wobble

metgreentd · Post by **metgreentd** » 08 Apr 2007, 20:21

heres one for you,xantia 1.9td on a 95 plate 155000 on the clock.i have had the car for 5 years and have had no accidents or impacts of any kind.about six monthes ago a wobble started from the o/s front wheel when speed approached 60mph lasting to 75/80 mph,obviously i thought wheel balancing as you do...wrong.the wobble has got worse as time goes on bieng worse on accelerating but only at the mentioned speeds.to date i have replaced front tyres on both sides suspension arm bushes both sides bottom ball joints track rod ends fitted good used low miliage hydraulic rams good used rust free strut tops new brake discs and pads and roll bar links the suspension arms were replaced with good used ones when the bushes were changed all this has transformed the front end but not eliminated the wobble.

the only thing i havnt changed are the roll bar bushes and the front hub/wheel bearing however i did notice that the o/s front wheel bearing is running dry indicated by noise when rotating the hub but there is no movement in the bearing when the wheel is gripped and rocked.also the wobble is not really transmitted thru the steering wheel its more felt thru the floor with your feet but is definately road wheel related.could it be the dry wheel bearing or maybe a out of balance drive shaft?any ideas would be appreciated

AndersDK · Post by **AndersDK** » 08 Apr 2007, 20:34

If you know the wheelbearing is shot then try replace this first. They can make a wobble like a blacksmith hammering on the underside of car.
And so can a defective CV joint.

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 08 Apr 2007, 21:21

you dont offten feel play in front bearings,but if its making that much noise get it changed pronto,the other thing which can cause a wobble is warped brake discs,regarding the drive shaft,has the car had the gear box removed recently,if so was the O/S drive shaft left attatched to the hub and intermediate bearing,because i have seen the inner half of this shaft distorted were someone had done a clutch without removing O/S shaft
regards malcolm

Post by **Peter.N.** » 08 Apr 2007, 21:24

I had a similar problem on my last CX and it was caused by worn inner drive shaft joints, although that had done about 250k. It got worse as the car got hotter, which I assume was caused by the grease thinning out.

f00lzz · Post by **f00lzz** » 08 Apr 2007, 21:33

Check your tyre for lumps and bumps...

Stewart(oily) · Post by **Stewart(oily)** » 08 Apr 2007, 22:03

Chased a problem like this a while back, driveshaft eventually, but id lose the noisy wheelbearing as a matter of course.
Stewart

mpr1956 · Post by **mpr1956** » 08 Apr 2007, 22:17

Hi there, you could try swapping your wheels front to back to eliminate problems with the wheels themselves (are they alloy?).Also, I have just identified an elusive "wobble" on my 93 tdsx as coming from wear in my n/s steering rack inner bush -this is apparently a fairly common reason for mot failure. I found this by getting a very patient colleague to turn the steering wheel back and fore while I checked every bush and bearing involved in steering and suspending the car..
The fact that it worsens under acceleration makes me think of driveshafts too ! ( piece of doddle to change and cheap as chips s/hand ) Good luck with this, I know it would get right on my wick! Best wishes, Martin

metgreentd · Post by **metgreentd** » 09 Apr 2007, 15:36

feel a bit better now as most of you agree with what i thought a possible driveshaft problem.thanks to you all for your replies and the wheel bearing will be getting urgent attention 2moz thanks guys

Post by **xantia_v6** » 10 Apr 2007, 16:17

I recently fixed the 70MPH vibration that has plagued my Xantia for the last couple of years. The vibration was usually preent at speed, but seemed less severe for the first few miles in the morning. I had the wheels balanced 3 or 4 times, sometimes this improved the vibration, sometimes it made it worse. I swapped each wheel one at a time with the spare, with no real improvement.

I convinced myself that the problem was the RH driveshaft, but did not have the enthusiasm to replace it.

Anyway, 4 new tyres, and the vibration has completely gone. I think that there must have been 2 or more of the old tyres (Michelin
Pilot Primacy) with defects causing them to go out of round at speed.

So, if you can, try borrowing a set of wheels to try before investing too much in cures like driveshafts...

f00lzz · Post by **f00lzz** » 10 Apr 2007, 17:31

Wheels and tyres are supplied 'assembled' to vehicle assembly plants these days... This enables the tyre manufacturer to ensure that the tyre/wheel are perfectly balanced.. and round... the 'roundness' is achieved by grinding the tyre round once it has been fitted to the tyre, once it has been ground round the wheel and tyre can be balanced!! You will never be able to achieve the same standard once these tyres are replaced.. especially on centreless wheels. You can spend an absolute fortune trying to achieve perfection...