2006 Dodge Caravan

Tiny
SENDMETHATLETTER
  • MEMBER
  • 2006 DODGE CARAVAN
  • 6 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 16,900 MILES
I have two problems. My car shakes and wobbles between 40 and 50 miles an hour only when I am accelerating. As soon as I left off of the gas the shaking stops. I have checked the balance on all four wheels, rotated the tires and the problem persists. I believe this problem might be a bent Axel?

Second problem, my car is having trouble shifting at low rpms. It will slightly chatter unless I increased the rpms.

Thank you for your help
Saturday, May 15th, 2010 AT 3:17 PM

1 Reply

Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,873 POSTS
Hi sendmethatletter@hotmail. Welcome to the forum. Don't expect to find anything bent because that would still cause a wobble when coasting. You've tried the common stuff already. Your dandy description fits exactly a worn inner cv joint except for the speed range. Usually they will cause a steering wheel wobble up to around 35 mph, but only when under load. I can copy and paste a procedure to inspect the joints but most people just replace the entire half shaft now because remanufactured units are so low cost. The housing costs more from the dealer than the whole half shaft, but be aware some rebuilders overlook the wear and reuse a housing that causes a wobble. If you happen to get one of those, you will doubt the diagnosis and eventually have to replace the shaft a second time. Fortunately that doesn't happen too often.

I replaced dozens of housings for this problem, almost always on the right side. Since the speed at which your wobble shows up, you might want to try something first to verify we're on the right track. The passenger side engine mount sets the position of the drive train. Loosen the two bolts and use a pry bar to shift the engine one way or the other. If the wobble changes, suspect an inner cv joint housing. Moving the drive train changes where the rollers ride inside the housing.

Caradiodoc
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Saturday, May 15th, 2010 AT 10:18 PM

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