Try putting the tires back in the same positions where they were, and see if it goes away, or rotate them side to side and see if the vibration moves. If it does, it's more likely a problem in the tires or wheels. If the shocks are bad and the tires wear into a 'feathered' pattern, reversing the tire rotation can cause noise and handling issues.
When you rub your hands along the top of a tire with a bad case of feathering wear it feels like fish scales - go one way and it feels smooth, the other and it's very rough. The tread blocks wear like saw teeth or fish scales.
Another problem can be tires that were made out of round, or made way out of balance from the rubber plant, especially in larger truck and SUV sizes - there are special tire machines that do Road Force Balancing that can shave those tires back to round again (or shave down the heavy side to get the physical balance closer) and get them to ride smoothly, but only a few tire shops do this.
Hey, it's possible. There have been many auto shops busted for selling customers on unneeded work, and the big chain shops (Sears Auto Centers springs to mind) have been busted repeatedly for pushing unneeded work and faking "evidence" that you need it. See, the big places can easily track every employee's 'add-on' sales, and if you don't push those extras you get fired.
Wrong Side Fuelingyou Right, Right, Left, Left. The three Fords I own all have little arrows on the dash to remind you. The Saturn doesn't. And yes I approach the gas pumps correctly (at least most of...
With any alignment rack (even the new computerized optical ones) It would be trivial to 'put their thumb on the scale' to "show" that the alignment was way off, and you need it done again. A lot of auto repairs have to be done simply on faith that your mechanic isn't lying to you.
Shocks or struts worn, or other worn items like the rubber bushings and ball joints in the suspension. All the suspension mounting attachments ride in rubber or urethane plastic bushings to allow for movement and avoid transmitting vibrations to the car body, and these wear out with time and mileage.
When there are badly worn suspension parts the shop can adjust the alignment perfectly - then you can simply bounce the car up and down a few times, and the 'perfect' alignment readings go right out the window as the pins shift in the bushings.
-- Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700 5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545 Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.
