"rumbling" Type Vibration On My Friends Ls 93'

[90LS400Lexus]

I posted this on the other Lexus site and got some good replies, but wanted to try here as well for more info.... I was told it could be mounts, tires, tranny fluid, etc.

My friend is experiencing another potential "problem" with her LS400. Between about 35-55 mph, it has a rumbling type vibration that can be felt slightly through the steering wheel. Ive driven the car... its not bad, but where the car is otherwise so smooth, its bothersome. The sound is not loud, but it seems to "drum" in your ears. Also, not sure if its linked, but when the temps are cold out, and the engine is not fully warmed, when the car is in 4th gear and at a lower speed under light acceleration, there is a slight whistling/humming noise coming from the car. My old 90' LS400 had a similiar vibration and it turned out being the tires, so it may be the same case with this car. OR, I was thinking that vibration may be something like an engine or transmission mount? I am actually having the same problem on my car.... !!

Lastly, on acceleration from a stop, there is a slight hesitation just after the car starts out. It has a new air filter, so I do not think thats it... I am thinking maybe the throttle body needs to be cleaned?

Any advice appreciated!

I hope I provided enough info... if more details needed to help out, please let me know and I will relay more info if I can.

[VMF]

without checking the car it is hard to say what it is. mounts definetly can be the culprit. not sure if tires can make the rumbling noise. had all kinds of suspension/tire problems in nyc area due to messed up roads but never heard a rumbling noise, but it might smth new i never have experienced yet:) please do check the mounts, its very easy thing to do using the crawbar.:)

[bigste]

I'd check the parking brake first as it sounds like you say if the brake is partially on. Could be seized.

[90LS400Lexus]

I'd check the parking brake first as it sounds like you say if the brake is partially on. Could be seized.

Thanks... I checked it and the brake pedal is up and it does not seem to be sticking. She also said the car also has nearly new rear brakes... installed about 500 miles ago.

[bigste]

If it's only played up since the new rear brakes that is significant, there is something amiss.

[90LS400Lexus]

Well, I checked my friends car again and the vibration is felt mostly through the steering wheel between 35-55 mph. Its a fluttery type vibration and it quickly comes and goes about every second. Its like something is "out of round". Its there one second, then gone, back for a second, then gone, etc, etc.

There is no feeling of it through the gear shifter, so can we rule out a transmission mount? As mentioned, my car is actually doing the same thing, but not as pronounced.

I had meant to "rev" the engine to certain RPMs today to see if I could feel the vibration, which I think would suggest motor mounts?

I wonder what the chances are that it could be the driveshaft or even the rear axle?

[crow1]

I posted this on the other Lexus site and got some good replies, but wanted to try here as well for more info.... I was told it could be mounts, tires, tranny fluid, etc.

My friend is experiencing another potential "problem" with her LS400. Between about 35-55 mph, it has a rumbling type vibration that can be felt slightly through the steering wheel. Ive driven the car... its not bad, but where the car is otherwise so smooth, its bothersome. The sound is not loud, but it seems to "drum" in your ears. Also, not sure if its linked, but when the temps are cold out, and the engine is not fully warmed, when the car is in 4th gear and at a lower speed under light acceleration, there is a slight whistling/humming noise coming from the car. My old 90' LS400 had a similiar vibration and it turned out being the tires, so it may be the same case with this car. OR, I was thinking that vibration may be something like an engine or transmission mount? I am actually having the same problem on my car.... !!

Lastly, on acceleration from a stop, there is a slight hesitation just after the car starts out. It has a new air filter, so I do not think thats it... I am thinking maybe the throttle body needs to be cleaned?

Any advice appreciated!

I hope I provided enough info... if more details needed to help out, please let me know and I will relay more info if I can.

In the 12 years I have owned my 93, the only time I have had the problem you describe is with tires. Until I finally broke down and rebuilt the front end (bushings, etc) when the tires got worn, this would begin until I could not stand it. Bought tires again.

Check the tires first

[90LS400Lexus]

Thanks Crow... that is what I was thinking. As mentioned (I think I did), my old 1990 Lexus LS had the same problem. It had developed a vibration and I took it to the dealer... 25 minutes later, they came out and said my tires were "cupped". What had happened is when I had new rear struts installed, the did not do an alignment and it ruined my tires I assume. I never knew for sure, because I sold the car before I put tires on it.

My current LS has a similiar vibration as well. I wonder if its my tires too? The tread is good, but they have been on there since 2003 (according to the paperwork in the glovebox). They are Michelins, which may explain why the treads are good, but they could have flattened (flat spots) with age? The car was not driven much over the last 2 years and sat in a garage. I hate to replace the tires now because the tread is still so good and there is no dry-rot yet, but my vibration is bothersome as well. I will relay that info to my co-worker as well.

Thanks again!

