Wobbly wheels

SanPhire · Post by **SanPhire** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 5:28 pm

When I'm motorwaying along I'm getting a variety of wobbles and vibrations up through the steering wheel. Some high-speed wobbling that feels like the wheels are out of balance - I /did/ hit a pot-hole hard the other day so I can believe that I've knocked them out of whack - but more worrying is a slow wondering from left to right. There is no play in the steering - it just pulls - steering feel isn't as good as it used to be either. Could it just be my front tyres only have a couple of thousand miles left in them or something more serious like a wheel bearing on the way out <<was picked up as a caution in MOT - but was dismissed as being completely fine in a recent service>>... any clues?

chris1roll · Post by **chris1roll** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 5:31 pm

How hard did you hit aforementioned pot hole. About 18 months ago I buckled an alloy on one, made the car wobble left to right cos the wheel was egg shaped.
It then took two months to get a new alloy!
Special spares are only special in the special needs sense.

robkendall · Post by **robkendall** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 6:52 pm

wheel nut come loose?
you have to torque it waaaaay up, cos otherwise they come loose.....makes the wheel wobble fractionally.

rgrds
rob

Brasco · Post by **Brasco** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 9:32 pm

Have you checked the wheel for play when it's stationery then? Any squeeks from it?

Bramdeman · Post by **Bramdeman** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 6:36 pm

Could just be a broken tire, jack it up and turn it by hand while its turning you can see if its still round.

Bramdeman · Post by **Bramdeman** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 6:39 pm

robkendall wrote:wheel nut come loose?
you have to torque it waaaaay up, cos otherwise they come loose.....makes the wheel wobble fractionally.

That and cause a nasty case of death

SanPhire · Post by **SanPhire** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 12:02 pm

I've done some investigating and I'm getting a fair bit of play from my left-hand wheel when I shake it. I guess it really is a wheel-bearing then?
Drive shaft nuts are nice and tight - thats a given - and the wheel looks round still (I'd cry if it had been damaged - proper GT allys are hard to come by)
So how does one change the wheel bearing? The Haynes description looks menacing and evil, and the garage are quoting me big bucks to fit a part that only costs a few rounds in at the pub.

martinholmesuk · Post by **martinholmesuk** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 12:11 pm

SanPhire wrote:I've done some investigating and I'm getting a fair bit of play from my left-hand wheel when I shake it. I guess it really is a wheel-bearing then?
Drive shaft nuts are nice and tight - thats a given - and the wheel looks round still (I'd cry if it had been damaged - proper GT allys are hard to come by)
So how does one change the wheel bearing? The Haynes description looks menacing and evil, and the garage are quoting me big bucks to fit a part that only costs a few rounds in at the pub.

Glad you said 'wheel' and 'drive'

Bramdeman · Post by **Bramdeman** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 8:35 pm

If you can't fix it yourself get a garage to do it, broken wheel bearings are not something to ignore.