Wheel Wobble

[Linx]

My Scuby has had a slight wobble on the steering wheel since I bought it. When I mentioned it to the seller on the test drive he just said "well it's an old car". 2003 but it had only done 69000 miles. The rest of the car seemed good and I thought it would be pretty easy to sort. So I bought it anyway. Since then I've had all the wheels balanced, fitted new brake discs all round, changed the front wheel bearings and swapped the wheels front to back. The wobble still persists and is getting on my t1t5 now. The strange thing is sometimes it seems quite bad and others, hardly noticeable. Is this just a Scuby quirk? Has anyone any ideas what it's likely to be? I'm tempted to buy new front drive shafts and CV joints but obviously don't want to just waste money. Any advice gratefully received.

[stants]

Did the wheels ballance ok ? Could be the rims not true, at what speeds does it do it at ?

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[Linx]

Hi Stants. Well they didn't say there was any problem. I definitely notice it about 80.

Sent from my HTC Desire 530 using Tapatalk

[stants]

Maybe rotate the wheels front to back, if it goes away then it's More than likely to be an untrue rim, I didn't realise one of mine was bent until I swappedthem round

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[Linx]

Yes I've already done that. Just the same 😞. I forgot to say I put new tyres on the front too but no change. So yesterday I took all the wheels off, jacked up the whole car and ran it in second gear while I went round looking for a wobble. The brake discs have a small amount of variation but hardly noticeable. The front drive shafts were wobbling around a lot and the CV joints were quite noisy. The only thing is obviously they weren't in a natural position as the car was off the ground. So I'm not sure if it's a true result 😏.

Sent from my HTC Desire 530 using Tapatalk

[Piggysniffer]

Get your wheels balanced somewhere else, if they did a basic balance it sometimes won't take out a wobble, or they didn't put the weights on the edge of the rim and just banged them in the middle, depending on machine and settings used the weights need to be put in certain places "across" the width of the rim not just in the middle or just on the edge

[Linx]

I'll definitely give that a go before splashing out on drive shafts . 

[Piggysniffer]

Defo mate, explain that your still gettin wheel wobble at 80 (prime place for it), I had a set of fronts done 3 times, first two times by nippers that didn't have a clue, 3rd time by a proper guy and it was sorted, second nipper actually made it worse than when we started lol

[Mark D]

Be sensible and don't do 80 :)

Sent from my iphone using Tapatalk

[Linx]

I got my fronts balanced at a different garage yesterday. The good news is one wheel was 20 g out on the inside and 10 g on the inside. The bad news is they said my wheels were buckled . A bit strange no-one else has said that and a bit strange it's the same with the rears on the front. Maybe all four are buckled . Anyway it is a lot better around 70/80 mph. Strangely seemed more noticeable around 30/40. Probably just me feeling for it. I'll spin them all up and see how bad they are and look into getting them straightened.

[Piggysniffer]

They need to be pretty badly bucked to not be able to balance them mate, my old cosworth had a big flat in each rim and two were buckled in an off road excursion, balanced them fine and they were 18s, my 17s on my camper (pic) came off a limo and are bit buckled but 300 odd grams have sorted that tho 

[Linx]

I discovered I'd got a seized brake piston. I guess this has warped the disc. Refurbished the calipers at the weekend with new seals. They all have a lovely sliding fit now. The steering wheel does feel a bit smoother when cruising but when braking especially from 80+ it's quite a bit worse! . When I checked for warpage by running the car with the front wheels off the ground, of course there were no wheels clamping the discs to the hub. So I expect the pads were holding the discs straight and giving a false impression. I think it must be discs but could it be driveshafts or CV joints?

[Scoobyghost]

If you lightly hold the brake pedal down can you feel the warped shape of the disc? You'll notice it more at low speeds.

[Linx]

Hi Scuby ghost. I know what you mean but I can only feel it through the steering wheel not the pedal.

Sent from my HTC Desire 530 using Tapatalk

[Piggysniffer]

Sounds very much like knackered discs tbh, how much meat is left on your pads

[Linx]

They're about half worn. I fitted new discs and pads last year. I've ordered some new discs now. If that doesn't fix it, i'll put all the wheels in for straightening. If that doesn't work I'll fit new drive shafts.

[Scoobyghost]

Even if the disc are recent a seized caliper will.make light work of em. If youre replacing the disc you'll be best off replacing the pads too. The old pads may have uneven wear due to the warped disc.

[Piggysniffer]

As  scoobs said, you really ought to change discs and pads together, especially on the front

[Linx]

Yep. OK. Thanks.

Sent from my HTC Desire 530 using Tapatalk

[Linx]

New front discs and pads fitted. Now just a small vibration at 80 but no more shaking on the brakes! . Brake pistons all still sliding in and out easily. I guess the vibe I can still feel is the wheels. I'll put them in for checking and straightening properly before going away in a couple of weeks.

[Linx]

The wheels have gone into Reinventing The Wheel near Tewkesbury for a total refurb. They say all 4 are bent [emoji20] which they can fix [emoji4]!

Sent from my HTC Desire 530 using Tapatalk

[Linx]

Well the wheels are back. They look lovely, drive smooth most the time, but still a slight vibration at 80 .

[Tidgy]

may have missed it, but have you had the tracking/alignment checked?

 

[Linx]

Hi Tidgy. I don't think I mentioned it but yes I have. Spot on apparently.

Sent from my HTC Desire 530 using Tapatalk

[Tidgy]

get the front suspension checked out, maybe play in a bush somewhere causing it then.