I've got a wobble

[joust]

I've got a very strange wobble in the steering, and wondering if anyone knows what the problem is?

I can be going down the motorway at a steady 80, and the steering wheel can be absolutly rock solid. Hit a different surface and the wheel will start to get a "unbalanced" wobble in it, moving around 2-3mm quite quickly.

It was a lot worse, so I gave it to Moley and they checked everything and replaced both upper ball joints. It's made things much better, but what I don't understand is that it comes and goes on a journey!

I've also checked all the wheel nuts, and the centre bearing nut, and all are fine. I do know the discs are going as with constant braking when slow you can feel the brakes biting harder and slowing down the car more over part of the disc, but if it was discs surely it would have the wobble all the time?

Finally, I think the car is tramlining more than normal, but I can't be 100% sure on that?

I'm at a loss as to what can be causing this - anyone got any ideas? Anyone know what I need to get replaced?

J

[m12_nathan]

Is there any play in the steering wheel at all? UV joint?

Is the rack mounted solidly? Maybe check the bolts there?

Next time it happens gently brush the brake pedal with your left foot to see if it goes away or gets worse?

At a bit of a loss why it would come and go, maybe if it is the disks the pads are getting knocked back which stops it from happening, then you apply the brakes again which leaves the pads nearer the disk until they are knocked back again?

[3rtt]

Hi Justin,

Tyres? Sometimes the fronts wear to a point where they can pick up a slight undulation in the road, (worn tarmac left by trucks) this can cause the tyre to follow the undulation and feed back through the steering. If all the ball joints and suspension has been checked over ? then this could be a likely cause. If not, I guess the factory will have the answer.

Cheers,
Ian.

[Mr Noble]

Could it be a flat spot on the tyre that only occasionally spins it time/sync with something else that causes the wobble. Maybe its a combination of 2 things that have to be synced in order to get the wobble.

Justin, you're normally the one we ask about problems! If you have a problem, then we're all doomed!

Greg

[AMG Merc]

I thought tyres msyself - maybe try swapping over left to right tyres (of course!) and seeing what happens.

Funnily enough I had separate tramlining and lock-up moments recently - both the first time in 2 years of ownership so am wondering if anything is up!

[ThatPhilBrettGuy]

I think AdrianW had this, but it went away and I'm not sure he got to the bottom of it. Oh, and you can't swap the fronts over as the tyres are (probably) directional and running them backwards makes all sorts of odd things happen.

[AMG Merc]

ThatPhilBrettGuy said:

I think AdrianW had this, but it went away and I'm not sure he got to the bottom of it. Oh, and you can't swap the fronts over as the tyres are (probably) directional and running them backwards makes all sorts of odd things happen.

Yeh, but I meant swap them over on the rims first!

[kevgee]

is it upper or lower ball joints sounds like the same problem i had on my m12
kev

[joust]

I've just had the upper's done, and they couldn't find anything wrong with the lowers.

J

[GreenV8S]

Small changes in the camber of the road could have similar effects to changing the camber on the wheel, making the tyre ride on the inner or outer edge. Is it possible that one of the tyres has developed a flat spot or bulge on one edge?

Otherwise I'd go with the idea of a worn steering or suspension joint or bush allowing enough backlash for a shimmy to set up. I've experienced some really violent vibration under braking from a worn ball joint, but wear anywhere in the front suspension or steering could have a similar effect.

[adrian w]

Mine did do it, i thought it was a wheel bearing but couldnt get any movement. it just went away and i never found out what it was.

Adrian

[ufo 2 nob]

Possibly a damaged or cracked upright?,possibly not?

[joust]

I'm sure moley would have picked up something obvious like an upright problem, hence I think it's a bit more "subtle" than that.

Looks like it's probably going to take a trip back to Moley or the Factory, although I dread to think how long it's going to take them to find it!

Thanks for the suggestions peeps.

J

[gizard]

Perhaps the toe in toe out is not set correctly? - not sure mole valley have full balancing kit tdo they?

[JLSELAN]

adrian w said:

Mine did do it, i thought it was a wheel bearing but couldnt get any movement. it just went away and i never found out what it was. Adrian

Is the self-healing feature an expensive option?
Justin--I have experienced your problem (not on the Noble, though), and it turned out to be caused by irregular wear on the two front tires (aka tyres) that could not be balanced out. That is, the tires were not worn the same, and they would occasionally "resonate" at some speeds. Maybe you can temporarily exchange front wheels/tires with another owner for a trial run to test out this possibility. And, BTW, worn ball joints can cause irregular tire wire, so you may have solved half the problem already.

>> Edited by JLSELAN on Tuesday 2nd May 00:06

[washy]

joust - are you still wearing those front tyres I saw last year with the peculiar wear profile?!



>> Edited by washy on Tuesday 2nd May 08:15

[joust]

No - brand new tyres on the front about 1000 miles ago - so I can't think it's that.

Looks like it's going to have to have some more investigation. I'll swap the wheels for my set of SO3s and take it from there.

J

[DanH]

Have you checked your elbows, there may be some play in them?

[adrian w]

That's just his age!

[joust]

I'll have you know my elbows are fine.

Shame the same can't be said for other parts of my body!

J