Please help, front end shimmy survey

[PTSandy]

My mounts are fine, but heard its the placement of mounts, and they way the steering is?

[fjackson]

Originally Posted by PTSandy

My mounts are fine, but heard its the placement of mounts, and they way the steering is?

Thanks for the feedback! Maybe you're right. Did you hear that on this forum, or somewhere else?

When I said earlier:
<<
But the oscillation is still there. I was even wondering if it was a transmission thing. But my wife's father is an expert, and over the phone he thinks it may be motor mounts. But they'll probably find something to charge me for--of course it's way out of warranty. He said you could try to diagnose of motor mounts yourself with your foot on the brake and someone watching, but you have to be careful not to run over anyone! BTW, I absolutely love the Cruiser. I may try the motor mount test, and if that's negative, just get used to it. I wondered if it had something to do with a counterbalance to smooth out the 4 cylinder.
>>

I tried the homemade motor mount test myself, leaning over and looking through/under the hood while the parking brake was on and my foot on the brake with the Cruiser in drive, (no danger of running over anybody!) and stepped gently on the gas a couple of times, both in forward and reverse. And the engine shifted some, but it seemed to me it shifted a "proper" amount, it seemed smooth and even, like it maybe it is supposed to be.

So right now I'm thinking you may be right, the "oscillation" maybe be a fairly normal behavior, or maybe mine is slightly more than normal due to slightly worn mounts.

Anyway I found a popular mechanics article online, and it said that a visual inspection doesn't always tell you if the motor/engine mounts are good, so not sure if taking it into Chrysler would solve the question for sure or not. And it appears that though the left mount may be do-able, the right mount is a major job.

I noticed in a friend's high-milage Honda Accord that his did the same thing when accelerating from a stop. I didn't say anything. Maybe it's partly just a front wheel drive symptom--amazingly don't think I've ever owned a front wheel drive. Mostly trucks and older european cars, I guess.

Just wanted to pass along some of the results of my research, pls let us know if you have more insight.. 9-)



FJ 2001 PT LE, Patriot (Revolutionary) Blue, LE, 98,000 miles, recently purchased, seems to me very high quality fit and finish, a fine machine.

[PTSandy]

Originally Posted by fjackson

Thanks for the feedback! Maybe you're right. Did you hear that on this forum, or somewhere else?

When I said earlier:
<<
But the oscillation is still there. I was even wondering if it was a transmission thing. But my wife's father is an expert, and over the phone he thinks it may be motor mounts. But they'll probably find something to charge me for--of course it's way out of warranty. He said you could try to diagnose of motor mounts yourself with your foot on the brake and someone watching, but you have to be careful not to run over anyone! BTW, I absolutely love the Cruiser. I may try the motor mount test, and if that's negative, just get used to it. I wondered if it had something to do with a counterbalance to smooth out the 4 cylinder.
>>

I tried the homemade motor mount test myself, leaning over and looking through/under the hood while the parking brake was on and my foot on the brake with the Cruiser in drive, (no danger of running over anybody!) and stepped gently on the gas a couple of times, both in forward and reverse. And the engine shifted some, but it seemed to me it shifted a "proper" amount, it seemed smooth and even, like it maybe it is supposed to be.

So right now I'm thinking you may be right, the "oscillation" maybe be a fairly normal behavior, or maybe mine is slightly more than normal due to slightly worn mounts.

Anyway I found a popular mechanics article online, and it said that a visual inspection doesn't always tell you if the motor/engine mounts are good, so not sure if taking it into Chrysler would solve the question for sure or not. And it appears that though the left mount may be do-able, the right mount is a major job.

I noticed in a friend's high-milage Honda Accord that his did the same thing when accelerating from a stop. I didn't say anything. Maybe it's partly just a front wheel drive symptom--amazingly don't think I've ever owned a front wheel drive. Mostly trucks and older european cars, I guess.

Just wanted to pass along some of the results of my research, pls let us know if you have more insight.. 9-)



FJ 2001 PT LE, Patriot (Revolutionary) Blue, LE, 98,000 miles, recently purchased, seems to me very high quality fit and finish, a fine machine.

I heard that from the service manager, he calls it the PT shuffle, I do think his right, it just a bit funny

[PT_Cuda]

Easy way to tell if the motor mounts aka Torque struts are toast..

just pop the hood and start the motor, if it flops around like a dying fish = need mounts.. They don't move that much you are good to go.

