are use to i guess.... lol

Jimkana (http://www.cadillacforum.com/showProfile.asp?memid=6272) dont mean to take your thread over....sorry.....maybe we'll get some answers for everyone. jump in

rickyd

yea i have an oil leak that started at about 108K im guessing but it might be rear main seal. If tkae drivers wheel off you can see from side oil/grease around where oil pan bolts up. I use about quart every 800 miles w/ leak and N* usage combined..but yea used to it..

ORIGINAL: 99STSGUY

but its weird because i read somehwere once that the "sts chassis is sensitive to harmonic frequencies" because when i re balance the wheelslike every couplemonths it gets better but still there. Maybe it just the type of rims cadillac used. I also heard that having the wheels "road forced" will show any irregularaties if any..

*excuse spelling please*


waht does road forced mean?.... is that some type of balancing? as if they were on the road? if heard of that, but never tryed it.
rick

yes exactly, its a very detailed balancing. i havent had it done either because only a few dealers/ tire shops have the machine,but its suppose to be a little more pricer than regular balancing but yea it suppose to show up on a screen the imperfections in the tire or rims. it wil tell you if the tire is warped or rim is slightly bent etc.. and if there is problem it will tell which tire is causing it. Check this out... http://www.gsp9700.com/pub/features/how.cfm

Mike

ORIGINAL: 99STSGUY

yes exactly, its a very detailed balancing. i havent had it done either because only a few dealers/ tire shops have the machine,but its suppose to be a little more pricer than regular balancing but yea it suppose to show up on a screen the imperfections in the tire or rims. it wil tell you if the tire is warped or rim is slightly bent etc.. and if there is problem it will tell which tire is causing it. Check this out... http://www.gsp9700.com/pub/features/how.cfm

Mike


yes that is true road force will let u know if the tire is out of round, bad or bent rim. if neither of those are the case the tech can break the bead on the tire and turn it and fix the problem but thats only if the road force will come out less than 17 pounds. i work at goodyear and we do this all the time.thats about the machine that we have in the store i work and we have that exact machine in another store.

OK so I've had new rotors on all 4. New tires (Goodyear Assurance) since Sept. Balanced several times over! New right rear wheel.


Have any of you guys had your wheels spun "on the car"??? I've had this done and it really helps pin point the area of trouble! Mine has been the right rear. I changed the wheel and the tire and damn if it still doesn't exist!

The rotors are bolt on right??? Coud there be a chance that there is a defect in the hub assembly?? Enough to cause this problem? Like a bad bearing? Any thoughts there?


Would be great to get this resolved. OK everyone, let us know if you have a break through!


hdryder05@hotmail.com

Thanks, Kevin

have ur tires road force some call it match balance that is the first thing u can do it will solve most of the vibration

ORIGINAL: santanerox3

have ur tires road force some call it match balance that is the first thing u can do it will solve most of the vibration


Did that once and the serviceman found no problems the RF could detect. Weird eh? Kevin

Yea this car is jus a little weird haha

ORIGINAL: hdryder05

ORIGINAL: santanerox3

have ur tires road force some call it match balance that is the first thing u can do it will solve most of the vibration


Did that once and the serviceman found no problems the RF could detect. Weird eh? Kevin


he should've put the ones that road forced the best in the front. did he do that?

ORIGINAL: 99STSGUY

HOLY Sh** rickyd, i have the EXACT! same problem with my 99 STS. I have done the same as everyone on here....Mulitple tires....numerous Balances!! rotations etc!!!! and nothing. You are 100% right Rick, its everything you described i thought same thing "you know i might add that it seems more like a vibration, in that if it were front end problem i shouldfeel it in the steering wheel, and if problem were rear i should feel it in the seat......" i cant figure that either and how when you accerlate it gets worse than "seems" to go away when you let off. I have had car 3 years now and been searching for an answer ever since! Will be keeping my eye on this post.



As far as the vib worsening when it's under accelation, that could be something in the drive line? I know in mine being a front wheel drive, they have told me that could be some of the cause. Runout in one of the drive shafts.

NOW, here's a good one boys and girls. It's been 30 below with the wind last week and the shake is MUCH less,(almost non existant) than it is when it's 30 above. Anyone have a clue why this is?

As I have stated in other posts, we have the vib down to the right rear wheel thanks to a guy spinning the wheels on the car itself. He is going to re-look at things after the 1st. This is the thrid rear right tire put on the car in the past 5 mo. Wheel is trued and checked.

Any possibility the hub/bearing could be bad? Runout there?

Keep us posted please!! Thanks for all input and ideas too!

Greatfully, Kevin

This landed on my in box today .. very fitting I think.

-


Drivetrain Vibration Issue


This guy ran over a mattress and decided to keep going.

The ensuing jumble finally whipped around enough to put a hole in the gas tank, the subsequent lack of fuel is what finally brought this vehicle to a stop.








http://www.cadillacforum.com/upfiles/3799/B6DA2B9303C14A13B9AD53F445406E4B.jpg

So talking with yet another wheel/tire/front end guy, he noted that 00-06 buick luxury models had this problem and most were caused by the tiniest of tiny loose tie rod ends. Said they would show their true colors from 65-90mph. Said something about some of the parts being the same so he is going to check it out. He also talked about drive shavt runout. This being, of course, only on front wheel drive models. For the rear wheel drive models he thought about a possible bent axle or rear axle runout. Anyone have any comments on these ideas??

returning to the topic at hand ?



ORIGINAL: Jimkana

Hello,
I picked up my 02 STS used with about 60k miles, it always seemed to have a tire shake. The dealer was a friend and his guys went over and over this car replacing and rebalancing etc but still it shook.
Finally we all agreed it must be the tires (lots of complaints on the internet concerning the Goodyears on it seemed to back that theory...)
So we drove it that way for about 25k miles.

