Hi,

I've got a 96 Chrysler T&C that has developed a strange shimmy (back and forth shake) in the front end. This only happens during acceleration and is only able to be noticed between 35-40 mph. I lifted the van and checked for play in the wheels, but they were solid. Nothing seems to be loose on the underside of the front end either. Does anyone have any ideas on this?

Thanks!

 

More than likely it is an CV joint. I had this problem on 2 of my caravans with roughly the same resonant speeds. Make sure your wheels are balanced and no bent rims, but my first guess would be CV's after eliminating balancing.

 

Ok, the passenger side CV and wheel bearing were replaced last year and we just replaced the driver side CV and wheel bearing today. Also made sure the tires were at proper levels and even rotated them...still getting this shimmy starting at 35 and now being very noticeable all the way through 55. Engine mounts look ok and everything else seems tight and fit under the front end. This shimmy is most noticeable under acceleration and just barely noticeable while coasting (not accelerating but in the 35-55 range). The steering wheel isn't wobbling back and forth, it just feels like the whole front end of the van is being pushed side to side.

Does anyone else have any suggestions?

Thanks!

Kevin

 

The symptoms you describe are very similar to what I was having. It also sounds like your maintinance is similar to mine - pretty finicky and always on top on things. I posted a similar question in a thread called " 94 caravan ES problem need help" . It turned out mine had bad axels, even though they had been replaced in January '05. I percieved the problem as a "miss" between 35 - 40 mph. 5 Mechanics drove my van and none of them were sure what it was. They determined the source of the problem when they inspected it up on a rack. Hope this helps - also see the thread. I thought I was having fuel injection or tranny problems.
-Hal

 

Thanks for the response. I have since replaced the passenger side CV shaft as well. After that, the issue went away...for a while. It is back again, but very, very slight. Unless it gets worse, I'm going to let it go, as we plan to get rid of the van next year...even though I enjoy it's comfort level (LXi).

As far as transmission goes, that's the reason we still own it. We dumped 2000+ into it 18 months ago for a new transaxle. The joys of being a T&C owner.

Thanks again for the response.

Kevin