Shimmy front passenger side

DIESELCHOPPER

MEMBER
2004 KIA SPECTRA
2.0L
4 CYL
FWD
MANUAL
107,720 MILES

We have a nasty vibration when accelerating at freeway speeds. We get a shake in starts at passenger side. It is kind of random, but can be controlled with the gas pedal. Feels like suspension or some kind of misfire. We have no check engine light. We replaced the spark plugs and wires, cam position sensor, ECT, tested the fan and it works, but the PCM does not turn the fan on. We made a manual switch for it. Strange thing, I can control the shimmy with the gas pedal. On a road trip and super frustrated.

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,889 POSTS

The most common but elusive suspect is a worn inner CV joint housing. The clues are it only occurs under load, as in accelerating, you feel it in the steering wheel, and it is worse when turning and accelerating, as in turning onto a road from a parking lot. Due to the low cost today of rebuilt half shafts, it is less expensive to just replace the shaft, not the inner CV joint and boot. You still need to figure out which joint is responsible. That requires disassembling one or both, or you can just take a chance and have a fifty percent chance of replacing the correct shaft. I have repaired about two dozen cars for this, and about nine out of ten, it is the right shaft.