Lately theGoodyears just wouldn't keep air for more than a couple days without popping warnings... and they made a kind of "squishing" sound at low speed... and the ride was deteriorating...These Goodyear's were not all that worn but they looked/sounded awful and there was that shaking at speed.

As a resultI put a new set of Michelin's on it to the tune of about $1k.
The ride changed dramatically... Itrides/handles like new...
EXCEPT:
On the way home it started to shake at about 63mph so afterjust oneday I took it back and had all four tires rebalanced... and rotated...Although the shake seemed to "change" in quality it is still there.

So here I am: 2 different sets of pretty expensive tires, at least 4-5 balances done between them and lots of eyballs all over the car yet I still have this shake...

It really takes away from the enjoyment of driving this beautiful car...

I do also have an RSScode C0620 Right Front Position Sensor malfunction, but that only started recently after I had some work done under the hood...
Any ideas?
Thanks.
Jim






.

Well, according to yet another alignment professional, he seems to think the tires/wheels are "egg shaped". Now I've wittnessed the rear wheels being balanced and I have to agree they seem to "hop" a bit. Now, if this is true, wouldn't that vib/shake/shimmy be there constantly? Also, does anyone else, living up north, notice the shake is less noticable when the temps are low? Some mornings when it's 0 - 20 above I feel it less.

So, I went and put two new uniroyal tires on. According to the alignment guy, more expensive tires, esp good years have more rubber, and they are "harder" if you will. He said sometimes it's harder to "true" wheels that have more rubber. It sounds logical, but just wondering the validity of this. The uniroyals do seem to hide the shake better, but it still rears it's ugly head. He swore it wasn't in the front end, but I know at times I do feel it in the steering wheel. Esp when you crank it from side to side goin down the hyway.

Is this just a cadillac fluke? Something they swept under the rug hoping mainstream buyers wouldn't get one of the bad apples? Maybe this needs looked into? I work with a gal who's 02 Deville does the same thing.


One more thing. Do the wheels matter? I have the 16" star like rims. Does anyone have this problem with the 17" rims? I do like the way they look better anyway! LOL!

The saga continues............... please any and all comments, ideas, stories are welcome. Let's figure this out if we can. Thanks! K

Hey guys, I have '00 STS and have same shake/shimmy problem at about 65 MPH. I have Yokohamas (Avid S4) with almost 30K miles (car has 104K miles). I'd say shimmy and vibration started about 10-12K miles ago. Tires are also noisy at higher speeds. I have not tried to change the tires yet as they still have plenty of tread left but am going to get it checked out to see if anyone has a clue as to why this is happening.

I also have an oil leak (rear main seal) that started at about 75K miles. I owned a '95 STS that had a similar leak at the same mileage. My car used to use burn/leak about a quart of oil 2K miles after oil change but appears to be about a quart every 1K miles now. I love the car but have grown weary of the persistent oil leaks that the Northstar apparently has as well as the vibration which has diminshed my enjoyment of driving the car. I also look forward to any information someone "in the know" may have for us.

imo..... i think we are all have a wheel bearing problem. that is what i have found out with mine
rickyd

OK so to throw more wrinkles into the mix!!

My "shake/shimmy" is a constant "rythmic sweep" through the car. It appears to start on the drivers side and move to the passenger side time after sweet time. It's definitely a "come and go" type vibe. New tires.......(again)....... on the back have stopped nothing. Will have the wheel bearings checked out, and HOPE that is what it is!

It's getting to the point to where no one wants to touch it around where I live, lol! COWARDS!! ;)

imo these cadillacs are unlike other gm cars, in that they are built better. especially, suspention on an sts is so different. my wheel bearing prob was over looked by three techs and it wasnt a reality until i told them to check it...... hope that helps yours dude
good luck, let me know
rickyd

imo these cadillacs are unlike other gm cars, in that they are built better. especially, suspention on an sts is so different. my wheel bearing prob was over looked by three techs and it wasnt a reality until i told them to check it...... hope that helps yours dude
good luck, let me know
rickyd


So if you don't mind me asking, what wheel bearing was it? Was it costly? Like you I seem to have to "force" the issue on these so called "experts". Just doesn't feel like a balance problem. Have you heard anything on the 16" wheels? Are they just inferior to better aftermarket rims? Thanks again! We might be getting somewhere! Kevin

.................................................. .
.........My car used to use burn/leak about a quart of oil 2K miles after oil change but appears to be about a quart every 1K miles now. I love the car but have grown weary of the persistent oil leaks that the Northstar apparently has as .............................

Is your car "actually" leaking oil ? Are there puddles underneath it ?
Is it actually burning oil ?
Or is it just regular consumption ?
These N#s do consume a lot of oil. To need to add a few liters between oil changes is not out of the ordinary.
Depending on the season, whos driving, how its being driven, etc, etc, the oil consumption will change.
High oil consumption though, is the norm for the N#

I have heard that "Road Force Balancing" is where to start for the shimmy. Actually getting rid of the good years is where to start. And then Road Force. A quick search should give a place in your area that does it.
Have to do the Road Force Balancing every time a tire is removed from a rim. Also (I think???) when ever tires are rotated.

Well, I have had the same problem, mine is a 2000 STS, same ole story here. 3 front end shops, 2 tire shops. I have changed tie rod ends, wheel bearings, strut seats, tires & wheels. Problem still there, I don't have a clue & neither does anybody else that has looked at it. Have not checked the local dealer, they have not been a Cadillac dealer for very long so I'm not sure how well they will do.

my vibration is back.... im going to have the rack, (steering) looked at when possibly.
rickyd