In the 12 years I have owned my 93, the only time I have had the problem you describe is with tires. Until I finally broke down and rebuilt the front end (bushings, etc) when the tires got worn, this would begin until I could not stand it. Bought tires again.

Check the tires first

[eatingupblacktop]

Thanks Crow... that is what I was thinking. As mentioned (I think I did), my old 1990 Lexus LS had the same problem. It had developed a vibration and I took it to the dealer... 25 minutes later, they came out and said my tires were "cupped". What had happened is when I had new rear struts installed, the did not do an alignment and it ruined my tires I assume. I never knew for sure, because I sold the car before I put tires on it.

My current LS has a similiar vibration as well. I wonder if its my tires too? The tread is good, but they have been on there since 2003 (according to the paperwork in the glovebox). They are Michelins, which may explain why the treads are good, but they could have flattened (flat spots) with age? The car was not driven much over the lasy 2 years and sat in a garage. I hate to replace the tires now because the tread is still so good and there is no dry-rot yet, but my vibration is bothersome as well. I will relay that info to my co-worker as well.

Thanks again!

In the 12 years I have owned my 93, the only time I have had the problem you describe is with tires. Until I finally broke down and rebuilt the front end (bushings, etc) when the tires got worn, this would begin until I could not stand it. Bought tires again.

Check the tires first

Keeping the rubber out of the sun is a good idea if you can do it. Even though you garage your car, not driving it regulary can flat spot older tires. Newer tire technology has eliminated this to a large degree, but given the age of your tires (03), I would point my finger there. age can also deteriorate the tires' belts putting them out of round or moving the tread so they don't run true. Even though they have plenty of tread and replacing them might not solve your problem, it's time for them to go. Keep a couple of them as spares.

[drew1171]

Hi,

The simplest place to start is always with a good tire dealer. There's a couple of simple to read articles on alignment and balancing here, a lot of people don't realise how critical simple things likealignment and balance are. Hope you get it sorted out.

http://www.tire-information-world.com/tire-balancing.html

http://www.tire-information-world.com/alignment.html

[eatingupblacktop]

90LS400Lexus,

A couple more thoughts. Do you notice any difference in the vibration when making turns? If so it could be your bearings. Also, have you tried coasting in neutral to see if that makes any difference? I don't know if anyone's asked this yet, but have you noticed any difference during acceleration, coasting or braking? Another test that's easy to do is to open your hood, get over to one side right at one of the front wheels and push the car sideways. Listen to the top of the strut towers to see if you can hear any banging or looseness. Do both sides. BTW there was an older thread with similar symptoms as yours that turned out to be a U-joint.

[dery45]

I posted this on the other Lexus site and got some good replies, but wanted to try here as well for more info.... I was told it could be mounts, tires, tranny fluid, etc.

My friend is experiencing another potential "problem" with her LS400. Between about 35-55 mph, it has a rumbling type vibration that can be felt slightly through the steering wheel. Ive driven the car... its not bad, but where the car is otherwise so smooth, its bothersome. The sound is not loud, but it seems to "drum" in your ears. Also, not sure if its linked, but when the temps are cold out, and the engine is not fully warmed, when the car is in 4th gear and at a lower speed under light acceleration, there is a slight whistling/humming noise coming from the car. My old 90' LS400 had a similiar vibration and it turned out being the tires, so it may be the same case with this car. OR, I was thinking that vibration may be something like an engine or transmission mount? I am actually having the same problem on my car.... !!

Lastly, on acceleration from a stop, there is a slight hesitation just after the car starts out. It has a new air filter, so I do not think thats it... I am thinking maybe the throttle body needs to be cleaned?

Any advice appreciated!

I hope I provided enough info... if more details needed to help out, please let me know and I will relay more info if I can.

You have the same problem with my 96 LS400. I took it to my friends transmission shop and found the rear transmission mount is gone bad. The mount is on order so I can't say if this will solve the problem. But before you run out and buy new tires I noticed you mentioned reving the engine while the car is in parked, have you tried that yet? If not try it, leave the car in parked and run the RPMS up to about 2K to 2.5 RPMS, listen and see does it hollow sound comes and goes. If it does it's not your tires or your rear end since your car is not moving. It has to be related to mounts or something like that. I hope this helps. Once I get my motor mount installed I will post the fix.

Brad

[90LS400Lexus]

Thanks Blacktop... No, there is no difference when I turn. The only turns at those speeds are light turns anyway. I do not notice any change whether I am coasting or accelerating. I have not tried placing the gear to neutral to see if it smooths out or not when moving. I will try that tomorrow. We will check that on my co-workers LS as well.

