cv axles?

[kms1990]

ok, as some here may already know i am chasing an odd vibration. sometimes i feel it from about 45-72ish mph sometimes only from 60-72ish. i have already changed tires 2x and have 4 brand new oem wheels as well, they balance out just fine, so i am not inclined to think my issue lies with a wheel or tire. the ball joints and tie rod ends all are within spec according to 3 separate shops. i have new pads and rotors as well. this week i noticed another symptom that is odd, the wheel stays straight but if i let go above 40 or so the car just kinda veers right, now some people say that the crown of the road can cause this and i thought so too but it is veering at a more severe angle than just following the crown. so today i went in and had one of the shops check my alignment and everything was in the green and specked perfectly fine, he looked for suspension and steering play and could not find any at the ball joints or tie rods, he even asked when i had it aligned last (it was about 4 months ago) and he said i have never seen a car this in spec before doing the alignment. so we went and he drove my car while i rode in it so he could see. sure enough he felt the vibration and saw it pull when he let off the wheel. he said he felt some slop on a left hand turn before getting on the freeway and then it really started doing it like it does for me alot. he said i am fairly sure that its the passenger cv axle failing, but cant be sure. i have looked for split boots on the cv axles they look just fine, there is no noise when turning nor while driving. i want to get this fixed asap as i feel it is getting worse and becoming a safety hazard for me, those around me and my wallet.

anyone feel cv axle here? i know they typically make noise when they fail but i have not heard any but the vibration has slowly gotten more prevalent and now i am getting the pull.

 

[mazdadude]

ok, as some here may already know i am chasing an odd vibration. sometimes i feel it from about 45-72ish mph sometimes only from 60-72ish. i have already changed tires 2x and have 4 brand new oem wheels as well, they balance out just fine, so i am not inclined to think my issue lies with a wheel or tire. the ball joints and tie rod ends all are within spec according to 3 separate shops. i have new pads and rotors as well. this week i noticed another symptom that is odd, the wheel stays straight but if i let go above 40 or so the car just kinda veers right, now some people say that the crown of the road can cause this and i thought so too but it is veering at a more severe angle than just following the crown. so today i went in and had one of the shops check my alignment and everything was in the green and specked perfectly fine, he looked for suspension and steering play and could not find any at the ball joints or tie rods, he even asked when i had it aligned last (it was about 4 months ago) and he said i have never seen a car this in spec before doing the alignment. so we went and he drove my car while i rode in it so he could see. sure enough he felt the vibration and saw it pull when he let off the wheel. he said he felt some slop on a left hand turn before getting on the freeway and then it really started doing it like it does for me alot. he said i am fairly sure that its the passenger cv axle failing, but cant be sure. i have looked for split boots on the cv axles they look just fine, there is no noise when turning nor while driving. i want to get this fixed asap as i feel it is getting worse and becoming a safety hazard for me, those around me and my wallet.

anyone feel cv axle here? i know they typically make noise when they fail but i have not heard any but the vibration has slowly gotten more prevalent and now i am getting the pull.

The Mazda5's had a TSB for this, and it seemed it was motor mounts... Since the mazda3 and mazda5 use the same chassis and engine, this would be a possibility.

 

[kms1990]

The Mazda5's had a TSB for this, and it seemed it was motor mounts... Since the mazda3 and mazda5 use the same chassis and engine, this would be a possibility.

all 3 mounts have been replaced within the last year. i did all 3 of them after reading the recall for my 3 that stated the mounts failing, checked and sure enough my passenger side one was completely shot (i had just bought the car) mine is an early 08 model (built 10/07) i have rechecked this and the engine does not flex when given gas. so my mounts seem to still be ok. i am wondering if the mount being bad before purchase may have let the cv axles flex and wore out a race for one of the bearings on the cv joints. the boots have no visible rips or tears but the passenger side inner cv joint boot is fairly dry rotted, the driver's side inner is dry rotted as well but not to near the point of the passenger. the 2 outer boots appear to be in great shape and were not noticeably dry rotted. and after driving again listening closely after posting this thread i heard what sounded like a low pitched very quiet hum when i turned sharp to the right,and kept going till i stopped turning, it sounded like it was coming from the passenger side inner cv joint area of the car. other than that i notice no other noises. no one else can see anything causing this issue, i am at a loss and not only does it lower my driving pleasure as it ruins cruising down the road but i feel it may be a safety issue if the cv axle or other part fails on the freeway and i lose control. this all started fairly soon after getting the car when i rotated the tires the previous owner had on it and it started vibrating, shop showed me uneven crosswear on tires that had been on rear due to lack of rotations and so i got new tires, did not go away, got new rims as 2 shops said i had 2 bent so i just replaced all 4, still nothing, got a different brand of new tires still nothing the wheels and tires have been balanced about 15x in 8 months so i am fairly sure they are ok. brakes were changed and calipers checked out ok and were lubed up. the vibration does also seem to go away after driving for a little bit but its sporadic and random and will stop for a few miles then come back. such as i went on a 80 mile drive today it vibrated the whole way there at 60-70ish but in the town i was going to i got off one highway and onto another to head south and it did not vibrate the whole time on that highway at 60-65mph for about 6 miles then started again when i got on the next highway (all these highway changes involved turns) on the way back i went up to 75 or 85 as traffic was going faster and it did not vibrate at those speeds but when i had to slow down it would start right back up. braking does not change it, its hard to tell if letting off the gas pedal changes anything as it seems the whole car vibrates sometimes and only the wheel does most of the time.

