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Vibration at speed

PostPosted: Fri, 10 Jul 2015 5:42 +0000
by Locknut
G'day guys

I'm having some difficulty in finding the source of a vibration. The vibration is felt through the entire vehicle and makes the steering wheel wobble. It is most noticeable when the car is cold then decreases slightly once the engine has warmed up, or maybe the tyres? Anything above 95km/hr it starts to get quite bad.

I've had a specialist do a steering wheel alignment while I watched so I'm happy it's not this. I've had all four wheels balanced and rotated and the vibration is exactly the same.

I've recently lifted the car 2" but that hasn't changed the vibration. I've got 33" bighorne tyres.

Any ideas????

Re: Vibration at speed

PostPosted: Fri, 10 Jul 2015 5:54 +0000
by Rocket55
Buggered uni joint?

Re: Vibration at speed

PostPosted: Fri, 10 Jul 2015 8:42 +0000
by mitch_893
I'd start by trying to grease all lube points on your driveshafts

Re: Vibration at speed

PostPosted: Fri, 10 Jul 2015 9:39 +0000
by beeblebrox
I had a similar issue on my old falcon ute, was a front brake cylinder, the brakeon one side of the rotor would lock on intermittently, really noticeable at 80-90ks

Re: Vibration at speed

PostPosted: Fri, 10 Jul 2015 9:48 +0000
by Blackdelux
had smillar problem in my lux
took it too pedders they have suspension check, shakes car, checks all suspension points about twenty bucks or so
they worked out was worn front bushes and one ball joint
fixed it straight away

Re: Vibration at speed

PostPosted: Sat, 11 Jul 2015 5:28 +0000
by Locknut
Good one, thanks guys I'll have a look today. This forum really does rock!

Re: Vibration at speed

PostPosted: Sat, 11 Jul 2015 10:26 +0000
by Hellbound
Let us know how you go mate

Re: Vibration at speed

PostPosted: Sun, 12 Jul 2015 7:02 +0000
by Locknut
So I've greased up all the uni joints and took it for a quick burn. I didn't notice the vibration but I think I'll have to go for a longer drive on a smoother road to really find the outcome there. The steering wheel is still shaking though. I thought it might have been the front wheel bearings but there's no movement in the rim when I jack it up. It's hard to tell but I reckon that the gear lever is moving more. When I rest my hand on it though it stops.

The car had the vibration and steering wheel feedback since I purchased it a few months back. I thought with a steering alignment it would have disappeared. Is it possible that it's just the large 33" tyres?

Re: Vibration at speed

PostPosted: Sun, 12 Jul 2015 4:55 +0000
by Hellbound
When i had a bad shake above 90 it turned out to be a dodgy wheel balance, nothing to do with the alignment... Perhaps having them rebalanced may solve your problem mate give it a try its pretty cheap

Re: Vibration at speed

PostPosted: Sun, 12 Jul 2015 7:01 +0000
by wyworrie
Try widetread tyres in upper ferntree gully. They are the masters of big tyre ballancing

Re: Vibration at speed

PostPosted: Mon, 13 Jul 2015 12:28 +0000
by Higherlux
I too have had this problem for years. Its Alignment and balance. You just need to find the right guy to do it.Mine shook my watch to pieces,the internals just fell apart it was that bad...found a good operator and its smooth as now.

Re: Vibration at speed

PostPosted: Mon, 13 Jul 2015 5:38 +0000
by Locknut
Sounds like it's a dodgy alignment and balance. Thanks for your input guys :D

Re: Vibration at speed

PostPosted: Tue, 16 Apr 2019 8:26 +0000
by faff99@outlook.com
Have you tried buffing the surface with a steel brush attachment in a drill between Hub/wheel bearing and inside disc, then outside surface of disc where studs poke through, then inside surface of wheel that sits against disc. If all these surfaces are free of any uneven interference the wobble should go, if not you can wheel balance all day and still have a vibration at high speed.

As far as balancing tyres ask for your rims to be statically balanced to 0 then put the tyre on and put back on the balancer again to find the heavy spot in the tyre and mark the spot, after this stage oppose the mark on the tire to weight on the rim and remove the weight then dynamically balance tyre on rim as per normal, this will reduce weight needed and make the rim and wheel much more harmonious and stay in balance longer. This is particularly good for mud tyres which are notoriously hard to balance. any tyre fitter worth his salt should know this. Hope this made sense and is helpful.

Re: Vibration at speed

PostPosted: Fri, 19 Apr 2019 7:16 +0000
by taresk
Might be worth ditching the weights and getting balance beads installed.