90LS400Lexus,

A couple more thoughts. Do you notice any difference in the vibration when making turns? If so it could be your bearings. Also, have you tried coasting in neutral to see if that makes any difference? I don't know if anyone's asked this yet, but have you noticed any difference during acceleration, coasting or braking? Another test that's easy to do is to open your hood, get over to one side right at one of the front wheels and push the car sideways. Listen to the top of the strut towers to see if you can hear any banging or looseness. Do both sides. BTW there was an older thread with similar symptoms as yours that turned out to be a U-joint.

[90LS400Lexus]

Yes, please do post what you find out. As mentioned, my LS is behaving the same way, but not as bad as hers. I have not tried the revving engine yet either, but I will check that as well. Thanks again! I will look forward to your reply.

You have the same problem with my 96 LS400. I took it to my friends transmission shop and found the rear transmission mount is gone bad. The mount is on order so I can't say if this will solve the problem. But before you run out and buy new tires I noticed you mentioned reving the engine while the car is in parked, have you tried that yet? If not try it, leave the car in parked and run the RPMS up to about 2K to 2.5 RPMS, listen and see does it hollow sound comes and goes. If it does it's not your tires or your rear end since your car is not moving. It has to be related to mounts or something like that. I hope this helps. Once I get my motor mount installed I will post the fix.

Brad

[90LS400Lexus]

Well, I went ahead and made an appointment @ my local Lexus dealer to have my car checked on Tuesday. He said they would check it out for $35.00, so I figure it would be worth the $35, rather then me to replace this and that.

[sonyman]

Well, I went ahead and made an appointment @ my local Lexus dealer to have my car checked on Tuesday. He said they would check it out for $35.00, so I figure it would be worth the $35, rather then me to replace this and that.

I posted on CL in your thread. I have what I believe is the same problem with the whistling noise and vibration. Please, please let me know what they find!

[90LS400Lexus]

I sure will. If its not too costly, I will probably go ahead and get them to repair/replace whatever it is. If its that $900 driveshaft I heard about in an above thread, I will junk the car. Its getting to be very annoying. Its similiar to the vibration that my 1990 LS400 had, but my 1990 did not have that "whistling/whirring" sound when the engine was cool when it was in o/d at 35-40 mph on acceleration.

Well, I went ahead and made an appointment @ my local Lexus dealer to have my car checked on Tuesday. He said they would check it out for $35.00, so I figure it would be worth the $35, rather then me to replace this and that.

I posted on CL in your thread. I have what I believe is the same problem with the whistling noise and vibration. Please, please let me know what they find!

[sonyman]

Well I encourage you to find a used low-mileage driveshaft if that's what it ends up being. Replacing the driveshaft eliminated most of the vibration for me.

[eatingupblacktop]

<br>Well,

I went ahead and made an appointment @ my local Lexus dealer to have my

car checked on Tuesday. He said they would check it out for $35.00, so

I figure it would be worth the $35, rather then me to replace this and

that.<br>

<br><br>

You know if you read enough of this forum, it gets to be hard to settle in for a nice relaxing cruise because your ears are open wide for most of the trip. 90LS or should it be 91LS, how did you make out at the dealer? I'm asking because, I think I'm beginning to detect a slight vibration at about 60 kph. Ealier this summer, I drove for about half a mile with the prk brk on. The vibration grew stronger the faster I went until I had to stop to find out what it was. I totally forgot about that until now. I'm wondering what all that vibration might have affected? Soon as I get some time, gonna have to do some of the tests that everybody's posted on this thread.<br>

[90LS400Lexus]

Hi. I have not been yet... my appointment is actually tomorrow (or should I say today to some folks) @ 2:30pm EST. I should know by tomorrow evening and I will report as soon as I get back.... Hope its nothing major. <_<

<br>Well,

I went ahead and made an appointment @ my local Lexus dealer to have my

car checked on Tuesday. He said they would check it out for $35.00, so

I figure it would be worth the $35, rather then me to replace this and

that.<br>

<br><br>

You know if you read enough of this forum, it gets to be hard to settle in for a nice relaxing cruise because your ears are open wide for most of the trip. 90LS or should it be 91LS, how did you make out at the dealer? I'm asking because, I think I'm beginning to detect a slight vibration at about 60 kph. Ealier this summer, I drove for about half a mile with the prk brk on. The vibration grew stronger the faster I went until I had to stop to find out what it was. I totally forgot about that until now. I'm wondering what all that vibration might have affected? Soon as I get some time, gonna have to do some of the tests that everybody's posted on this thread.<br>

[nc211]

Take a look at my attachment.... see where I've circled and arrowed? That is the 3rd mount to the differential, which attaches directly to the underside of the car. It has rubber rings to insulate it from the car. I was going to replace these on mine, as they were dry-roted pretty badly. I'm thinking that when these begin to go, the rear differential will vibrate up against the underside of the car very quickly, creating a hum/drone noise. I replaced the rear diff mounts on mine, and made a nice, tight difference in things, but never got to these little rubber rings. I was going to take this exact same drawing to the dealer and buy new rings, as they can't be that expensive "they're not all that big". It's very easy to do, just one bolt holds it up...undo the bolt, pull the old ring(s) out, put in new one(s), and reinstall the bolt.

