can bad shocks cause vibrations while driving? Options

[brianforster]

well i thought my tires needed balancing because there was kind of this pulsating (sometimes it didnt pulsate but sometimes it did) vibration coming from the rear, specifically the rear drivers side but sometimes the rear pasasenger side.

now im sure the shocks on my car are really old because i remember when swapping they didnt look too hot. i am going to replace them and put on some teins here soon, but im wondering other than shocks what else could cause this kind of vibration from the rear.

[jc47]

You'll usually only notice bad shocks when going over bumps. There may be some vibration, but it usually feels like the affected wheel is loose/about to fall off. You may also hear/feel clunk noise, etc. especially if mounts are also bad.

Pulsating almost always means your wheels are out of balance; it is also possible that you have one or more bad tires and/or bent rims. I'd take the wheels to get balanced. They should be able to tell you if the tires are bad or the rims are bent.