Steering wheel problems...

[Harry]

Hi all,

Drove up to Nottingham on Saturday and on the way up there the steering wheel started to vibrate pretty severely, it was turning from side to side, about a half inch either way. I was on the motorway and was going straight, not on a bend or anything. The wheels themselves weren't following the movement of the wheell because we carried on going in a straight line.

Speed was approx 70mph and steady, not accelerating or braking.

It happened on the way down again but not as severely as it was on the way up, just minor vibration through the steering wheel.

This has happened to me once before.

Just wondered if anyone has every experience the same thing???

What could be the problem?

cheers
Harry

[ion]

Hello Harry,

Sounds like a wheel balancing problem, maybe a weight has come off or a front wheel has been knocked so it needs to be re done. This is the first thing to try as its the most probable cause & cheap to repair.

I've had this on my vec b but not the c.

Hope this helps

[Jamie]

I agree with Ion, probably a wheel balance problem. Another possible cause with the described symptoms is a warped brake disc, but this is unlikely if you you were driving in a straight line and not braking.

[Duncan]

After having had tyres replaced on my Signum (set of fronts and full set most recently) I found that it's very sensitive to the correct balancing (seems to be a Vec C/Signum thing). I've had to go back and get them redone as I've had exactly that sort of judder that you described.

Assuming you haven't had tryes replaced recently, it could just be as mentioned above - they've had a slight knock or something, enough to knock the balancing out a little bit.

I'd agree with those above - it does sound like a balancing issue.

D

[Harry]

cheers for the advice guys, but wouldn't a issue with the balancing produce the problem all the time at the speeds at which this vibration occurs?

it was a good 1000 miles between the first and second times that this happened.

i'll get the wheels rebalanced though, process of elimination.

cheers again

[Duncan]

cheers for the advice guys, but wouldn't a issue with the balancing produce the problem all the time at the speeds at which this vibration occurs?

I forgot to mention this. The weird thing I found was that it didn't judder all the time, and not always at exactly the same speed - roughly, but not exactly.

It baffled me and I never got it fully sorted after having the front tyres changed - even after having all four wheels rebalanced. I'd still get the occasional judder with no pattern as to why.

After having all four tyres replaced recently I got a bit of judder when I opned it up on a dual-carriageway. Took it back and one of the more experienced guys dealt with it. After looking at it he said there was too much weight on one front wheel - didn't need it. Altered it and it was perfect. Straight up to licence losing speeds with no judder.

So even though you're not getting it all the time - it could still be a balancing problem.

D

[Harry]

cheers duncan, i'll get it checked out then.

how frequently did yours judder?

[organist]

I really do hope that it is not a driveshaft on the way out?

[joules2.0t]

Drove up to Nottingham on Saturday and on the way up there the steering wheel started to vibrate pretty severely

Is there any play in the steering wheel?

[Duncan]

cheers duncan, i'll get it checked out then. how frequently did yours judder?

Often enough to be irritating - but it wasn't every time I drove the car! Not much help I know!

D