Hey guys, new to the site, but hoping someone can help.

I have a 2003 Grand Caravan Sport with the 3.8L engine. It has about 130k on it. About 6 months ago, it started vibrating under acceleration, but it wasn't anything major. It has slowly increased in vibration though, and it does it all the way from about 20mph on up. If you accelerate though a right hand corner, the vibration gets worse. I replaced the drivers side axle shaft, and that fixed it for about 2 weeks, and now the vibration is back. I replaced the passenger side one with a known good one, and it didn't help. Now I have replaced the drivers side hub, and it still does the same thing, even though that bearing was starting to fail. Tonight I did find that the sway bar link on the drivers side had come loose from the strut mount and it may have been that way for some time. Would that cause a vibration issue? Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

Try swapping front tires with rear ones. If that does not fix, drive car on highway until vibration is fairly noticeable, then switch transmission to neutral. See if vibration subsides. If yes you still have a vibrating drive train. If not wheels or engine might be culprit. Try accelerating while going on highway in neutral, if it vibrates more its engine . Try jacking front side up and then put in drive and accelerate (check FWD ONLY). See if baby vibrates. Ask someone to push on gas, and you observe rotating wheels which one is vibrating more. If you still could not figure out, go to a mechanic shop where sign shows "Free Estimates"
Good Luck

 

I thought maybe tires too but since it only does it under acceleration, I ruled that out long ago.

 

Also, as soon as I take my foot off the gas when accelerating, the vibration completely stops. The thing that has me stumped is why it vibrates worse when turning right. I realize it puts more weight on the left side, which is where the broken sway bar link is, but I am not sure why that should matter. Another thing i have noticed is that if you hit a bump while accelerating, at certain points of the suspension travel, the vibration come and goes. That would lead me back to CV joints, but I have changed both shaft and only the drivers one helped for about two weeks before it started vibrating again.

 

Have you checked the Tie rods or Ball joint?

 

i had the same thinkg sort of, my outer tie rod ends were definatly bad, but also sway bar bushings were bad as well. it could be either or both that could be the problem. i did the tir rod ends myself( pretty easy) but the sway bar bushings i took to a mechanic. i didnt mant to really screw with getting underneath car.

 

Well, I think I may have it narrowed down... I replaces the sway bar link, and that took care of the bad vibration in right hand turns, but not the acceleration vibration. I checked ball joints and tie rod ends for any play at all, and they are all tight as can be - no movement with a pretty good size pry bar. They only thing I can find is that the driver side axle shaft has some up and down play inside the tranny, which makes me think maybe that bearing is going south. If I remember right, since this is built about the same as a a413, you can remove that bearing by taking that side cover off after pulling the axle shaft, correct? I am also wondering about the axle stabilizer bearing and seal kit they sell now, if it would be worth it or not.

 

Well, a few months later and I am still at a loss on this issue. I have replaced the drivers side axle shaft, the hub, and now the struts. The axles shaft took care of the vibration for about 2 weeks, and so did the struts, but it is now vibrating just as bad as ever. I have checked motor mounts and the tranny mount and all seem good. I had one broken sway bar link, and replaced it too, but it still does not help. Any other ideas?

 

This is a response to fish2222
I had a bad vibration in my 93 Dodge grand Caravan when I accelerated to about 55 miles an hour. At around 60 miles an hour the vibration would go away. The van has a little over 153,000 miles. I also had a vibration in the steering wheel even at slow speeds. I knew the tires were worn but I didn't think it was my problem. I also had a clunking sound from the right front when going over bumps or potholes. I replaced all four sway bar bushings and I got rid of the clunking sound. The outer tie rods seem to be a bit worn so I replaced them. It did help a little bit with the vibration. I then went for a front end alignment. That did not help with this vibration much so went out and bought some new tires. The vibration is about 90% better with just a new tires. Also the steering wheel wobble is 98% better than was, but I'd still have a vibration around 55 but not as severe before. My next step will be to replace a worn inner tire rod on the driver side. I will also be replacing the inner tie rod on the passenger side. An easy way to check your inner tire rods for wear is to jack the vehicle up so the front tires are off the ground. Now grab the wheel at the nine o'clock and three o'clock positions and see if you have any in and out movement. On my drivers side wheel, it will move in and out about an eighth of an inch. The passenger side is not that much but I will be replacing both of them soon. I wasn't sure I wanted to replace the inner tie rods myself because it looked a little bit complicated. I called to find out what it would cost to replace them. I was quoted a price of around $565. I then decided I should learn to do it myself. So I went to the local junkyard and found a vehicle the same year as mine and proceeded to remove the inner tie rods. It was a fairly easy job since I got a special free loaner tool from the auto parts store. I wish I had checked the inner tie rods when I was replacing the outer tie rods. I paid about 30 bucks a piece for Moog brand inner tie rods. I found them locally but got them much cheaper at Amazon.com. After I replace the inner tie rods I will have to get another wheel alignment. Had I checked the inner tie rods and replaced them along with the outer tie rods I wouldn't be needing a second alignment.

One more thing. After putting on the new tires the van was much quieter inside, but I could hear a new noise from the front. I ended up replacing the front wheel hubs. The old ones did not seem to be that worn but they did have a little bit of a wobble in them. Since replacing them I have noticed that the steering wheel wobble is now about 100% gone.

I hope you find the cause of your vibration and maybe some of my experience will help.

 

This is an update to my previous post. I also inspected my motor mounts. At first glance they seemed to be okay, but I decided because of their age I was going to replace them. I was glad I did. All three of the mounts, once I removed them, one by one, I could see that they were very deteriorated. The rubber in the old mounts were very soft and cracked. The new mounts were fairly hard. You mentioned that you still had a vibration when you accelerated. I have noticed that since I have replaced my mounts, my accelerations seem to be much smoother. Maybe your mounts are worn and should be replaced. I have read that sagging mounts can have an effect on your CV axles. It could be the cause of your vibration when you accelerate.