Steering wheel wobble at 70mph

[timbo343]

For a while my steering wheel on the car has the shakes at 70mph. I thought i might be balancing however i've just had the wheels balanced and the problem hasnt got any better which leads me on to thinking its the cheap tyres i bought (accelera alphas). I did have accelera deltas on the front but swapped these to the back so the newer ones were on the front.

 

Low range speeds the car is nice and smooth. Once i get to 70, the wobble comes and goes. It will get worse and then calm down, get worse and calm down. Its as if there is something loose. Could it be the bearings? There's no noise to indicate the bearings are failing.

 

Ive got a 60 plate fiesta which is a lovely little car, just need to get this balancing sorted. The size the wheels are 195/45 R16.

 

Any advice would be welcome, thank you.

Edited April 2, 2016 by timbo343

[timbo343]

Hmmm, someone else with the same problem..

 

I`ve had the same problem with both summer and winter set of tires, what I`ve done - all wheels newly balances and you have to ask your dealer so set up the geometry/wheel alignment of front wheels. There could be some problem if you`ve hit a pothole or something simillar.

 

My problem was also that when driving on a motorway shaking slowly started, shaked badly for 500-700 metres and than slowly stopped, reappearing every 5 kilometres. After 200km of highway driving a felt pain in my arms.But when driving over 160kmh there was no shaking at all

 

(http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/21954-steering-wheel-shakingvibrates/)

[elsiegee40]

Have you had the wheel tracking checked? In my many years of driving, the times this has happened the tracking needed adjustment... including last month when it was so long ago that it had last happened that it hadn't crossed my mind initially that it could be the problem.

 

All it takes is a trip to Kwik Fit (other tyre fitters are available)

Edited April 2, 2016 by elsiegee40

[timbo343]

Have you had the wheel tracking checked? In my many years of driving, the times this has happened the tracking needed adjustment... including last month when it was so long ago that it had last happened that it hadn't crossed my mind initially that it could be the problem.

 

All it takes is a trip to Kwik Fit (other tyre fitters are available)

 

I didnt get them tracked this time, i got them tracked in july.

 

Everytime i get them tracked the steering wheel comes back at an angle, either 5° to the right or the left its like no one can do their job.

 

Ive never used Kwik Fit before are they any good? I guess they are just as good as anyone else, i dont want to be throwing money at it all the time.

 

Trouble is, i could do with it sorted before wednesday as im taking a trip down the M1 to Birmingham and dont want the shakes for the whole journey.

[elsiegee40]

I didnt get them tracked this time, i got them tracked in july.

 

Everytime i get them tracked the steering wheel comes back at an angle, either 5° to the right or the left its like no one can do their job.

 

Ive never used Kwik Fit before are they any good? I guess they are just as good as anyone else, i dont want to be throwing money at it all the time.

 

Trouble is, i could do with it sorted before wednesday as im taking a trip down the M1 to Birmingham and dont want the shakes for the whole journey.

I use Kwik Fit locally, but we don't have a great deal of choice. They seem to do a reasonable job. You only have to whack a kerb, not necessarily damaging a tyre, to put the wheels out of alignment.

 

Compared with other jobs getting the alignment checked is cheap!

[twin--turbo]

I would never use KF.. I doubt you would find many people on the car forums (enthusiasts) that would recommend them either.

 

Wheel wobble can be caused by worn bushes, worn tyres, worn dampers, worn track rods, worn bearings, binding brakes, etc.... Bit of a mine field to correct and one a local independent garage may be able to do better.

 

TT

[timbo343]

Thanks for the advice guys though ive had a thought. Im going swap the front wheels with the back ones to see what that does as ive got some accelera deltas on the back that used to be on the front and didnt have any problem with them.

 

TwinTurbo, you mentioned binding brakes, i have got a slight squeak when i turn my wheel half a turn in either direction, say if im turning into a junction at about 15 mph. Im not sure which side its coming from, it sounds like near side and have also asked a local garage who i use and know very well to look at, they cannot find anything wrong.

 

It might well be a binding or buckled disc. Ive never had the brakes replaced on this one yet even though i got it on a 60 plate with 1000 miles on. It only has 40000 on it now.

[twin--turbo]

If you have not had brake work done then it's probably not the issue. Usually lazy fitting of replacement parts leads to subsequent damage.

[webman]

I once had a sticky brake calliper which caused similar high speed wobble symptoms.

[Trapper]

Cheap tyres and alignment.

 

I have to park on the kerb at work every day and it just knocks the wheels out of whack.

[timbo343]

I think ive found the problem..

 

First picture existing fronts (accelera alphas), second picture existing backs (accelera deltas). Signs of wear on the inside shoulder of the These have now been switched round and have been told i need to replace the alphas and get tracking done on the front. The deltas were originally on the front and can see signs of wear on the inside shoulder.

