Xsara 1.6L wobbles

betuaintgotthis · Post by **betuaintgotthis** » 05 Sep 2009, 14:58

Hi all im new to this forum and was wondfering if anybody could help me.

I have a recently looked at a Xsara estate 1.6L that has developed a wobble.
The wobble seems minor in 2nd between 10-20mph then disappears but reappears around 50mph in a rather scary side to side style shake, which then disappears after 60mph. It does feel to be generated through the front but can not be felt through the steering wheel.

unfortunately I only had a very limited time to check this car over and next time i return to it I would like to be armed with some idea of what it could be lol.

What I can confirm is as follows
*With front wheels independantly jacked up (ie one then the other) vibration is barely noticeable through all speeds up to 80mph which is where i stopped accelerating.
*There is no play in the wheel either front wheels or lower arms
*Both front wheels are balanced as i checked this also recent tyres fitted by local tyre supplyer (wobble was there before tyres fitted aswell)
*The wobble is barely any diferent whilst cornering also it is not knocking from driveshafts which im more used to hearing from worn shafts.
*wobble definately appears to be road speed related and not engine speed related.
*Wobble has apparently been steadely getting worse.
*Engine mounts all appear to be ok

My initial thoughts were possibly wheel balance which was then ruled out on inspection. Failing light made inspection of wheels difficult however could see no signs of damage or buckleing also tyre suplyers should have noticed. also i would have thought that since this wobble is slowly getting worse then it would rule out wheels.
Ok I have not checked the rear but on a limited time to inspect with failing light the wobble did definately feel like it was front end even if it was not felt through the steering.

Greatfull if somebody could help out as im a little baffled on this one
Many thanks
Craig

Post by **myglaren** » 05 Sep 2009, 15:13

Welcome to the forum betuaintgotthis.

There has recently been a very long thread discussing a very similar problem that may aid you in pinpointing what is wrong with yours.

Take a look here and see if anything there is relevant.

betuaintgotthis · Post by **betuaintgotthis** » 05 Sep 2009, 15:55

Possible it could be driveshafts, I certainly would not rule it out however I have always been under the impression that the driveshafts on these cars tend to knock on cornering when worn rather than shake the car.

Thera are also no holes or signs of leakage in either of the shafts inner or outer boots. So I assume that all grease should be in there and hence should not be wearing further (wishfull thinking lol).

Also thought I had best throw in that its a mk1 xsara and has covered 127k

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 05 Sep 2009, 23:05

a guy came to me on friday with a ZX which he had been trying to sort the cause of a wobble out on for some time now,
he seemed to think it was the front but i could not see anything obviouse, so i jacked up the N/S rear and rotated the wheel whilst holdding one hand flat across the tread, i found this tyer to have a long but slight buldge in the tread face, put his spare on and sent him off for a drive round the block, on his return he was beemming sortted he said,

he was convinced it was comming from the front

regards malcolm

Nutcase · Post by **Nutcase** » 06 Sep 2009, 14:46

Hi Craig,

I would second Malcolm's point about checking the rear tyres (visual and for balance. I had a similar problem years ago on a Vauxhall estate and had the fronts balanced, no change. Went back to the tyre place to get them to redo the front's and he (eventually convinced me to get the rears done - problem solved! I had been convinced it was a front end issue but happily ate some humble pie at the time!

Worth a check imo.

Regards
Greg

Nuneatonrob · Post by **Nuneatonrob** » 07 Sep 2009, 11:27

Agreed. Check the rear tyres. I had a similar wobble and noise from my old 306 and it turned out to be the near side rear tyre had gone out of shape.

MikeT · Post by **MikeT** » 07 Sep 2009, 17:04

Hello Craig and welcome, hope you enjoy your stay.
My advice...
Eliminate the wheels/tyres by swapping them around.

betuaintgotthis · Post by **betuaintgotthis** » 09 Sep 2009, 18:42

I shall be looking again this weekend and hopefully armed with a decent jack and some axel stands this time.
Thanks for the advice on checking rear, I was certain it was front on my brief look but after chewing over it for the last few days have decided the back is a possibility after all nothing to lose.
Unfortunately my customer has now decided to replace it under the scrappage scheme anymay due to several other faults. However Im still desperate to find this cause.