Vibrations over 80mph

[Bodyboarder81]

Hi all ,

Wondering if anyone could help !......

Bought a car from a forum member and overall I'm very pleased with it .... however there are a few issues I'd like to get sorted , as with any 2nd hand car , which I don't have any issues doing.

On my private drive when I'm over 80mph I'm getting a vibration through the steering wheel and can feel it through the car as well . Anything below 80 it is not eveident . I did have vibrations under hard braking .

Man maths kicked in and bought new wheels , which have been balanced so to take that out of the equation... still got the vibrations.... put the front on a brake machine that showed brakes were warped, so changed the front discs and pads , which has sorted the pulsating under braking .Just been out after the discs/pad changed and still getting the vibrations over 80

The car does have full revo engine mounts ..... could this be the cause ?

Anybody else care to make a suggestion as to what it could be ?

Any help much appreciated

Thanks :)

[f00glee]

Tracking/wheel alignment/suspension geometry perhaps? I'm sure the other half's car, years ago, had exactly the same symptoms until she had a full laser alignment done.

[fab5freddy]

Agree with above, if you haven't done this yet then thats the next port of call

[Bodyboarder81]

Been out and tried to get as much info as possible to rule out things

It's not engine rpm related .... as in @80 mph in 6th I'm around 2900 rpm , at 2900 rpm in 4th no vibrations... so this rules the engine mounts out

Not gearbox/diff related .... as I got above 80 and then knocked it into neutral.. the vibrations/steering wobble came in as before , as I coasted down to 80

I'll get the track/geo done next week to rule that out ....

Other thoughts are turning to drive shaft /cv/bearing related balance issues .

The cars done 56k and has been on track a bit I think , so worn cv/bearings /driveshafts could be a possibility as these obviously come under a lot of stress on track .....

[Bodyboarder81]

..... and to ad , it seems above 85 ish the vibrations/steering wobble go away ...

[pudding]

Sounds like wheel balancing to me.  You'd be surprised how many places get it wrong.  Took 3 attempts to get mine balanced properly and in the end, the dealer came up trumps.  Will use them for tyres next as well as they price match.

Grab your shafts and twist them....there should be the tiniest amount of play.  If it's excessive, your balls are worn out 

[Bodyboarder81]

Sounds like wheel balancing to me.  You'd be surprised how many places get it wrong.  Took 3 attempts to get mine balanced properly and in the end, the dealer came up trumps.  Will use them for tyres next as well as they price match.

Grab your shafts and twist them....there should be the tiniest amount of play.  If it's excessive, your balls are worn out 

Yes ..   it does point to wheel balance doesn't it .... but on both sets of wheels ? This happened with the standard wheels on and happens with the new wheels as well ! I was there when they balanced them and said it needs to be spot on . 

[Bodyboarder81]

A new bit of info ..... doesn't seem to be doing it all the time ! Very odd ! Power steering pump/rack ?

[pudding]

Could be play/wear in tie rods (inner or outer), ball joints, control arm bushes, dampers etc.   It could be time to get it up on a lift and have a good poke around under there!

[cb81gti]

I've just spent 700 quid having the same symptoms, although mine ranged from 60-70.
Knew i had warped discs as steering wheel shuck under braking. Had 4 wheel alignment done twice too.
Then a rear caliper was seized which i was told could have caused a problem. I also had seized was both rear suspension arms (I think) which got changed. All tyres got balanced. Mechanic found a small lump on the tyre, but said it didn't affect the balancing. Had the springs changed to h&r to whilst he was at it.

[Shanedixon]

Have u tried moving rear wheels to the front to see if it changes anything at all?

[Bodyboarder81]

Yes .... have done just that and it wasn't as bad , which does indicate wheel balancing issues, I'll be getting them redone asap and hope this  solves it .

[Bodyboarder81]

Right ...  had all the wheels re balanced ( by the top mech of the shop ) and glad to report no more vibrations :)

Happy days !