donberry

at 70mph and above, I get a small vibration. Is that normal ? It does not affect anything, steers fine etc, but just a little vibration throughout car. It had an alignment about 5,000 miles ago.
Could it be the tires maybe ?

Realist D.

Could be lots of things. Have you brushed against any curbs lately while parking? Driven on any really bumpy or pot-holed roads? A vibration at speed is normal in that many cars are like that, but it is not good for your car.

Even if you can stand driving with that vibration your car cannot. All that unecessary vibrating will cause any number of things to wear prematurely, and not just your tires. Imagine there's a wire inside your door that's resting against the window mecanism. Now imagine that wire rubbing on that mechanism a million times over the next month or two. It will wear right through the wire casing, short out, and presto ... your electric window doesn't work anymore because you didn't have your tires rebalanced!

That may be an extreme little fairy tale, but that's why cars that are well-cared for last longer than cars that are not.

Lizard928

I would recommend taking the wheels off and having them balanced also I would say it is a good time to repack all your wheel bearings., you may have flatspotted the tires at one time

Jim bailey - 928 International

Vibrations which are speed related ( check by shifting to neutral and letting the engine idle ) will nearly always be tire or wheel balance . If it is front wheel you will feel it in the steering , rear wheel vibrates the whole car . While balancing check for bent rims ( they wave at you ).

donberry

thanks for the info. I am leaning towards the rear wheels as it seems like the whole car. Is tough to desribe, it is not like the car is actually moving back and forth.....more of a feel thing.
I will take it in and have it checked Monday.
Could also be flat spots as the car only had 5,000 miles on it since 1999.
hmmm, good excuse for some new wheels maybe.....

WallyP

Find a smooth parking lot. Drive across it at a steady walking speed. If the car "waddles" any at all, the problem is likely to be a broken belt on a tire.