garthbreaks Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 i'm writing this camped out behind a route 99 in rural Michigan, 2 hours from the Detroit border. I left Vegas Friday at 6am and made it this far before something gave up the ghost. On the I94, the Brat started shaking violently and pulling to one side. Before I left, I put in new axles, bearings, brake pads (and hardware), tie rod ends and ball joints. After rebuilding the deont end I noticed the wheels were a bit out of alignment but drove it anyway (and made it pretty far). It starts shaking violently at about 60, but if I leave it alone for a few minutes, I can limp along without it shaking. Drive it about 20 miles on backroads in 2nd to where I am now (next to a garage that opens at 8). Just wondering if anyone has any thoughts. There's a clicking sound coming from the front passenger wheel (the one that pulls - it's been a bit toed in for 2000 miles). My hope is that it's not the tranny, I'll change the fluid tomorrow morning and look for metal flakes. In the interim, I welcome any advice! Just a few hundred more miles until I'm home in Toronto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
two85s Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 After I replaced my wagons front axles with new aftermarket ones, I had the shaking violently and a lot of banging noise (but not the pulling to one side) after only about 500 miles. One of the new axles had failed and was coming apart. It was so noisy and violent I had to be towed home. In your case with your jack if you can lift one wheel at a time and spin, move it around, back and forth etc., I would think you would notice where the problem is. Sorry can't help anymore but good luck with your trouble and be safe. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garthbreaks Posted July 14, 2015 Author Share Posted July 14, 2015 Turns out I had play in the tie rod which got worse over time. That led to the pad slapping the rotor, warping it. The wobble in the tie rod messed up the wheel and when it was all combined, I got the violent shaking. The garage I camped behind was able to machine the rotor and switch front and rear tires for me so I could limp across the border. Currently 200km from home waiting for CAA/AAA to come pick me up and finish the trip. I thought about trying to finish it on my own, but it's not worth the potential damage (wheel still wobbles a whole lot). Still, 2200 miles since Friday morning ain't half bad for this ol' Brat. I'll be ordering a new tie rod assembly from Rock Auto soon unless anyone can recommend another vendor I should check out. Thanks to everyone on the forum for all the help and advice - much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garthbreaks Posted July 14, 2015 Author Share Posted July 14, 2015 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
two85s Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Hey, glad you got it figured out and be well. Aaron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRhere Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 You were maybe 20 miles North of me when you broke down. How did you like those storms that went thru while you were stopped? The storms knocked out our power and killed my laptop. Been trying to get this here tower system back up since then. I know the area you were in. What garage did you stop at? Might also have the tailgate handle you're looking for. I'll "try" to remember to look this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garthbreaks Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share Posted July 17, 2015 Tom, that's crazy! I stopped at a shop in Niles called Corbidge Automotive - a fellow by the name of Mitch helped me out and he couldn't have been nicer. There's a Route 66 right next door to the shop that I set up a tent behind and crashed around midnight. At 7am, I packed everything up and stuffed it in the Brat. Within 5 minutes, the sky completely opened up and I thanked my lucky stars for the timing. There's no way my $30 tent from Walmart could have withstood the fury of that storm! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRhere Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Ah. You typed M99 in your 1st post. M99 runs right thru this here small town of mine. M66 is a bit further away and to the West of me. Still, it's good to hear you found a "Good Guy" mechanic there in Miles, Mi.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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