[AlainSDL4]

Hello All,

A quick question, I hope an easy one for all of y'all. . .

04 Caravan, swb, 3.3, 190,000 km.

I had the drive shaft seal replaced today. It was leaking. Only drove the van a bit because I got it back so late in the day.

Now when I make sharp left turns there is a vibration that is felt up through the pedals and the steering wheel. What can that be from. It feels a little like when they didn't bleed the power steering fluid properly when they changed the rack and pinion many years ago.

Is there air in there somewhere? Is it possible some air got into the power steering?

Is this something I should rush back to the mechanic? I'm concerned that perhaps the shaft was damaged or installed incorrectly and that I'm damaging the van by driving.

OH, one more thing. With the van in park I turned the wheel all the way to the right - no vibration. Then all the way to the left and when I reached almost the end of the turn it started to vibrate.

Thanks in advance for the advice.

AlainSDL4

 

[ImperialCrown]

Welcome to Allpar. On left turns, the engine/transaxle is thrown to the right. The right axle may not be fully seated and is bottoming out on the joint. If this is the case, you may also have a fluid leak.
The motor mounts may also have been adjusted a little to the left, but I don't know why they would have loosened them to do a seal. Look for paint witness marks under the motor mount washers to see if they have been moved.
The vibration will only occur with the van in motion and not at a stop. I would take it back.

 

[AlainSDL4]

It was the driver (left) side drive shaft seal that was replaced. I do not believe they touched the right.

The vibration does occur when the van is at a complete standstill with the transmission in park.

But if I understand you, the van should not be doing this after a seal replacement. Nothing else should have been affected.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[AlainSDL4]

Interestingly the vibration went away by itself the next day. I has not returned in the week since the repair so I'm left guessing as to what it was. (I'm assuming that it must have been air in the power steering fluid - but how that happened. . . )

 

[John Wood]

You say that you felt the vibration, even when the van was not moving. In my mind, it sounds like the powertrain (engine and transmission) is not centered in the mounts properly. I suppose it could also be caused by an inner CV joint that was not fully inserted in the tranny (i.e. the axle was not fully inserted all the way when it was removed and then replaced for the seal replacement job). The inner joint is spring loaded to some degree, so I'm guessing it had not fulley seated. I doubt that the 94 has the retaining C-Clips to hold the axle in, but even if it does, they may not have pushed it in far enough to snap the inner CV joint splined end into the tranny.

Glad to hear it is OK now. That is a strange situation.

 

[ImperialCrown]

Funny that I didn't think of that. When the vehicle is on the lift and the steering is articulated left or right with the pump not pumping, it can 'shudder' on turns for a day afterwards.
I believe that it is a little air that mixes with the fluid to cause that. The bubbles rise to the top after awhile and the shudder goes away.

 

[mastertech10]

ive had this a few times before. are you in a salt belt region? found this is caused by the front strut bearings and plates corrode and bearing does not spin properly.

 

[AlainSDL4]

Well . . . it's baaaackkk. . . only different. Now it only happens when the vehicle is under load. Never when in PARK and turning the wheel.

Argh. It is not as noticeable as before and only occurs sometimes. Usually if I have to accelerate through a left hand turn from a near standstill (say when turning left at an intersection). And only when turning left. I try to duplicate it but it doesn't seem to happen when I want it to (not that I want it to). I'm too busy for this. Anyway, I'll be bringing it back to the mechanic after next week - hopefully things aren't getting worse in the meantime.

" I suppose it could also be caused by an inner CV joint that was not fully inserted in the tranny (i.e. the axle was not fully inserted all the way when it was removed and then replaced for the seal replacement job)." Is this bad? Will it damage anything?

"ive had this a few times before. are you in a salt belt region? found this is caused by the front strut bearings and plates corrode and bearing does not spin properly."

I do live in the rust belt. That could be it too. . . it is just that it began to happen AFTER the drive shaft seal was replaced.



Thanks for the replies.

 

[John Wood]

Since the problem went away and then came back.... plus the fact that it is occurring on straight acceleration, makes me think that you either have badly worn engine mounts (causing the powertrain to shift at certain times), or you have a bad CV joint (i.e. generally the entire axle is replaced when you have a bad CV joint).

 

[TWX]

Or it's protesting NASCAR... *grin*