Ot: Road Car Help (Vibration Through Steering Wheel)

[D7PNY]

Hi guys,

Wasn't sure what section to post this under...

I have a zafira VXR as my road/tow car.

I have a judder through my steering wheel but I can't seem to locate what it is. Best way I can describe it is it feels like I have an egg shaped wheel at lower speeds and at around 70mph I get a lot of wobble through the steering wheel. No 'knocks' to speak of though.

Things I have done so far:

- Changed wheel o/s bearing as it had a 'notch' (judder still there although my 'noise' went away)

- Checked all tyre pressures - all ok

- Swapped wheels round front to back to eliminate buckled/out of balance wheel (judder still there but noticed worn o/s ball joint)

- Changed o/s lower wishbone + ball joint. (judder not as bad but still there) Note that n/s ball joint doesn't seem to have any movement in it.

Could these symptoms be caused by worn bushes on anti roll bar drop links? Can't think what else it could be?

Cheers,

Dave

[evo97]

A mate had a courtney tuned astra a few years back and a worn driveshaft / CV Joint developed into a bad vibration?

Nathan

[evo97]

Does it judder when the front is jacked up and you then get up to 70mph?

You could just jack up one side at a time to eliminate what corner is at fault.

Nathan

[D7PNY]

No clicking at all which I thought would be the case if it was CV joint?

Drive shaft could be a possibility I guess.

Will get the car in the air and have a look again and see if there is any play in cv joints etc.

Cheers,

Dave

[stu999]

Do you have non-standard alloys fitted?

[D7PNY]

Yeah none standard alloys on it when I bought it.

Had a look under the car again tonight...Seems to be a bit of movement in my offside driveshaft.

Appears to be in 2 parts with a joint in the middle and it's this joint that has a bit of movement in it.

When I spin the wheel I can hear a slight 'knock' which I'm guessing is coming from this joint.

Can't seem to find any new online so will need to phone round motor factors tomorrow. Cheapest second hand I can find online is £96 though...must be expensive new!!!

Why did I not just buy a diesel passat or something?!!

Cheers,

Dave

[stu999]

At a guess, the wheels are not bolting up absolutely spot on with the centre of the hubs. Do they locate snugly onto spigots when fitting wheel bolts, or is it a bit of a fight?

Often aftermarket alloys come with different sized collars to fit into the centre of the wheels, so one wheel can be made to fit various manufacturer's cars. However, the collars are sometimes not fitted, or removed when sold second-hand, so that the wheel no longer locates absolutely centrally when tightened, potentially giving the problems you describe.

If this is the problem, ideally you could do with sourcing the correct sized collars. However, careful wheelnut tightening procedure will often suffice (not just bollocking each bolt up tight one-by-one, but bringing each bolt carefully to the seat, and then carefully tightening each bolt in turn little by little with no weight bearing on the wheel).

Sadly, even if this is the problem and you sort the cause, the vibration might remain if you have have done a few miles, as the non-central rolling may have effected the tyre tread...

Do you know anyone with a VX that would be willing for you to borrow their wheels for an hour to prove the point?

[D7PNY]

At a guess, the wheels are not bolting up absolutely spot on with the centre of the hubs. Do they locate snugly onto spigots when fitting wheel bolts, or is it a bit of a fight?

Often aftermarket alloys come with different sized collars to fit into the centre of the wheels, so one wheel can be made to fit various manufacturer's cars. However, the collars are sometimes not fitted, or removed when sold second-hand, so that the wheel no longer locates absolutely centrally when tightened, potentially giving the problems you describe.

If this is the problem, ideally you could do with sourcing the correct sized collars. However, careful wheelnut tightening procedure will often suffice (not just bollocking each bolt up tight one-by-one, but bringing each bolt carefully to the seat, and then carefully tightening each bolt in turn little by little with no weight bearing on the wheel).

Sadly, even if this is the problem and you sort the cause, the vibration might remain if you have have done a few miles, as the non-central rolling may have effected the tyre tread...

Do you know anyone with a VX that would be willing for you to borrow their wheels for an hour to prove the point?

Thanks mate,

The problem developed over time and has gradually got worse.

I usually tighten wheel nuts up in the way that you describe but wheel fits nice and snug regardless so I'm assuming that's not the problem.

The fact that the driveshaft has movement in it leads me to think its that.

Car's done 70k so seems reasonable (well, feasible) that it could be the joint in the drive shaft. Especially as the car runs more power than standard.

Cheers,

Dave

Edit: don't know anyone with wheels to suit to test out that theory either unfortunately