Strange Vibration, But Not All The Time?

[Bassman]

Hi folks,

Still trying to get my car to 100% and it seems there is a bit more to do now.

Twice before today i have had a deep "Thrumming" type vibration at approx 40 mph. It reminded me of a rear wheel out of balance--badly.

But its not there all the time, most of the time the car is fine.

Anyway, i have just got back from having the car computer tracked and all the wheels balanced just in case it was that, and its still there. If anything now they have re-balanced the wheels its a bit worse. I will need a couple of rear tyres soon anyway so am hoping it is one of them badly out, but i cant really see how it can be if the balancing was done properly.

I have had a similar type vibration before on another car, and that was a rear tyre that needed balancing.. So any ideas please on what it could be. Its definately something rotational, either wheel out of true, maybe a drive shaft U/J or brake discs warped, or a tyre.

Any advice would be gratfully received.

Thanks folks

Keith

[The-Acre]

Wheel bearing maybe?

Have you tried changing the tyres i.e. front to back? I had the same thing on my estate, I thought is was something mechanical but when I swopped the tyres it went (and its never came back) so maybe worth trying that first? It really made a loud droning kind of noise.

Phil

[Bassman]

Thanks for the advice mate, its appreciated.

I am going to change the two rear tyres anyway, as there is only a couple of mm left on them. Fronts are still fine, maybe 5mm or so. I don't think it's from the front as I don't feel it through the steering, but through the car.

I suppose that I will have to wait and see if I goes when I change those tyres. Will be a start anyway.

Cheers

Keith

[cleverdick]

I have also known old tyres to do this - even when properly balanced. Presumably it's due to uneven hardening of the compound or other such degradation.

You can tell their age by the date on the sidewall, in the format WWYY.

Be wary of any tyre over about 6 years old.

[Bassman]

I bought the car from a family friend of the old chap that owned it, he told me that the car was stood for at least three months, probably closer to four months.

When I got the car home and checked the tyre pressures as I always do when I get a new car, there're all at least 10 lbs down per wheel.

Took me bloody ages with my little Halfords foot pump!

I don't think that has done the tyres any good at all. Would not surprise me to find that one has separated inside.

[The-Acre]

I bought the car from a family friend of the old chap that owned it, he told me that the car was stood for at least three months, probably closer to four months.

When I got the car home and checked the tyre pressures as I always do when I get a new car, there're all at least 10 lbs down per wheel.

Took me bloody ages with my little Halfords foot pump!

I don't think that has done the tyres any good at all. Would not surprise me to find that one has separated inside.

Well it's good to have new tyres anyway, especially if the old ones are a bit thin. Hope you're enjoying playing with the new purchase anyway.

[Bassman]

Absolutely love it mate.. It drives like a three or four year old car. For a car that has covered 145,000 miles its amazing. The engine is simply superb and you just can't feel gear changes at all. Suspension is excellent, no creaks, groans nothing except a great ride. Expected a few teething problems but when these are sorted it will be a great car for us.

I had a good chance to look around under the car today, when it was on the lift, and its in really nice condition, no rust at all, everything is good apart from the little plastic link for the headlamp levelling, which is broken, although the guy doing the alignment showed it to me and It sure looked like a fresh break to me, as the outside was wet and the break was dry.. so I need a new one of those, but that's all I found there.

These cars must be built like a tank!

[The-Acre]

Absolutely love it mate.. It drives like a three or four year old car. For a car that has covered 145,000 miles its amazing. The engine is simply superb and you just can't feel gear changes at all. Suspension is excellent, no creaks, groans nothing except a great ride. Expected a few teething problems but when these are sorted it will be a great car for us.

I had a good chance to look around under the car today, when it was on the lift, and its in really nice condition, no rust at all, everything is good apart from the little plastic link for the headlamp levelling, which is broken, although the guy doing the alignment showed it to me and It sure looked like a fresh break to me, as the outside was wet and the break was dry.. so I need a new one of those, but that's all I found there.

These cars must be built like a tank!

Now you wouldn't get that from the German stuff!

[brendangeorge]

Hi folks,

Still trying to get my car to 100% and it seems there is a bit more to do now.

Twice before today i have had a deep "Thrumming" type vibration at approx 40 mph. It reminded me of a rear wheel out of balance--badly.

But its not there all the time, most of the time the car is fine.

Anyway, i have just got back from having the car computer tracked and all the wheels balanced just in case it was that, and its still there. If anything now they have re-balanced the wheels its a bit worse. I will need a couple of rear tyres soon anyway so am hoping it is one of them badly out, but i cant really see how it can be if the balancing was done properly.

I have had a similar type vibration before on another car, and that was a rear tyre that needed balancing.. So any ideas please on what it could be. Its definately something rotational, either wheel out of true, maybe a drive shaft U/J or brake discs warped, or a tyre.

Any advice would be gratfully received.

Thanks folks

Keith

Hi if you have a duff wheel bearing it may only be noisy when you load it. To test when driving in a straight line move the wheel left you will load the left rear bearing and if it is worn it will whine - when you straighten up it will quieten down as it unloads - same test for the other side.

Bren

[ManicMark]

Might be your drive shaft joints need re greasing. Had this on my old 400 would drive for about 15 mins & get a vibration then it would stop, Didn't do it all the time re greased the joints & didn't have the problem again.

