Slight vibrating issue on heavy cornering

[RugbyPete]

I may be being a bit picky here, what with the rest of the car being perfect for its age, but I noticed when taking a very sharp roundabout at medium speed, more so under slight acceleration, I get a very feint shuddering from under the car. Theres no apparent steering vibration, but it feels like its right under my feet.

Could it be bearings or something similar, with the power steering dampening the sensation to my hands or possibly something along the drivetrain? Maybe even a suspension bush?

As I say i never get it under any other conditions just if i accelerate when taking a sharp left bend, say out of a roundabout, and its barely noticable, never to the passengers, but with my knee resting on the side of the centre console I can feel it now and then.

ATF's due for a much needed flush and fluid replacement

[Paul Beazer]

tyres skiting accross the tarmac?

[RugbyPete]

Could be I guess?

tyres aren't the best make, but they've got plenty of grip, just felt a bit more mechanical as the g-forces at work aren't very high (im not belting it!) and should more than cope with such corners. Body is quite 'rolly' though, so i'm wondering if the weight generated in a corner is causing strain somewhere. It seems ot be in time with the general tickover of the engine at the time ,which made me think drivetrain

Could just be the tracking is out i guess, no tyre wear I can see, but then again I've only had the car about 3 weeks

[White Lightning]

Could possibly be an engine or gearbox mount ...

[RugbyPete]

I was maybe thinking it was the power steering fluid being low because I heard a groan when on full lock aqt the weekend, but on inspection the fluid is a little over 'low' so should be fine (unless cornering affects it?).

BUT I think I mybe onto something, I checked my tyre tread as you do, all very good, however I think a tyre may have been incorrectly rotated because, and correct me if I'm wrong, but the tread should always start at the middle andflow outwards in a backward motion. te front drivers side has the open side of the V facing forward, I think this could be causing some 'hopping' on bends, although we'll really know once it begins to wear down in an odd fashion.

As for re-rotating and saving the tyre, I care not, because I want the crappy rubber off the car as soon as I can, they have some crappy name (Like eskimo, Lama, or something!). any expdenditure has to be justified to the missus, she wont know how its worn down

Once I'm on a full set of V+ rated sports profiles, I'll look into it again I think, I'm interested to see if the ATF flush might cure a few issues with smoothness anyway

[White Lightning]

Pete - have the tyres not got the arrows indicating the rotation direction ? That's usually the best way to tell if they are on the right way.

[RugbyPete]

Afraid not, but my gut says they're the wrong way

Where these tyres were made I don't even think they have discovered the wheel yet...

[RugbyPete]

Pretty sure its the tyres now, because of two factors. One, they have a grid here at aston to keep the stones on the drives and not spread. This is made of plastic and makes a vibrating noise on tyres. This was the same feeling but louder, it amplified the tyres noise/vibration that I had been experiencing. Secondly i turned a bend today very sharply, and i went from smooth grip to a 'driving on ribbed edges' feeling, a bit like when you lean a mountain bike and ride on the nobbly sidewall a bit.

I need new tyres, facing the right way! For now a simple rotation may be in order...

[White Lightning]

For now a simple rotation may be in order...

[RugbyPete]

Ok, so it WAS the tyres but at the fault of something else.

The noise has got worse over the last few days to the point where I can pinpoint it a bit more.

If I take a LEFT bend, so the weight shifts to the RIGHT of the car ,and ACCELERATE, I get the "dud dud dud dud dud" until the corner finishes... I made an effort to do the same ont he other side of the car but all I get is tyre squeal (around a roundabout for example).

I stopped the car at home, turned the wheel side to side, and I think I could make out a slight clank on the right hand side over the noise of the groaning power steering...

Me thinks its time for a trip to the garage, damn, more money....

Thinking about GT motors or Runabout down Somers road, in Rugby, anyone?

[Paul Beazer]

Dry CV joint?

[RugbyPete]

I guess its going to be something along th elines of a ball joint, cv joint or brakes.

