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Very bad wheel hop, stumped.

C

Carlos773

New member
I searched around and most threads always recommend the same, check the axles, control arms, etc.

I experience this ''wheel hop'' when accelerating hard or moderately accelerating from a stop.

I checked the front end and saw the front control arm bushings were shot and out of the shell. I went and bought brand new Dormans for both sides and replaced the Sway bar end links while I was at it. While it did make a very dramatic difference in driveability the wheel hop was still there. I also went ahead and replaced the Tranny mount on the driver side while I was at it.

I then checked the axles and saw the passenger was brand new or newer looking and so was the wheel bearing, I was told by the PO (Fathers friend) that he had that side done. I did not see anything irregular there like leaking or anything bad. I then checked the driver side axle and saw that the inner boot had come loose and caused a grease leakage. I went ahead and replaced it with a new CV from Oreilly. This took away some problems with vibrations at certain RPMs, still the wheel hop was still here.

One thing I noticed was play in the output shaft from the trans where the cv goes in, is this normal?

The one thing left was the driver side wheel bearing, I do get the usual whoosh noise from the driver, would a bad wheel bearing cause the wheel hop? It also seems the connector was ripped off which this will bring a solution to why I can't turn on TCS. I plan to purchase a Timken replacement this upcoming weekend.

Any help would be nice. Only thing left I see to check is the front shocks since they do look a bit old.
 


A wheel bearing woudln't cause this, but replace it anyway (if it's bad). Have you checked your struts/springs? I bet money it's that.
 
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Shocks and struts help hold your tires against the road, so your brakes and steering system can do their jobs. Worn struts and or shocks can cause unwanted weight transfer and allow a dangerous phenomenon known as "wheel hop," which can dramatically affect your steering, stopping and stability. If you can rule out everything else..I would be suspecting bad / weak Struts. Bedwards, you beat me to the punch lol
 
Heres my next Dilema. Just get KYB's Quick struts and call it a day or for the same price get the AGX's and reuse the old Springs. Any suggestions?
 
no one has mentioned tires. that will cause one hell of a ruckus if its bad enough. my aunt's gp had a bad tire and it felt worse than when my cv axles were shot. it felt like she had one lug nut holding the tire on. so get them checked!!

i had the same wheel hop you're talking about on acceleration after i got my flex plate replaced. thought the axles looked fine and everything, but removing the axles to replace the flex caused their failure, so says mechanic. so he replaced JUST the one that he had to take out and it got rid of half the wheel hopping vibration. then he replaced the other one and it was 100% gone.

if not tires, then... if you're sure the driver axle is fine then i would almost replace the passenger one yet again (maybe get the receipt from the dude who said he replaced them and use a warranty?). like i said mine looked fine and showed no signs of being bad, but they were.
i will also say that having a solid tranny mount causes a very slight wheel hop kinda vibration feel, so if you got solid instead of the oem hydraulic, i'd go back to hydraulic at least until your iron out everything.

with my car, it took all new lower mounts, oem hydralic FOR SURE, two new axles and tie rod ends to get all of the wheel hop, vibration, and play 100% gone from the suspension. i can't imagine struts causing wheel hop but im sure its possible if they're just blown to hell.

it just sounds to me like bad tire(s) or bad axles, those are the top two coming to mind. like i said my aunt's gp with bad tires it was worse upon acceleration and then leveled out a bit at cruise.

EDIT: i would check out what i mentioned above before dropping a bunch of money on struts. kyb gr2 struts will be the best imo, you can do quik struts or just re-use your springs as long as all of them are at still at their proper height. agx is the adjustable ones and they do ride really firm.
 


All 4 wheels are the same offset no? Can I swap the rears to the front and see if that makes a difference?

Also I will check the passenger side axle next time, what is the proper procedure for checking the axle?
 
Yeah you should be able to swap wheels around and see if it moves the hopping to the rear. OR what I did was grab wheels from another vehicle to take a test drive. Honda CR-V will work or a 2002 Chrysler T&C. Other than that you'd have to do your searching.

And check for the boots being loose, check for grease loss, pull on the shaft and check for any play.
 
Hows the tire wear? Tie rod ends? How about an Alignment? Too Toed in or out can cause the wheels to scrub the asphalt causing a Jittery hopping feeling. Just a Random thought. (Still does Toe Ins at work with an old Toe-Stick.)
 
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