Hellow fellow zed problem diagnosers, im feeling a slight vibration coming from the front of the car. definitely not the back and i have replaced tailshaft uni. its also accompanied by a droning noise as i get above 60km/hr. i thought at first it was just in need of a balance at the front but then after taking her up to high speed she doesnt seem to pull to one side or the other very much, if at all. also, when i turn to the right on a slight curve/bend, the vibration disappears and so does the droning. i thought it could be my tyres as they are getting a little low but not sure.. discuss...
How low is the tread and do you have any irregularity on the shoulders as this will cause droning and minor vibration.
also, another piece to the puzzle, but could be unrelated, is that when i brake from high speed i feel the vibration more strongly and it come throug the steering wheel although im assuming thats becuase my rotors are a little warped. getting them machined in a few weeks...
check the wheel nuts are tight, My wheel nuts where a bit loose on one of my front wheels which was causing vibration.
My money on shoulder wear ... bearings a possibility though, so I'll take an each way bet I doubt your rotors are warped, more likely just glazed. It's fairly common and de-glazing is a simple DIY job unless you wish to fit new pads in which case machining is recommended if sufficient thickness of rotor remains.
With this added info... then yes, quite could possibly be a tyre also. Get both checked out. Wheel wobble may also be caused by worn rack end or tie rod end so get the whole corner checked out.
Nothing cures an OUT OF ROUND tyre... Steering vibrations are my pet hate. Before blowing money: - Check all front wheel nuts are tight. (One of mine fell off as I pulled up at work - after fitting new tyres ) and I was wondering what that knocking was when turning?? :bash: - Check for out of round. If one is OOR the whole smoothness thing goes down the toilet. - Check the inside of front tyres. If worn more than 1/2 the thread depth (feathering) you will endup getting tyre noise which sounds much like a wheel bearing. (I fell for this a few times and it was the tyres instead!!) - If the above are OK and still vibration then the usual money spending exercise applies. (Balancing, ON CAR if you want super smooth, Wheel alignment, front camber kits, whatever...) Peter
Relevant Questions: Is the vibration "felt" through the steering wheel or through the cars body ? Does the vibration increase during normal braking ? Does the vibration increase during hard braking ? Does the 'drone' increase in pitch with speed ? Does the droning volume increase or decrease when braking ? On the info supplied so far I'll back the wheel bearing diagnosis as the main issue with an 'each way bet' on the rotors/pads needing attention. Kingy
My car started doing this several months ago. It started immediately after having brand new front wheel bearing fitted. The car runs very quietly and smoothly with no sign of a problem until the brakes are applied. There is no noise associated with my problem, but it is most noticeable under normal braking(much less obvious under severe/heavy braking). I have had the DBA 4000 324mm discs checked, and have tried several different brake pads as well as frequently removing and replacing the front wheels in different stud locations, all with slightly different results. I have now gone back to my half-worn, original set of brake pads, and the problem is slightly less annoying, but definitely still there.
Traced a cause of wheel vibration down to a fractionally uneven face on one side of a wheel spacer... seems during tyre change somewhere down the track some 'gunk' had gotten between the hub and spacer while wheels were removed and, with pressure, had hardened onto one part of the spacer, fractionally tilting it off square. Careful rub-down with a file smoothed the face... no more vibration!!
wheels were balanced when i replaced the years about 12 months ago wheels were balanced when i replaced the years about 12 months ago
im going to get my fronts replaced anyway as they are getting on the low side. obviously ill get them balanced at the same time. if after replacing them they still are making a bit of noise/vibration then probably time to consider a new bearing. seems as though i have a bit more tread in the centre of my tyres as opposed to the insider/outside, so in the mean time would you guys suggest inflating them (stock size, bridgestone G3's) over recommended so it wears the centre instead? any chance is has something to do with shocks/suspension?
- vibration is felt more through the cars body than the steering wheel - vibration does increase under hard braking - the drone does increase in terms of loudness with speed. pitch im not so sure on but it could be - drone decreases in volume with braking/slowing down (see above)
Making a solid bet on a dodgy wheel bearing! Just did a falcon with these exact symptoms. New wheel bearings and no shake. Was occuring more under hard brakes and no pulling to the side. MattB
Vibration via the steering wheel would suggest ........... Unevenly worn or out of balance tyres, Buckled or loose rim, Worn ball joints or tierod ends, Stuffed shockers, Warped brake disks or unevenly worn pads. Being directly 'hooked' to the steering wheel they tend to show there firstly ..... yours however is more via the cars body which suggests it's a driveline issue more than a suspension / brake issue. That leaves rear wheel bearings, tailshaft's centre bearing, the uni joints, or the diff bearings ( posiable pinion bearing ?? ) If its increasing under braking and not being felt through the steering wheel then its not a front brake issue, if the front discs were in any way warped or uneven there would be a severe vibration back through the steering wheel. If its the rear discs that have suffered some damage or are worn excesivly they would cause a body vibration under braking and this would'nt felt through the steering wheel but would definately felt through the body and posiably through the gear shifter itself. A volume increase says wheel bearing or driveline bearing/uni A volume decrease says wheelbearing or driveline bearing/uni In an earlier post you said something about it going quiet when cornering a specific way ( right I think it was )..... Cornering will "load one wheel" so any slop say in a bearing is instantly taken up thus the noise / vibration stops ....... Me is finkin dat its a rear wheel bearing..... probably on the passengers side Easy to check for a loose or worn wheel bearing front or rear..... FRONT: 1/ Jack up the front so the wheels are clear of the ground 2/ Place one hand on the top of the wheel and the other hand on the bottom of the wheel 3/ With the bottom hand you pull & the top hand pushes then quickly reverse the directions of push/pull several times if the bearings are worn there will be around 5mm or more of movement ( I've seen 20mm on a few shagged front ends !!! ) To check for worn steering linkages let one wheel back onto the ground .... rotate you hand positions 90 degrees to 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock on the raised wheel and again do the push/ pull thing, shouldnt be any more than 3mm of movement asuming the bearings are good. REAR: 1/ jack up back end of the car 2/ grab a rear wheel and try and push it in and out towards the diff ....... shouldnt be any movement at all, if there is ....... replace the rear wheel bearings.
Worn Shoulder on tyre Just did my front rotor and noticed the wear pattern on the front was a bit funny, so did a quick front to raer rotation, problem solved. I had the same symptoms you described before this. my 2 cents worth and worth a try
