1998 Venture Steering Vibrations

I have a 1998 Chevrolet Venture with a severe vibration under the hood & dash when I make left or right turns at slow speeds or when not moving at all. Aparently my van was not involved with the large rack & pinion recall. I took it to the dealer anyways, and first they said it was the power steering pressure hose & return hose, it was replaced under warranty. I picked it up and didnt get out of the driveway & noticed the same problem. They took it back again, then said it was the power steering pump and replaced that, said it was fine, and again, didnt get out the driveway & still had the problem. Again they took it in and then said it was the rack & pinion, and again replaced under warranty. And yes you guessed it, didnt get out of the driveway & still had the same problem. They told me there was nothing else they can do, refunded my warranty deductible, apologized, said they hope I get the problem solved and sent me on my way. I took it to a private mechanic who did a break job and something with the wheel bearing and the vibration was still there but not so severe. 5 months later the vibration is back at its peak. I took it to a different dealer this time, they had a mechanic with it for 6 hours and he could not find the problem and they are currently waiting for a response from the technical advisor from GM CANADA Head Office.
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Has anyone else had these problems??? I was told from the first dealer that they replaced everything with the steering and have no idea what the problem is
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My first thought would have been the power steering.  Only thing I could think of is the tires. Have you had them rotated since the problem started?  Or aligned?  Just my 2cents.

Anyone think that it might have nothing to do with the steering?  Obviously it can't be if you replace everything that is envolved with the steering and it still does it! 

Also I would seriously talk to a lawyer and talk to him/her about the Lemon Law.  Your dealer already wroked on it Three times (That you stated) and should be enough to qualify for a return of your vehicle to the dealer for a new one!

My dad did it with his S-10, not sure all of the steps that are needed to do, but I do remember he talked to a Lawyer first.

Good luck, hope you dont have to live with such an inconvenice for much longer.  There is no way I would sit back and allow for this type of service from anyone.  Stand tall and speak loudly, and get your van FIXED!!!

 

Good luck

[QUOTE=Silverado_ia]

Anyone think that it might have nothing to do with the steering?  Obviously it can't be if you replace everything that is envolved with the steering and it still does it! 

Also I would seriously talk to a lawyer and talk to him/her about the Lemon Law.  Your dealer already wroked on it Three times (That you stated) and should be enough to qualify for a return of your vehicle to the dealer for a new one!

My dad did it with his S-10, not sure all of the steps that are needed to do, but I do remember he talked to a Lawyer first.

Good luck, hope you dont have to live with such an inconvenice for much longer.  There is no way I would sit back and allow for this type of service from anyone.  Stand tall and speak loudly, and get your van FIXED!!!

 

Good luck

[/QUOTE]

I had vibration problem moving the steering side by side in a Cavalier 99 and the problem was solved restraining the power steering pressure hose, we putted a piece of metal with a hole at the center reducing more than a half the internal diameter. A friend who worked at GM dealer here in Honduras told me they did that often with exelent results, I hope it works for you.

   

         RiMau.

Hi, It's me again, I don't know how, but appears a previous reply by me, and it's acopy of Silverado_ia, just a mistake.

RiMau.

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Hi Was wondering if your problem was ever fixed we have the same situation with a 98 venture van a vibration started at low speeds when cornering, the rack was repalced because it was leaking, the problem seemed to get worse, we put in a pump and made no difference, we tried another rack and made no difference, it seems like a line is vibrating when turning we tried to isolate the lines but nothing makes a difference, the vibration is slowly getting worse, I was wondering if the strut plates or ball joints are to tight causing to muc turing pressure at idle if, we have checked them and they seem ok, next step may be to remove them, appreciate any help

THE VAN IS NOW FIXED

Turns out the severe problem was to do with

the power steering pressure hose and return hose.

They fixed the problem by installing hoses from a newer model Venture, in this case they installed hoses from a 1999 Venture in my 1998 and this has resolved the problem. They say the starting in 1999 the engine & components are quite a bit different as compared to the 1998 and prior years.