I'm wondering, as I've noticed heavy vibration at high speed braking, it could be a slightly warped disc with a sticking brake caliper

as the car loads up in a corner, there could be enough flex to bring the brake pad into contact with the disc and if the disc is slightly warped, I would feel the run-out as vibration throught the steering wheel.

I can only seem to replicate it after heavy braking and hard cornering combination... I t was ok under cold driving conditions, but as the journey progresses it gets worse (im guessing as the discs heat up and the brakes get used)

Best way to check? Get the wheel off and have a look i guess, although when it comes to cv joints etc. I'm gonna need to do a bit of reading as to what to look for. Brakes I'm ok with, as it stares me in the face.

[RugbyPete]

ok, think we're getting closer...

I jacked the car up after work, and grabbed the wheel by both sides and gave it a wiggle face on in opposing directions - "tick tick tick" there was play....

Grabbed the other wheel, and it was solid as a rock

The wheel nuts were solid, the play was behind the wheel

What sort of costs could we be talking about here? Looks like no shiney new brakes, but some pads are defo in order whatever happens

[bernmc]

Track rod ends are £20 from camskill. The steering rack end is £36. Suspension arms (lower ball joints) are £80 and £100 (there are two), so it all depends on which is responsible. They're all easy to replace, and there's a howto in the members section for the ball joints.

[RugbyPete]

ah, k. Well, if the play is just the track rod end then i shouldn't be able to wobble the wheel top and bottom, which I need to test tonight to confirm. If It wobbles all around i guess a its bearings

[RugbyPete]

what the cost of bearings, and how hard is it to do on a G?

Just wondering if I need to facotr in garage costs here...

[RugbyPete]

Ok its not bearings, there is no longtitudal (if thats a word) play, just latitudal (Again, a word?)

So it must be the track rod end as the light clicking (play) is just behind the wheel.

Looks like another job for me, as the garage just quoted £99.20 to do it - sod that for a £15 part!

I've caught it early and only an issue under heavy load, so im not exactly wobbling down the road which buys me some time

Only had the car a month, I'm really finding my way around the vehicle the last week or so!

[RugbyPete]

Ok, so when i fitted the pads, I got to get my head in and check for play.

Well, now I'm stumped.

I grabbed the caliper and the bar leading to the track rod, and moved for play, which is did (about 1-2mm), amking a feint 'tick' noise

Again no up/down movement, just side wiggle movement. But the track rod end wasn't making a sound.. instead it was from right behind or inside the hub? (couldn't see where exactly).

Where else could cause a bit of play behind there with left/right cornering on the drivers side wheel? bolts all tight, wheel wasn't even on when i checked.

Could it be a bush of some kind? If it was bearings I'd expect play up /down, grinding, and resistence, but I don't have any of that...

[psbarham]

Ok, so when i fitted the pads, I got to get my head in and check for play.

Well, now I'm stumped.

I grabbed the calliper and the bar leading to the track rod, and moved for play, which is did (about 1-2mm), making a feint 'tick' noise

Again no up/down movement, just side wiggle movement. But the track rod end wasn't making a sound.. instead it was from right behind or inside the hub? (couldn't see where exactly).

Where else could cause a bit of play behind there with left/right cornering on the drivers side wheel? bolts all tight, wheel wasn't even on when i checked.

Could it be a bush of some kind? If it was bearings I'd expect play up /down, grinding, and resistance, but I don't have any of that...

put the car up on ramps so the weight of the car is on the wheels and check for play in the bottom ball joint with a long pry bar . also , with the car up on ramps get some one to move the steering wheel gently from side to side whilst you check for any movement in the joints down there

[pitslayer]

i know whats wrong.....because the galant has probably one of the worst suspension set ups ive ever seen and just knock from every inch of the front end, because it can lol......but seriously my galant suffers from this same problem, get your steering rack ends done, thats what mine is, not the track rod ends, but the steering rack ends......the arms that come out of the steering rack down the to the track rod ends.......
get the car up in the air again, and get it up high, get someone to move the wheel as you have done before to get the tick tick tick coming in, and have a look at where your steering rack is, and you can see the whole assembly move

hope this helps, thats what mine is, as its had all new ball joints and track rod ends done