Vibration from drivetrain when driving at 50+

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the_wolf

Well-Known Member
Posts
16,791
Location
Stonehouse, Scotland
After sticking new wheels and tyres on recently i noticed that i get an obvious vibration/shudder when driving at 50-60mph. I had the front wheels balanced but this still persists so i thought perhaps a UJ and that the wheel/tyre change was coincidental. Only one had play in it which i swapped last night but upon driving into work today the vibration is still there. It tends to fluctuate at times too and rather than being constant there are times where it eases off and times where its slightly more noticeable. Nothing else new has changed, is broken or worn so im starting to get a bit confused as to whats causing it. It doesnt seem confined to one particular area either e.g. not as if its rear prop etc... and its felt throughout the whole vehicle.

Its a 1987 90 btw, with a 200tdi fitted. Help is much appreciated.
 
That front diff is fine lol plus I can't imagine it would only show up at motorway speeds if it were the diff. Everything does seem to point to a uj but as I said they're all fine. Will take props off anyway and see how it drives. I did think wheel bearing but that wouldn't show up as vibration would it?
 
Swap front for rear wheels. I had the same problem replaced swivel bearings track rod arms ujs balanced wheels aswell. In the end I just put up with it. Asked at local garage and he suggested the swap. Low and behold wobble gone. Got some new wheels now and still no wobble
 
I've got the same, changed/done pretty much everything as well.

I didn't think of swapping the wheels round!
 
Well an update. Swapped wheels back to front today and its made vibration worse. I've got a strong feeling that one or more of the wheels has a buckle or twist in it as it still vibrated at 60 even when not under load, not to mention that one had a ridiculous amount of weights on it to try and balance it out I'm guessing which further points towards damage. Going to change back to my modular wheels which was my original plan anyway and I'm hoping this sorts it out
 
Doesn't seem to be. There's no other signs and its not confined to one particular wheel. When I first got them one wheel had a **** load of balancing weights on it and this was on the back. Twas vibrating before I came down to the laning trip and got much worse after I had the wheels swapped so I think it might be fecked
 
I'm tempted to say panhard rod bushes if ya ain't checked them? That gives you good shake/wobble. And you turned ya vibrator off? :D
 
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Well surprise surprise put my modulars back on and the vibration is gone. 4 buckled steelys for the scrap pile I reckon. Though I noticed a seal has gone on the rear hub :eek: joy
 
Well I spoke too soon :(. Still getting vibration at 60 with my modulars on but its nowhere near as bad as it was and still tends to be intermittent. I'm starting to suspect a wheel bearing or two so I think ill just buy the lot and do all four wheels, certainly can't hurt
 
Never had them balanced, they've always drove fine before. And nope, it starts at about 55 and gets worse up to 60 and stays. As I said its a hell of a lot better than it was with the last wheels but its still there, intermittent and is sometimes more obvious than others but when its at its best it still rattles the whole car and can be felt through the steering
 
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