 

[mazdadude]

The TSB was for Motor Mount #4

Here is a pic of All 4, including the No 4 for the automatic transmission.

 

[kms1990]

all the mounts i saw on my car were changed, i think the bottom right mount in your picture is for automatics, i did not see that mount anywhere on my car, i have a standard. the other 3 i recognize and were changed. i did both cv axles on my car this afternoon and after getting an alignment (we had to pull the steering knuckle completely off the passenger side as the axle was frozen to it, so had to get an alignment after) and the vibration appears to have gone away, at first it did not but the alignment cleared some of it up (toe was way off after doing the axles) and then after driving around for a few more miles on the highway the vibration went completely away ( i think the axles i got being brand new, not re-manufactured, may have been real tight or needed to get the grease moved around) as it still vibrated for a little bit, however when i let off the gas it went away (at that point thought new axles were s***) but a few miles alter it went away and has yet to return so i am decently sure my issue is solved and new axles were just extra tight. thanks for the help mazdadude, this vibration was driving me up a wall i was getting close to just pushing the car off a cliff and saying it was stolen to my insurance, glad i do not have to do this now, as other than this issue i enjoy this car and its been reliable. i always grease my rubber boots and bushings with silicone spray every oil change or so but it appears the new axles have urethane boots i am not sure if silicone spray is good for them, anyone know?

 

[kms1990]

for anyone else in the future who reads this thread and is having a vibration through the steering wheel at speeds from about 55-72ish mph and wheels and tires check out good and are balanced(check these first as this is the usual cause of this issue but i went through 2 sets of tires and 2 sets of wheels with the same issue with all of them) , your ball joints, tie rod ends, struts, and brake pads/rotors and calipers and wheel bearings all check out good and within spec like mine had then have your cv axles inspected. in my case the cv axle boots did not have any noticeable rips, though the inners were both dry rotted and may have had rips i could not see. i had 3 shops, myself and a friend that owns a mobile mechanic business trying to diagnose my issue with vibration and none found any issues until the other day when on a test drive the 3rd shop tech (he was driving i was in passenger seat) felt a pop on a sharp left turn then it started vibrating worse.

 

[mazdadude]

My mistake , sorry, I edited the caption to the pic to correct that the #4 is for the A/T.

Hoping the new CV axles do it!

 

[kms1990]

they appear to have fixed my original issue, it still vibrates at 60-70 but if i hold constant speed it does not and even when i dont it only vibrates for a few seconds then clears up after i reach the speed i am going to stay at. at first it was still vibrating then it was only if i changed lanes or speed at 60-70 now its only if i change speed for and then for a few seconds before it stops between 60 and 70 the cv axles i got were brand new (not remanufactured) eas i work at autozone and get a discount, as well as autozone and orielly auto and advanced only offering new for our cars (the 3 stores in my area) as it broke that day and car barely made it back home either way i think them being new they were overly tight internally in the joints and needed to break in as each drive has less and less vibration and it seems to be going away, i am going to give it a week and if it does not clear up completely im going to chalk up these vibrations to cheap or not well balanced aftermarket axles.

and wouldn't you know it as soon as i fix one issue my check engine light came on and said code p0401 egr insufficient flow and it started surging at around 2-3k rpm. so i bought egr valve and installed it , i wanna punch the engineer that decided the location of the valve on these cars one bolt is easy the other is blocked by the upper radiator hose flange and is one of the hardest bolts ever to get at. but the old valve was so caked over i could not even see the pintle in it, i sprayed 15 sprays of b12 carb cleaner in it and it still was all clogged and nasty so i just decided replacement was best. so i cleaned the inlet and outlet where the egr attaches to the car because they were all clogged up with carbon too, cleaned up the throttle body, runs great now. apparently we run rich and we need to watch for carbon build up, i use QT gas but think i will switch to shell or chevron and see if it likes it better, i may run 89 instead of 87 as well.