[Bassman]

Hi Bren, It's not a whine like a wheel bearing.. It's more like a deep vibration.

I will grease the joints and see if that makes a difference to it, thanks for that Marc

Still favouring a tyre though as after they had re-balanced them it was worse, but still went off after I pulled over for a second.. It's a strange one...

[ManicMark]

Hmm I seem to remember I could drive through the vibration or if I stopped & pulled off again it didn't return, Does it come from the back & steadily get worse travelling through the whole car & then die down & stop completely.It felt like it was a tyre dellaminating .

[Bassman]

That's the way it feels mate. I do thnk its coming from the back of the car. Not tried to drive through it, as its pretty bad as you get speed up to 45 or so. When I stop then most of the time it stops and might not come back for days...

Does the car have grease points or do you just grease the splines as well as you can with out stripping things down?

[ipwn]

Wheel bearings can come in a drumming tone. A bit like a flat tyre sound.

Thud thud thud thud thud.

Or they can be a whiney sound.

[ManicMark]

That's the way it feels mate. I do thnk its coming from the back of the car. Not tried to drive through it, as its pretty bad as you get speed up to 45 or so. When I stop then most of the time it stops and might not come back for days...

Does the car have grease points or do you just grease the splines as well as you can with out stripping things down?

Hi you can do it without stripping out the drive shafts.cut the boot clips( big ones) peel back the boot pack out the UJ with high temp grease. clean the boot & point where it connects to the uj from grease( brake cleaner or carb cleaner) use stainless jubilee clips to secure.

The symptoms you are having were the same as me it would be fine for weeks & then it would happen usually after about 15 to 30 mins into driving. It was the Knuckle getting stuck in the bearing when getting warm & then freeing itself off as the grease that was left in there worked its way into the joint.

If the car was standing for a period the grease may have gone hard from lack of use.

Its a cheap fix & won't do any harm. Hope it works for you. Mark

[Bassman]

Nice one Mark, many thanks for that. I will sort that and hope it cures it, as apart from that it's a great car.

Will let you know how it goes.

Cheers

Keith

[Parrot of Doom]

The headlamp link will cost you the thick end of £70 from a dealer. Or you can just do as I did, get a cheap metal skewer, bend it into shape, does the same job.

[Stevie 79]

Hi Bren, It's not a whine like a wheel bearing.. It's more like a deep vibration.

I will grease the joints and see if that makes a difference to it, thanks for that Marc

Still favouring a tyre though as after they had re-balanced them it was worse, but still went off after I pulled over for a second.. It's a strange one...

Bet you any money its a tyre issue check what make they are budget tyres are known for making a lot of noise, also when you put new tyres on always put them on the front.

[Bassman]

The skewer idea is superb..thanks mate.

The tyres are continentals so not really a budget make I suppose.

I am going to do as mark suggested and pack the spline boots with grease, and try tha t see if its sorted it out. And when I know then I will change the rear tyres.

Cheers for the help folks.

Keith

[39buss]

After you've been for a run, put your hand on the back wheels to feel if they're hot/warmish which would indicate a sticking brake. I had this on my GS300 which turned out to be a partly seized R/H parking brake cable. Same symptoms, low speed vibration which felt like a soft/punctured tyre. Delamination isn't unknown either as it may be inside the tyre or uneven wear across the width of the tyre.

[Gorodish]

Sorry to resurrect this thread but it was helpful to me. I had the same intermittent strong driveline vibration, which would 'reset' after stopping the car. Had the cv joint regreased and it went away for a month - but then returned! Regreased again but still there - occasionally and intermittently. Rear nearside wheel feels hotter than the other after it has happened. I can only surmise that it is a damaged cv joint. If so - are non- OEM parts ok to use - they are a lot cheaper? Or could it be parking brake related (doesn't feel like it is brakes - and why would it clear after stopping?).

Niggly Lexus at the moment. And if anyone is tempted by cheaper replacement tyres at the moment - be careful - I gave in and put on Maxxis all round at £60 a corner - road noise and ride significantly affected. I should have known!

[mikeyv]

Parking brake stuck on can definitely cause vibration. (Unfortunately so can plenty of other things of course!)

Yesterday, just after pulling away and accelerating to about 40mph, I felt a vibration as described by the OP.

For one awful moment I started thinking what might it be, and what might it cost, then spotted the brake warning lamp on, and fully released the parking brake.........light off, vibration gone, very relieved.

My point being, had the light not been on, a sticking parking brake would not have been near the top of my list of culprits.

As mentioned earlier, a quick check for excess heat on rear brakes would tend to point toward this being the problem.

I imagine Keith has fixed his problem by now......wonder what it was?

[Malc]

Does anyone engage the parking brake ??

Malc

[ambermarine]

Hi

Had this trouble with my mark 1, turned out to be the bushes on the hub side of the lower arm. Check out all the bushes on the rear suspension ,they make look alright but get it up in the air and take the weight off the rear wheels then try for vertical and horizontal movement on the wheels with a bar, the mileage is about right for this problem if they hav'nt been done by now.

[Bassman]

Mine was a combination of the parking brake, rear brakes, and the rear wishbone bushes. I ended up changing the parking brakes complete, the rear discs and pads and the read suspension arms. Now its great.. lots of money but they all needed doing to make the car 100%, so they got done.