After lowing my car with Eibach springs I've acquired a vibration under acceleration. Its gets worse at 30MPH. The obvious reason usually is CV's but I replaced both axles (remans) and still have the problem.

The car has not been aligned since the drop because i don't want to have to do it twice if the alignment is not the problem (which i don't think it is).

My other thought was possibly replacing the LCA bushings but I'm hesitant because they don't look/feel bad and I'm not completely convinced that is the problem either.

Any thoughts or advice?

 

have the balance on the wheels checked...?

 

I agree with gerry.

Whenever you lower a Mini you should always consider an alignment, things in your suspension are very different now that you have lowered it.

 

I had the old (stock) set of wheels and tires and a brand new set of wheels and tires on and it did the same thing.

I understand that and I 100% agree with you. I'm just not convinced its the alignment and would be pretty upset if i spend $100 on an alignment and then have to replace another suspension part to spend another $100 on a second alignment. Eventually i will bite the bullet and just do the alignment if i can't figure out what the problem is and hope for the best. Im already upset Ive bought two axles that didn't fix my problem.

 

You need to take your Mini to a shop before throwing replacement parts at it, for all we know it might be your transmission.

 

I do not plan on "throwing replacement parts" at my car. Anyone who works on cars and had a vibration issue at 35mph or a vibration under acceleration knows that 90% of the time it is usually a u-joints or CV's (thus why i replaced the axles at 140k miles). I'm actually quit car savvy and stumped at the moment which could happen to anyone. I can also basically guarantee you that this is not a transmission problem. It happened after I lowered the car so its most likely a suspension/bushing problem at this point.

I don't take my cars to shops because the two times in the past 8 years that I brought my car to a shop they did a hack job and ripped me off and I am more than capable to fix my own car. Just looking for someone more knowledgeable/experienced to help a fellow gear head out.

 

Definitely sounds like an alignment issue to me... but that's just where I would personally start.

 

I'm having a similar problem post-lowering. Vibration/shudder under acceleration in second gear (mostly between 20 - 30mph.) However, I left the stock axles in and only replaced the springs and struts (H&R and Koni Sport.) I had mine re-aligned when it was lowered and I've had the wheel balance checked - no change. (Mine has about 43K miles.)

I've been told that only new axles will fix the issue. Which, unfortunately, doesn't solve your problem since you replaced your axles. If you find a fix, please post it!

 

The remanded axel are garbage.

car-parts.com

find low milage used.

 

If you have 140k miles on your car those control arm bushings are toast. Replace them.

 

Holy Hells! You just changed your suspension dynamic, get an alignment. Geez.

 

I took another look under the car last night and nothing obvious is popping out at me. Checked the bushings, tie rods, balljoints, even looked at the spring to see if i possibly put it in wrong. But found nothing. I did notice the motor mount was cracking/going bad but i doubt thats my problem. I was talking to someone else who did the same springs as me on an 08 MCS with about 90k and he has the same problem but its way less intense. Still at a loss.


It might be axles in your case but it would be odd with such low miles. If i do figure it out i will let you know.

I took another look last night and they look like they were replaced.

Thanks! ill keep that in mind because i forgot that every car that is lowered has a vibration around 25-35 and an alignment fixes it..

I'm looking for any OTHER suggestions before i get the car aligned and have to redo it because its not the alignment creating my vibration.

 

So any positive results??? I have the same vibration as well!

 

Do you have a wheel works in your area? I'm in nor cal and they charge 90$ for an alignment but will align it as many times as you want within a year. Check some of your local big name shops to see if they offer a similar service. I replaced the suspension on my old 99 integra gsr with koni yellows and ground control sleeves and a master poly bushing kit. I had terrible vibration under acceleration. After spending loads of money on new hotchkis axles only to still have the vibration I finally gave in to an alignment ( I was waiting for new wheels ) and my problem was solved.

 

 

I had an intermittent vib problem that took me many months to solve - it turned out to be the trans side motor mount had sagged and hardened from age (8 years in Arizona heat). The torque arm was also badly cracked. The engine now runs as smooth as glass.

 

 

I would not expect worn axels or hubs to "clunk" for your test. Hubs are expensive and last a long time, 200k miles or more unless you hit a pothole really hard for example. I would replace mounts first and see what that solves.


Worn hubs and axles make more noise than vib in most cases..

 

 

What did the trick?