weird vibration

[RVAe30]

Ok so here's the low down. I was driving home from school yesterday and i was really low on gas. I thought i might be able to make it to the nearest gas station, i thought wrong.

after running out of gas i pull over to teh side of the road and proceed to walk to the nearest gas station. Put gas in my car and start to drive home.

well on my way home i take the highway. I notice that my car is riding way more rough than normal. At speeds the car vibrates alot and i am getting alot of resonance from the exhaust (which is loud to begin with). The vibration goes away when i let off the throttle and put it in nuetral. Its only when im on the throttle.

the only thing i can think of is that the spark plugs got fouled and im misfiring. But im no mechanic so i really have no idea.

Thanks alot guys

[whiltebeitel]

is it more noticible at greater speeds, regardless of rpm, if you are in gear and accelerating or maintaining?

[RVAe30]

its definitely more noticeble at greater speeds. If i let the throttle off and put into nuetral then it diminishes signifigantly. It is most noticable when im accelerating.

gig'em aggies

[whiltebeitel]

Well, if you can, try replacing the driveshaft. I had a similar experience, and the car would shake like crazy the faster I went, making noise and all kinds of bad stuff. I replaced the guibo, driveshaft, and center bearing. Now, it's nice and smooth. The u-joint failed, and it was prohibitivly expensive to rebuild (~$350 plus 2 way shipping). You can check this by getting under the car and trying to rotate the driveshaft while holding the diff input still. if it has some slack, or clicks, you are in need of a new driveshaft.

[jlevie]

My suspicion is that by running the car out of gas you've disturbed sediment in the bottom of the gas tank and the pump inlet screen and filter are now plugged up. The filter should be replaced and the pump removed and cleaned. If that fails to clear the problem do a fuel pressure and delivery test to see if the pump has been damaged.

[RVAe30]

My suspicion is that by running the car out of gas you've disturbed sediment in the bottom of the gas tank and the pump inlet screen and filter are now plugged up. The filter should be replaced and the pump removed and cleaned. If that fails to clear the problem do a fuel pressure and delivery test to see if the pump has been damaged.

this too was an assumption of mine. the only hole in the equation is that while sitting stationary and applying throttle the car will go through the rpm range just fine. The only time the vibration is bad is when the car is going 45+ mph.

i am hesitant to think it is a driveshaft problem because it started immediately after i refilled the car, after running out of gas.

unfortunately i have to drive 4 hours tomorrow to go to a wedding and my e30 is my only means of transportation. this, coupled with the shitty fucking weather and lack of any car work space has left me with options few and far between. All i can do is hope i get home to my parents house so i can use a full garage to figure out the problem.

fuck you universe.

[whiltebeitel]

My DS issue just came out of nowhere. it's not too bad to replace. Check your wheels ofr missing weights as well.

[RVAe30]

ok so i figured out the problem. apparently one of the bolts that connects the guibo to the driveshaft had come loose and fallen out. went to home depot and got another one and put it in. problem solved.

go figure

[Dibo718]

Same exact thing happened to me...random drive shaft bolt fell out, but i only got vibrations between 30-50 mph, other than that it was fine