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Curb incident, and a vibration with speed. What's left?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by Pegasus_, Jan 26, 2011.

  1. Pegasus_

    Pegasus_ New Member

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    Hey everyone.

    Been a long time since I last posted here.

    So I've brought my 2007 Prius to Germany where my wife is currently stationed, currently has 81K miles, and was surprised to discover my new, 85K-mile-warranty tires I brought with me (changed at 51K) wore out after just 35K miles! Now, there are lots of curves here and I quite enjoyed taking them "with spirit" so I guess it's to be expected.

    Unfortunately, I was still in denial that my tires could be worn when I slid the front passenger wheel into a curb at about 50km/h (read: HARD) thanks to a patch of ice. Long story short, I replaced the lower control arm, the inner and outer tie rod ends, the tires (now sporting snow tires,) and the affected wheel, then had an alignment done. But there was still a vibration when on the lift and driving. You could really begin to hear it at 50km/h and it was loudest at about 80km/h (varies only with speed. Doesn't matter if using ICE, elec. only or both.) So I had a mechanic take a look while I modulated the accelerator with the car on the lift. He saw a slight bend in the passenger CV axle (axle shaft) so I just finally replaced that today after driving like 400km at no more than 125km/h. (Gotta love the German Autobahns.)

    Now, though the vibration is less, it's still there! The one mechanic thinks he's hearing it from the transmission and another that looked says the wheel bearing is the only thing left to replace. Before I put any more time into this, I wanted to find out what you PC peeps think.

    (Also, I wasn't prepared for the tranny fluid leaking out when I replaced the axle, so 1) what's its capacity, 2) how do I add some, and 3) how do I know when its full? Hopefully the low level of fluid isn't itself a cause for the vibration.)

    Thanks for your time, expertise and attention with this long post!
     
    #1 Pegasus_, Jan 26, 2011
  2. Hal W

    Hal W New Member

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    How about the brake rotor? H
     
    #2 Hal W, Jan 26, 2011
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    my son hit a curb in our olds intrigue many years ago. replaced the wheel bearing $400., still vibration. then the cv axle shaft, few hundred more. still vibration. mechanic says 'we can go into the tranny for $1500. and look around'. that's when we traded it in on our first camry and never looked back. wish i could offer better advice, all the best!
     
    #3 bisco, Jan 26, 2011
  4. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Wow you didn't replace the fluid after you pulled the inner cv joint? YIKES!!!
    Thats not good.
    Yes the rotor and hub are next I guess. Your on the hunt. Hub is $250.

    But do the CVT fluid first!!!!

    Hope its not the CVT.
    The cvt is expensive even with a salvage. Good salvage in USA is around $700 plus ship plus labor to install.
    Not sure of avail. in Germany though.

    The CVT fluid:

    Holds almost 4 quarts.

    Take's Toyota WS Fluid. USA around $9 a quart.

    Up on the side of the CVT is a 15/16 bolt. Thats the fill hole.

    The drain is a female metric allen head bolt on the bottom of the cvt. Please see pictures.

    Dump all the fluid as you probably got some dirt in there and your overdue anyway for a fluid change. Then fill up in the side upper hole till it starts to dribble out that fill hole. Thats full.

    Make sure you open the top fill hole first.

    Also hope you replaced the inner cv joint seal in the trans there too. Keep an eye on that seal area for future leaks. The seal is to keep trans fluid from leaking. And there's no way to check the cvt fluid level without taking that upper fill hole bolt out and putting your finger in the hole to see if the fluid is up to the bolt hole. Watch the floor in the garge for leaks of red fluid.

    Good Luck!
     

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    #4 edthefox5, Jan 26, 2011
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  5. bedrock8x

    bedrock8x Senior Member

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    Replace the wheel bearing.
     
    #5 bedrock8x, Jan 26, 2011
  6. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    Did the mechs check the radial and lateral wheel runout? Was the new tire/wheel balanced? If those look good, then, unfortunately, the trans might be the problem.
     
    #6 seilerts, Jan 27, 2011
  7. Joe 26

    Joe 26 Member

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    Most likely wheel bearing/hub. You can check it for runout with a dial indicator, or check the wheel/hub assy for runout. You may be able to feel looseness shaking the tire wheel top to bottom or feel roughness when axle is out.
     
    #7 Joe 26, Jan 27, 2011
  8. Pegasus_

    Pegasus_ New Member

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    Wow thanks for all the great info guys!

    One mechanic tried to wiggle the wheel (with tire on) a number of times and didn't feel anything amiss.

    The new tires were balanced on the wheels at install time so that's not it.

    So I guess I'll just have to order a hub assembly and rotor. (I've done individual bearings before but if the hub itself is bent...) Plus the shop at the place I bought the car said if it was the bearing alone, it would make a scraping sound. (Though I hear that now when turning hard having replaced the shaft, but that's related to the rotor since it stops when I gently press the brake.)
     
    #8 Pegasus_, Jan 27, 2011
  9. don_chuwish

    don_chuwish Well Seasoned Member

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    Wouldn't hurt to get tire balance checked again, somewhere else. I've had many new tire installs over the years that weren't balanced correctly on the first try.

    - D
     
    #9 don_chuwish, Jan 28, 2011
  10. Jands

    Jands New Member

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    Have you checked the brakes? I had something similar...turned out to be seized front brakes.
    Another possibility is a bald/flat spot on one of the tyres...all of which are cheaper than looking at the transmission.
     
    #10 Jands, Jan 28, 2011
  11. born2pdl

    born2pdl Junior Member

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    Have both front tires rechecked for balance first.

    How about a damaged steering shaft coupler? Wasn't steering wheel shake one symptom of the older recalled couplers?

    Broken motor mount or tranny mount? If the CV axle was bent, those mounts also saw a big impact load.

    Then on to the hub and rotor. I think the tranny is fine (if it didn't get run low on fluid too long). I haven't heard of a tranny causing a shake after a curb incident.
     
    #11 born2pdl, Jan 28, 2011
  12. Pegasus_

    Pegasus_ New Member

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    Toyota dealer here checked it out and said it's indeed the wheel bearing. So I will pick up an assembly tomorrow and fix it.
     
    #12 Pegasus_, Feb 8, 2011
  13. Hal W

    Hal W New Member

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    Well lets hope it works. I think it will! I would have thought the rotor to be the problem,oh well. Hal
     
    #13 Hal W, Feb 8, 2011
  14. Azipod

    Azipod Member

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    Add an alignment to the list. It will tell you exactly what's wrong.
     
    #14 Azipod, Feb 11, 2011
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