[ricki]

Main causes of vibration at speed are

Balance of wheel

Damaged wheel or tyre

Tracking

Damaged bearings

Damaged ball joints or suspension

Sloppy or worn out bractets that join body and suspension

Damaged drive shaft or joins including mounting brackets

[timbo343]

Ok, after swapping the backs to the front ive got no wobble on the steering wheel :D but must get the camber sorted out.

 

Ive decided im going to buy some Nexen N'Fera SU4 tyres. I wanted Accelera Deltas again as this tyre has been a great little tyre but im struggling to get hold of a pair. I did look at the Toyo Proxes CF2, Viking ProTech HP (this only had 1 review) and the Nexen N'Fera SU1 too as the missues has the Toyos but the Nexen SU4 has slightly better reviews. Ive had Nexens before and on my last fiesta and they were excellent.

Edited April 4, 2016 by timbo343

[ricki]

Get them to check wheel before putting new tyres on

[timbo343]

Get them to check wheel before putting new tyres on

 

Just incase its buckled? I showed the rims to a neighbour and he was very surprised to see how much weight was on the inside of the rim. Maybe this is having an affect?

[difinity]

A buckled wheel will show up when it's balanced, lots of weights added and it's probably not straight. It's easy to find if there is any wear in your mechanicals that are causing the uneven tyre wear.

Jack one front corner of the car up so the wheel is hanging free. Preferably use an axle stand for support.

Grab it top and bottom and wiggle back and forth, this reveals any play in the bottom ball joint.

Grabbing left and right and wiggling will reveal play in the track rod end.

 

It does just look like the tracking is out. Only takes a little knock to put it out. Those new tyres will wear the same if it's not sorted soon.

[MatthewL]

Get it tracked up, aligned up and get them to check for any buckled wheels. I used to get my car tracked at 3 monthly periods as I used to drive a lot of bad roads and the combination of that and low profile tyres used to kill me but keeping it tracked was cheaper than replacing tyres that had not worn evenly.

 

I would never use the like of Kwik Fit unless I was in urgent need of a tyre and I could not get back to my leading tyre place in town. Alot of places use laser alignment and tracking machines now, mines supposed to be £60 a go but as I'm a good customer and they are good garage and look after most people in town I get it a bit cheaper but its worth it.

[john]

Defo tracking is out which is why your tyre is worn at the edge also cheap tyres never help I run some mid-range ones my tyre guy recommends and they have great life on them so I trust him they are usually Cooper that I had on my Golf maybe Cooper on the current 4x4 as well but cannot remember as its a while since i bought some but they are fine but a bit noiser at high speed on the motorway than the Goodyear sport tyres it had on it when I got it.

[MatthewL]

I run on a mid range called Kumho, does better than the big brands, I get 25k out my front ones and I hammer due to distance I do but last and a good solid tyre.

[rich_tech]

Could it also be play in the steering rack joints ? that was an advisory on my MOT last year and I've noticed that I get a bit of vibration around 70 here that stops after a few more mph if I'm overtaking, despite the balancing and tracking being fine on my vectra.

 

Also I was told that I should get the front and back tires swapped once in a while here because of the way they wear.

[ricki]

Have. Look at http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/a76/1272406/

[Patrick]

Got to be tracking. Could be worn bushes on the lower arms if you find it drifts about when accelerating. Don't use Quick Fit, find a local independent garage that has laser geometry gear. Quick Fit tried to tell me that my track rod ends are seized up and need replacing. I went to a local garage who said they'd try and loosen the bolts with a blow torch, but there was no need. Quick Fit had lied to just to try and get me to spend money on parts and labour I didn't need. YMMV but I advise to avoid at all costs.

[timbo343]

Just to update this..

 

I popped to the garage last night, luckily i know them, my dad knows them, i work with their mum, etc etc. Anyway, we spent about 15 mins looking at the problem. The tyre its self looks and feels ok. We compared the left to the right and found what looks like the left is a little buckled on the inside, i might have hit a pot hole but i have been told ford alloys are very soft (by a ford mechanic that i know). So, these rims and tyres can stay on the back and the deltas can stay on the front. I road tested again at 70 and there was no wobble, it was such a dream .

 

They said that tracking is out a little bit but nothing to worry about. Ill monitor these tyres and see how it goes.

 

Thanks everyone for the posts.

[PotNoodleTech]

Er.... mate you're alphas are totally illegally bald and need replacing this afternoon!!!

[timbo343]

Er.... mate you're alphas are totally illegally bald and need replacing this afternoon!!!

 

Seriouly? Buggar .