Shudder on acceleration and above 65 mph

[svtenthusiast]

I searched the forums and found a few similar issues with this, but my problem is kind of unique. I get a shudder/shimmy from the front of the car, but not through the steering wheel when accelerating above 35mph (usually 3rd through 5th gear). It gets worse if you accelerate harder. When crusing above 65 there is also a constant shudder. These items lead me to thinking it's a bad CV joint. There is no popping from the CV's when turning at low speeds. The boots are not torn and look new. The 3rd item throws me off. When I turn the slightest to the right, I get a roaring sound like tire noise, but not to the left. This leads me to a bad wheel bearing. But I can do the 12 and 6 o'clock test and everything seems tight. Can these three problems all be related or separate?

The tires are brand new, and they are balanced correctly. I looked at the motor mounts and they all look good. The second 2 problems are the same if the transmission is in neutral. The problems were evident before I changed the tires, but not as noticable because the old tires were so loud. I don't want to guess because the wheel bearings are a bear to replace in the front. What do you guys think? Thanks for the help.

The car is a '99 Cougar V-6 MTX

[freednighthawk]

Hate to say it, but it sounds exactly like what my old cabriolet was doing when it tossed a bearing on the front.

[karro]

it indeed sounds like bearing (one of left side ones) is going to die. that doesn't explain the vibration, though, unless it's already shattered, which is very unlikely - IMHO

[twhanks]

Amazing how similar my problems are. I had my left front wheel bearing replaced, which cured the noise when turning right. But, the shudder continues. Have you found out what causes that?

[svtenthusiast]

It turned out to be the passenger side CV axle. The inner joint was shot which is why I didn't get any clicking or binding when turning.