How to Diagnose Shaking in Your Car

If you feel a shaking or shimmy in your front tires or the front of your vehicle while you are driving, you should check a few things to make sure these are not your problem. To begin with, look at your cv boot and ball joints. If they are worn or damaged, the CV joint could cause the cv boot to leak, and you will drive on a dry joint. Also, check the CV half shaft to see if it is worn or damaged, as it causes some of the same problems. Now look at the strut rod bushings to make sure that they are not worn or broken and damaged too. Also check the front wheel bearing to make sure it is properly lubricated, as well as the tie rod ends. If these are loose or worn, you could lose a tie rod end going over a large bump in the road.

If you find that you are having a hard time braking when driving, check the brake fluid type to make sure it is not contaminated and is at the correct levels. Also look at the brake power booster to make sure the vacuum lines and valves are not broken. Now look at your master cylinder, as this controls the braking system, and make sure it is not leaking or broken.

If you see that you are having hard shifting, check your transmission fluid levels to make sure you have enough fluid. This is the number one cause for hard or rough shifting. Now check your vacuum hoses to make sure they are correctly routed and they are not clogged or busted. Also look at the transmission cable detent and cable shift to see that they are not adjusted incorrectly or missing. Look at the transmission control solenoid also, to see that it is not missing or gone bad. Check the transmission modulator to see that it is not missing or leaking, as well as the transmission shift linkage in an automatic transmission. Always check the transmission filter to make sure it is not clogged, and keep an eye on the control module as well for the same things.

Your car is the backbone of your income. Without it, you have to pay for additional transportation and worry about if you can even get to work. With our economic times, it is best to try to fix your problems before they become an expensive and hard, very time consuming project. Keep in mind that there are some repairs that the average Joe cannot do at home. But for the rest of the problems, we will do our best to do them ourselves.