If you need torque struts/motor mounts search using the SRT4(neon) years 03-05 same as the PT's but you get more hits in parts house computers..

Been there replaced a bunch of them

[Madturtle]

My 2001 did that when new. Rebalanced at an Audi dealer which made it much better. Noticed the same problem when switched to winter wheels & tires. About a year later the tie rod ends were replaced under warranty. Shuffle was gone.

[PTSandy]

Mine has 18k miles so know it's not that but will keep it in mind

[crzypt]

Ok, I'm new to the forum but have also recently been having a problem with a front end shimmy on my '05 convertible. It has 101,000 miles on her and hasn't been much of a problem until about 4 weeks ago. Started to notice slight shimmy in the front end between 40-60mph over bumps and rough roads to the point where I think the rearview mirror is going to fall off. It has increasingly become worse over the last couple of weeks. I have 18" MB chrome rims (which I have had on for over a year and are the second set since the first ones became bent) and Yokahama tires put on about 3 months ago. Had it balanced and was told that the rims were not bent and that it was probably the shocks/struts since they are original. Had those replaced with KYB gas (and over $1000 later), shimmy is not only still there but can now feel it on acceleration from a start and even lower speeds. Mechanic experimented by taking off tires and put on stock rims. Shimmy is still there so he has eliminated wheels, tires and balancing as the cause but still doesn't know what it could be. She is still sitting in the shop. He now wants to take off the rear suspension bar even though that was installed last year and there hasn't been a problem with the rear. Any ideas out there?

[fjackson]

<<Ok, I'm new to the forum but have also recently been having a problem with a front end shimmy on my '05 convertible. It has 101,000 miles on her and hasn't been much of a problem until about 4 weeks ago. Started to notice slight shimmy in the front end between 40-60mph over bumps and rough roads to the point where I think the rearview mirror is going to fall off. It has increasingly become worse over the last couple of weeks. I have 18" MB chrome rims (which I have had on for over a year and are the second set since the first ones became bent) and Yokahama tires put on about 3 months ago. Had it balanced and was told that the rims were not bent and that it was probably the shocks/struts since they are original. Had those replaced with KYB gas (and over $1000 later), shimmy is not only still there but can now feel it on acceleration from a start and even lower speeds. Mechanic experimented by taking off tires and put on stock rims. Shimmy is still there so he has eliminated wheels, tires and balancing as the cause but still doesn't know what it could be. She is still sitting in the shop. He now wants to take off the rear suspension bar even though that was installed last year and there hasn't been a problem with the rear. Any ideas out there?>>

Well, _I_ think it's interesting, because this thread is not just an ordinary balance/tires/alignment thread, but sort of unique.

And it's interesting because just today, when the Chrysler dealer was fulfilling an _over 8 year old_ recall for free (I just bought the beautiful 2001 Cruiser, and had posted above about the motor mounts tests, it's great to hear the replies)--so the dealer said that the Cruiser looked in good shape, and to double check that the guy who sold it to me had done the timing belt like he said he did---well, anyway, the dealer said that I need REAR SWAY BAR BUSHINGS.

Hmmm, sorry for the rambling post and thanks to PTSandy for letting me know who said about the PT Shuffle (I was surprised I hadn't seen it since I thought I looked everywhere). Am rambling because am working on figuring out if it's the radiator fan or the radiator-fan-heat-sensor or something that's keeping the fan from going on---(an unrelated problem....).....FJ

[PTSandy]

You are welcome, I had heard about this term before and buying the new one i was a bit worried but they can try to fix it but in most cases they cant, I drove a conv. the other day and had the same issues..

[Decsr]

I have a 2005 convertible with 74000 miles on it and it rides as smooth as silk. my tires are 215-65-15 Tiger Paws with 22000 on them, not a great tire but each tire is perfectly true, oh yea the tires have never been rotated or balanced since their mounting and balanced. My wife has a 2007 with 27000 miles that could use a better set tires then the junk Goodyear tires that came on it from the factory and they could do with a balancing, but doesn't shimmy enough to hardly notice.
Most shimming that I have had to deal with is almost always untrue tires, that is why when I buy tires and feel any mild shimmy out of them I will go back to the tire store and insist that an untrue tire be removed and replaced until I have a complete set of true tires. {If you don't know what a true tire is it is perfectly round tire with no high or low spots.} Most tire stores around here have learned that I can be a pain in the ass.