[90LS400Lexus]

Well, after being @ the local Lexus dealer for about 90 minutes and more errands after that, I am finally home.

The news on the car is good I think, but I will not be sure until I get new tires. The service tech said that it was the tires. He went ahead and balanced all of the tires, but he said that the left rear tire would NOT balance properly and that the car would still have a vibration. He said it could be the tire or the actual wheel. The lady @ the service desk said that the tire treads were all still good and if I could live with the vibration until I got new tires, then it would save me some money. Another guy at the desk said that these cars are so smooth that they really need touring tires on them to make sure no other unsmoothness is detected. He said the motor mounts were fine, transmission mount was fine, as was the driveshaft/bearings.

SO.... I guess all I know to do is to deal with the vibration until the tires wear down, replace them with quality tires (use the spare for a replacement wheel) and see what happens then.

One thing of interesting note... the high today was 75°, which is the warmest it has been since I bought the car a month ago. The vibration was much LESS than before and @ times, it was almost unfelt, even at speeds it was felt at before. Maybe it is the tires and where they were warm, they were more pliable?

So thats it... it really remains a mystery until I get new tires.

Anyone with a vibration that it unknown, I would also recommend taking the car to your local dealer to be checked. Not sure how much other dealers charge, but mine only charged me $38.00 to check it out AND to balance the tires.... they had it for about 90 minutes.

[sonyman]

Well, after being @ the local Lexus dealer for about 90 minutes and more errands after that, I am finally home.

The news on the car is good I think, but I will not be sure until I get new tires. The service tech said that it was the tires. He went ahead and balanced all of the tires, but he said that the left rear tire would NOT balance properly and that the car would still have a vibration. He said it could be the tire or the actual wheel. The lady @ the service desk said that the tire treads were all still good and if I could live with the vibration until I got new tires, then it would save me some money. Another guy at the desk said that these cars are so smooth that they really need touring tires on them to make sure no other unsmoothness is detected. He said the motor mounts were fine, transmission mount was fine, as was the driveshaft/bearings.

SO.... I guess all I know to do is to deal with the vibration until the tires wear down, replace them with quality tires (use the spare for a replacement wheel) and see what happens then.

One thing of interesting note... the high today was 75°, which is the warmest it has been since I bought the car a month ago. The vibration was much LESS than before and @ times, it was almost unfelt, even at speeds it was felt at before. Maybe it is the tires and where they were warm, they were more pliable?

So thats it... it really remains a mystery until I get new tires.

Anyone with a vibration that it unknown, I would also recommend taking the car to your local dealer to be checked. Not sure how much other dealers charge, but mine only charged me $38.00 to check it out AND to balance the tires.... they had it for about 90 minutes.

Lucky SOB.

[90LS400Lexus]

lol. Well, I still will not be convinced until I get new tires to see if that stops the vibration. It still does not explain that "whirring/whistling/whining" sound when the car is cold and its in o/d @ 35 mph. I totally forgot to mention that to them....

Lucky SOB.

[eatingupblacktop]

Well, after being @ the local Lexus dealer for about 90 minutes and more errands after that, I am finally home.

The news on the car is good I think, but I will not be sure until I get new tires. The service tech said that it was the tires. He went ahead and balanced all of the tires, but he said that the left rear tire would NOT balance properly and that the car would still have a vibration. He said it could be the tire or the actual wheel. The lady @ the service desk said that the tire treads were all still good and if I could live with the vibration until I got new tires, then it would save me some money. Another guy at the desk said that these cars are so smooth that they really need touring tires on them to make sure no other unsmoothness is detected. He said the motor mounts were fine, transmission mount was fine, as was the driveshaft/bearings.

SO.... I guess all I know to do is to deal with the vibration until the tires wear down, replace them with quality tires (use the spare for a replacement wheel) and see what happens then.

One thing of interesting note... the high today was 75°, which is the warmest it has been since I bought the car a month ago. The vibration was much LESS than before and @ times, it was almost unfelt, even at speeds it was felt at before. Maybe it is the tires and where they were warm, they were more pliable?

So thats it... it really remains a mystery until I get new tires.

Anyone with a vibration that it unknown, I would also recommend taking the car to your local dealer to be checked. Not sure how much other dealers charge, but mine only charged me $38.00 to check it out AND to balance the tires.... they had it for about 90 minutes.

Sure is a helluva lot better than replacing a driveshaft do ya think? One more thing you can try until it's time to get new tires - rotate the one tire they couldn't balance to see if the vibration changes. Say from front to back? BTW what tires are you running? And what pressure are they at? You could try messing with the pressure as well.