2009 Kia Sportage 2.0 4wd Manu - vehicle wobble above 60 mph

[MARLBOROLITES]

Evening all. My daughter has encountered a problem with her new car. Which has become my problem....

At circa 60 mph the car begins to wobble. Under acceleration. Car has new tyres with all properly balanced. Propshaft and UJs have been ruled out. Mechanic has suggested transfer box. Another has suggested clutch...which is worn. I'd very much appreciate any comments.

TIA

[Trevor555]

MARLBOROLITES said:

Propshaft and UJs have been ruled out.

Just out of interest, how did they rule them out?

[MARLBOROLITES]

By removing the propshaft.

[Richard-D]

Pretty definitive then. Is there any hint of it being from either end of the car?

[GreenV8S]

MARLBOROLITES said:

Car has new tyres with all properly balanced.

Have they been checked for roundness and runout?

[MARLBOROLITES]

It's really hard to say where it emanates from but I'd say just front of middle. The mechanic had it in the air and was running it to see if he could pin point the vibration. He focused on transfer box as the possible cause and said the gearbox and engine were moving considerably when the problem started.

The tyres are brand new. But that's not to say one might be duff. I'll get that checked. Alloy wheels are true, they were checked when I had the balancing done.

[catman]

New car? How long has she owned it? Did she buy it from a Dealer?

[LimSlip]

When you say "wobble" do you mean instability that you have to constantly correct with the steering, or do you mean driveline vibration?

[MARLBOROLITES]

New to us car, bought last weekend. 2009. 92,000 miles.

[MARLBOROLITES]

Bought privately.

[MARLBOROLITES]

It's definitely drive related. The wobble isn't through the steering wheel. Feels like it's through my backside.

[MARLBOROLITES]

The clutch isn't dual mass flywheel I've been advised. Mechanic has suggested that defective thrust bearing may be the problem. So clutch plate isn't engaging evenly.

[Richard-D]

I'd try swapping the front and rear wheels. If you start feeling it through the steering as well as your bum you know it's the wheels (balancing still not right or wheel buckled). I know you believe the transfer case to be the issue but this is free to check.

[LimSlip]

How has the propshaft been "ruled out"? Fair enough if a known good one has been swapped in, but visual inspection of a prop won't necessarily show anything amiss.

[MARLBOROLITES]

Swapping the wheels over is a sound suggestion, I'll try that for sure.

The propshaft was actually removed, yet the wobble remained. So defo not that.

[GreenV8S]

MARLBOROLITES said:

Swapping the wheels over is a sound suggestion

Have you checked for roundness and runout when the wheels are on the car? It's not only the rim you need to check.

[Little Pete]

I’ve had a couple of vehicles with a similar problem and it was the support bearing on the off side driveshaft.

[Matt_E_Mulsion]

My work van developed a wobble/vibration some time ago. It started out simply by hearing the tools carried in the back of it rattling in a way that they never used to, couldn't put my finger on it but it developed over a short period of time into the whole van shuddering whilst in motion. Eventually traced to a rear tyre that had gone out of round, a new pair of tyres cured the fault.

The moral of the tale is don't discount the simple things first.