Wheel vibration/wobble

[cornershop]

3 hours ago, Daveyboy20 said:

So I'm a passenger in it on the motorway now and I can feel the vibration - still potentially tyres?

Why do you think that would that change anything? 🤔

Have you checked the basics - tyre pressures and wheel bolt torques (check manual)?

Have you ruled out steering and suspension components? UCAs etc?

Dont go spending money on tyres just yet.

[Daveyboy20]

12 hours ago, cornershop said:

Why do you think that would that change anything? 🤔

Have you checked the basics - tyre pressures and wheel bolt torques (check manual)?

Have you ruled out steering and suspension components? UCAs etc?

Dont go spending money on tyres just yet.

Because I thought it could be felt only through the steering wheel but can clearly be felt through the chassis, opening up more possibilities.

 

If I'm honest, I posted this thread as I thought there may be an, "Oh yeah, that'll be the doohickey rams - they all do it and it's an easy fix".... 

 

I'm presuming it's a mix of old tyres and old bushes so will work through as and when funding allows.

Thanks guys

[stericker]

Warped discs ? It was with my LS400.

[Daveyboy20]

40 minutes ago, stericker said:

Warped discs ? It was with my LS400.

Making it shake when not pressing the pedal?

[Cotswold Pete]

15 hours ago, The-Acre said:

The problem is that it could potentially be anything. 

Agree with the above.

Does the wobble get worse still if you go above 75, to me that indicates tyres or wheel (could be UCA - though I had worn UCA replaced and had no such symptoms before).

I wonder if it could be pads/shims, though does not present as 'wobble', (well not for me), sort of a feeling of a unbalanced wheel, but once it kicks in it does not get worse with speed.

One other thought, had a tyre with seperated layers years ago on Omega, it presented like I was sort of driving on a slippery road at low speed only when turning a corner and then at motorway speeds felt unbalanced, but when you put it on wheel calibrator it showed as perfectly balanced.  This was with brand new tyres, which is why it took a while (and pure chance) to diagnose.  Cannot remember how tyre depot confirmed the problem, but it was me that asked them to suss out if that was the issue.

Is this a job for the chaps at Japex to have a look at?

[The-Acre]

32 minutes ago, Daveyboy20 said:

Making it shake when not pressing the pedal?

Unfortunately it doesn't appear to be something that anyone can put their finger on with certainty.  The problem being that it could be so many things as has been said.  It would be so much easier to look at it in the flesh.  Basically, if it's not a tyre (and my jury is still out) and a sticking caliper is ruled out, it has to be something like a bush that's worn.  Yet another thing to consider is the prop shaft, and if the vibration goes after a certain speed it does also indicate that something is out of balance. 

[NemesisUK]

Buckled wheel(s)?

[Shahpor]

I recently had a similar issue on mine.  I was getting a vibration through the steering wheel and foot wells between 80-90 mph.

The dealer reckoned they had checked the wheel balancing before I picked it up since they had the wheels refurbed, but after re-balancing them this time the problem has disappeared.  Perhaps it wasn't quite right the first time?

Although, if it happens under braking then it still most likely to be worn suspension bushes.

[plastic orange]

Wheel wobble while braking points to discs needing either cleaned or replaced. Only discs I've fitted that lasted ok so far are pagid. Blueprint ones wobble started at 10k, and lexus ones needed replaced at 25k. I'd check them along with ensuring wheel mating surface is perfectly flat.

 

Pete

[Tinonline]

Sorry to be boring but given the importance of tyres: yours are old and near end of life...of course you would change these at the earliest opportunity. They don’t wear completely evenly so can easily cause or contribute to issues.

Front discs do warp so if they’re old...

Lower control arm bush is a weak area...

MK 4 will fly through an MOT like mine but I know I have to replace lower ball joints: leaking grease but solid = not good enough and lower control arm bushes=look okayish = shot.

 

 

[Stupot]

I've just had new tyres all round (on the standard LS400 16 inch wheels) and then got terrible steering wheel wobble between 60-70mph. Despite them being balanced, I took them back as I suspected some of the balancing weights might have been thrown off (it's happened to me before with new tyres, the rims are not great). They re-balanced (needed doing) and added new weights and the wobble was much less noticeable. This morning, I deflated the tyres from 34 psi all round (for good mpg) to 31 psi (closer to the 30 psi spec in handbook) and the steering wheel wobble is now almost gone.

[Malc]

I've been running my ordinary 225/60/16 s on 30 or  31 psi for years and never had issues.

Malc

[Cotswold Pete]

On 11/9/2018 at 11:46 AM, Stupot said:

 steering wheel wobble is now almost gone.

I have a  wobble, around 35-40 mph, seems to fade to a barely noticeable wobble at 50+ and I run my tyres at 34psi.

Will try pulling back to 30psi, see what happens.

Need to jack up the front and prod some bushes, as at 191,000, some stuff is going to getting a little tired.

