Steering wheel wobble help

[iainmd]

Originally Posted by FunkyMelon

Any other suggestions? Plenty of threads on this online but most have no outcome.

Wheel alignment. Have you had a proper 4 wheel alignment done?

[Welton]

These cars are super sensitive on the front end and if anything isn't perfect then you get troubles.

You say they've repaired your buckled wheels but I'm not convinced they'd get them 100% 'round' perhaps just straightened to an acceptable standard - again these cars will pick up anything through the steering.

I've had vibrations up front before and it was out-of-shape tyres (Kumho's) and I kinda had to wait until they needed replacing, Pirelli's were better but Michelin Pilot Sports best for actually being 'round'

Lower control arm rear bushings need to be almost new (not always bad enough to be picked up on MOT).

Inner and Outer track rod ends need to be good.

Interestingly there seems to be big variations in Tyre Shop's abilities to balance wheels but I can tell you for sure these cars will pick it up. 'The Wheel Specialist' franchise that refurbished my alloys have been the only company to balance my wheels correctly - and I've been through this headache probably 15 times in my ownership.

And as iainmd says; alignment is important - Hunters machine is best.

Good luck, I feel your pain.

[FunkyMelon]

Originally Posted by iainmd

Wheel alignment. Have you had a proper 4 wheel alignment done?

Sadly yes, it was on a Hunters system a few months back, hasn't had any knocks on anything since so expect the alignment is OK. Having said that, I've read that alignment issues won't cause a steering wobble like I have.

Originally Posted by Welton

These cars are super sensitive on the front end and if anything isn't perfect then you get troubles.

You say they've repaired your buckled wheels but I'm not convinced they'd get them 100% 'round' perhaps just straightened to an acceptable standard - again these cars will pick up anything through the steering.

Yeah I took it to one place and they didn't do a good job, I could see the 'egg shape' on the wheel rotation machine. I took it to The Wheel Specialist as my local one reviews very well and I've no doubt they'd do a good job, they certainly seemed to know their stuff.

Originally Posted by Welton

I've had vibrations up front before and it was out-of-shape tyres (Kumho's) and I kinda had to wait until they needed replacing, Pirelli's were better but Michelin Pilot Sports best for actually being 'round'

I replaced the tyres a few months back also with new Uniroyal Rainsport 5's. The wobble was there then too but due to lockdown and very little use on the car I've only bothered sorting it now.

Originally Posted by Welton

Lower control arm rear bushings need to be almost new (not always bad enough to be picked up on MOT).

Inner and Outer track rod ends need to be good.

Thanks, it's at the garage at the moment and have asked them to check everything suspension wise carefully, fingers crossed it's not a bent driveshaft

Originally Posted by Welton

Good luck, I feel your pain.

This is the first on an increasingly long list of things to sort on this car

[Welton]

To bend a drive shaft would take a substantial impact, I doubt there's anything wrong with them.

Something else I've thought of is Engine Mounts - it's possible for the engine to 'wobble' at certain speeds/frequencies.

Also - have you ever changed your Power Steering Fluid? I was largely ignored on here when I posted a how-to and the benefits of changing the fluid but steering 'feel' was much improved on the new fluid - kind of 'stiffer' in the straight-ahead position and noticeably so.

[Markos01]

Have you swapped front and back wheels to see if thats affects things?

If everything else checks out I'd be suspecting driveshafts as I've heard many stories of lowered P1 cars running more power (or perhaps just driven hard) that get a vibration at certain speeds which turns out to be worn driveshafts.

[FunkyMelon]

Originally Posted by Welton

To bend a drive shaft would take a substantial impact, I doubt there's anything wrong with them.

Something else I've thought of is Engine Mounts - it's possible for the engine to 'wobble' at certain speeds/frequencies.

Also - have you ever changed your Power Steering Fluid? I was largely ignored on here when I posted a how-to and the benefits of changing the fluid but steering 'feel' was much improved on the new fluid - kind of 'stiffer' in the straight-ahead position and noticeably so.

Quite a few on here and on the Focus ST forums have had damaged driveshafts - They're made of cheese

Sadly it looks like only the Volvo ones fit properly without causing issues, so I'm really hoping it's not those. I'm not sure how I'd know either as I imagine it's hard to pin point if a driveshaft has a minor dent.

Engine mounts have been replaced within the last 3 years.

Haven't changed PS fluid yet.

[AndrasL]

Do you have a set of winter wheels (not tyres), try if they change anything.
I had vibrations above 60mph, it turns out one of my wheels was bent (probably hit a pothole). I had it fixed, which helped, but it is still not perfect. I do not get the vibration with my winter wheels (which are steel rims).

[FunkyMelon]

Well car is back from the garage, they said the balancing was way off, they put 20g on the passenger front and 50g on the drivers side. Seems like a lot of extra weight. Everything mechanical under the car looks good, no problems found.

Took it for a drive on the motorway, slightly better but wobble and instability at speed is still there

Getting so fed up with this now. It has the be the wheels, just wish I had a spare set to try.

[AndrasL]

If you have winter tyres, consider buying a set of steel wheels for winter times. You could use these to test if the wobbles are actually from the wheels or not.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by scoobysn7x

I'm having minor issues with the C30 at the minute when braking at high speed I get steering wheel vibration, this happened with the standard wheels on, I got a slight steering wheel vibration between 75-80 as well, I put it down to either balancing not quite right/tracking, or warped disc. As the vibration gets noticeably worse under braking at high speeds I put it down to the discs.

Now I have recently fitted new wheel 8.5J running 225/40 R18 tyres, when they were originally fitted I got horrendous vibration through the whole car, this was fixed by getting the wheels balanced again (apparently the rear wheels were massively out of balance/incorrectly balanced). The slight vibration at 75-80 is there as before (maybe a little worse, maybe due to bigger wheels/tyres), and the stronger vibration when braking at speed is also still there.

I had a similar issue on the S40 T5 and eventually this was resolved by changing the front disc and pads.

So I put the car into the garage to have the discs and pads done, they advised they would check everything else over too. Well they've come back to me, and said the discs/pads look fine, the mechanic suspects the geometry of the car maybe out, but after checking the spec on the wheels he thinks there not right for the car, and as a result doesn't want to go down the route of the geometry as he thinks the new wheels are adding/causing the issue. I advised the car did the same with the old wheels, and that the big vibration only happens when braking at high speeds, but he's adamant the brakes are fine.

He also said the car feels all over the place under braking so he's sure its geometry and its being made worse by the wrong wheels. He's advised going back to standard wheels then take it back and they'll sort the geometry, but he doesn't want to start messing with the geometry with the aftermarket wheels on as he thinks this is adding to the issue.

So I'm just after some advise surely if it was happening with the old wheels as well as the new wheels, it cant be the wheels, also if the geometry was out would this cause wheel wobble under braking from high speed??.

I'm tempted to get the front wheel balance again to try and fix the slight vibrations at 75-80 as I think the balance maybe out slightly, but I'm not sure what to do to try and fix the wheel vibration under heavy braking , if he says the discs and pads are fine :-(

wheels wont fix it !

have a look at the big bushes on the rear of the front suspension wishbones ..

if you drive at under 10 mph and quickly dab the brakes on and off hard you might well hear a clonk !