[Malc]

14 minutes ago, Cotswold Pete said:

Need to jack up the front and prod some bushes, as at 191,000, some stuff is going to getting a little tired.

the other day at my indy he jacked up each wheel and took his 6ft bloody great crowbar to them all to see what needed attention ......  just the one UCA at the rear o/s, an Advisory at the last MOT

oh, and the drop links at the front too

all hopefully being replaced within the next two weeks

Malc

[Newbie1]

On 11/5/2018 at 10:59 PM, Tinonline said:

Sorry to be boring but given the importance of tyres: yours are old and near end of life...of course you would change these at the earliest opportunity. They don’t wear completely evenly so can easily cause or contribute to issues.

Front discs do warp so if they’re old...

Lower control arm bush is a weak area...

MK 4 will fly through an MOT like mine but I know I have to replace lower ball joints: leaking grease but solid = not good enough and lower control arm bushes=look okayish = shot.

 

 

Yup. MOT worthiness is bare bones. OK is not good enough for nigh on 2 tonnes of rear wheel drive barge.

My lower control arm bushes are worn, and it causes a juddering from high speed braking. Next on the list. The relentless pursuit of used perfection.

[DavidWilson]

Hey! It had the same problem recently so I came to link and they repaired everything quite fast so you may contact with them and they can fix the problem.

[Malc]

2 hours ago, DavidWilson said:

so I came to link and they repaired everything quite fast

in Auckland New Zealand ???

Nice trip then  

Malc

[Daveyboy20]

I had the tracking done at Kwikfit.. I drove away and the steering wheel was a quarter turn out! Went back, complained, they had another go.  Just as bad! He said 'come back tomorrow as the other guy is better'. Great! 

I'm very busy these days and have only just gone back (to a different branch) and they've done it again - steering wheel is still slightly off centre unfortunately, but it drives much better and a lot of the vibration has gone.  There's still a small amount that I'd like to eliminate - I'll fit new tyres soon and take it from there. Still a worrying amount of red on the sheet - are these parts not adjustable? I presume red means it's not where it should be. 

The relentless pursuit of 20 year old, 120k mile perfection... 

[Malc]

to my knowledge I've had mine done a few times now and before and after always shows everything green at the end of the process

Malc

[Newbie1]

Frozen eccentric adjuster bolts, I would wager. 

I try and do them a favour and squirt plus gas on the bolts a few days before an alignment. 

[Britprius]

15 hours ago, Daveyboy20 said:

I had the tracking done at Kwikfit.. I drove away and the steering wheel was a quarter turn out! Went back, complained, they had another go.  Just as bad! He said 'come back tomorrow as the other guy is better'. Great! 

I'm very busy these days and have only just gone back (to a different branch) and they've done it again - steering wheel is still slightly off centre unfortunately, but it drives much better and a lot of the vibration has gone.  There's still a small amount that I'd like to eliminate - I'll fit new tyres soon and take it from there. Still a worrying amount of red on the sheet - are these parts not adjustable? I presume red means it's not where it should be. 

The relentless pursuit of 20 year old, 120k mile perfection... 

From the diagnostic sheet the reason there is lots of red is because they have only aligned the front wheels. The rears have not been touched. Many places advertise "tracking", but they only adjust the front wheels making for a waste of time, and money.

John.

[Malc]

what did you pay these guys for this unfinished process ?

Malc

[Daveyboy20]

120 quid 

'Geo care' apparently.  4 wheel alignment up to 8 times over the year. Done it 3 bloody times this month now and it's still wrong. Not sure what to do. This is the second branch that's fecked it up. 

[Malc]

11 hours ago, Daveyboy20 said:

120 quid 

take it to a competent user of the equipment .................  no use to you but I go to Treadmark Tyres in Canterbury, who I first used for this some 7.5 years ago when I first got my Mk3 and on the few occasions since when work has been done to the suspension set-up stuff and re=alignment being required.

It comes out reading green all over when they've finished AND it's probably about £60 now ..................  for all corners to be sorted

You've been ripped off methinks by a load of incompetents 

Malc

[Cotswold Pete]

1 hour ago, Malc said:

take it to a competent user of the equipment

You've been ripped off methinks by a load of incompetents 

Agree with the above (though they did sort the Steer Ahead out), looked at my last sheet done by Chris Mullins in Glos, and only had fronts done and Toe In and Forward Steer was way out. Now the old lady steers like a dream and the tyres looking fine.

Rears mildly out, and so not needed doing.  I paid about £50 as a I recall, and would have been £70ish for all 4 corners.

My only thought for finding someone nearer Merseyside is to chat to enthusiasts who pimp their motors and have their wheels set up 'oddly' for want of a better term. Whoever they use is probably a better bet.

Using ATS. Kwik Fit etc, is such a hit and miss affair even when I have had so called experienced operatives.