Wobbly steering wheel

Sonnygtir

New Member
I've had a wobbly steering wheel at most speeds for ageeess. I thought the MOT would bring up any problems with worn bushes but no luck there. I've had this problem since I had full whiteline suspension and koni shocks fitted, bushes etc... Brakes have been skimmed too but no difference. I've heard of this on a few Rs. Anyone got any suggestions? Would a lower strut brace tighten things up?
 

Fast Guy

Moderators
Staff member
Is it like an out of balance wheel wobble, in which case get your wheels checked for balance or buckling
or a road feedback type wobble, in which case get your tracking checked.
 

Sonnygtir

New Member
Just had a new set of tyres before my MOT. :( I hope this would have been enough to pick up a dodgy wheel. The MOT station said it's my brakes being warped but I've had them skimmed with no difference.
 

LeeSmith

Member
m8,i have had the same problem for ageeees too :lol: I've had the balancing checked twice, the tracking done twice & a new set of tires! they say my wheels are ok....Next up is a new set of discs as mine are shot anyway. Let me know if you find out the problem & i'll do likewise! Good luck!
 
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samellio

Guest
when you put your foot on the brakes does it get worse??-if so it's your discs being warped... :wink:
If it stays the same it could be a bent wheel... jack the car up as high as you can so that all 4 wheels can rotate.. (be careful as wheels drop after car is jacked :!: ) put it in gear and let the wheels rotate.. look at each wheel.. if its moving about as its rotating that's your problem :wink:
 

Sonnygtir

New Member
Will do lee. I'm getting pretty sick of it. Its not that bad on the 15mile journey to work but if I go on the motorway sometimes it can annoy me. About 70-80mph it's pretty smooth, under those speeds it gets worse. I know a local guy who said he changed his discs for non-grooved and not drilled. He said this got rid of his problem. My grooves are almost gone now due to being skimmed twice. So I'm stuck really.
 

Sonnygtir

New Member
Nice one Samellio. I will have to get myself a ramp. :lol: That's something I've not tried yet so I'll have a go at this. I'm 99% sure it's not warped brakes as I can't feel any movement in the wheel at low speeds.
 
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ard1ey

Guest
I had a wobble under braking only a while back with drilled and grooved discs, once they were binned for some plain discs all was smooth again. 8) You could try checking your brake discs for runout with a clock :?:
 

geetee

Active Member
It took 3 attempts at balancing and 4 wheel alignment after having 4 new tyres to get rid of my wobbly steering wheel :)

2 by the place that fitted the tyres, the 3rd by MeriTyre - sorted.

Cheers
GeeTee 8)
 

antgtir

New Member
Im not convinced on the brakes being the problem.

If the wobble is always there then its normally an out of shape tyre somewhere. If the wobble is reduced or you can drive through it at higher speed then normally its just the balancing. If the car seems to crab about the road then i would check bushes and tracking.

If these dont solve the prob, just to investigate the prob further swap your front wheels and tyres to the back and see if that makes a diff. If it doesn't then swap if not rotational tyres from side to side and see if that makes any difference.

Normally in my experience warped brakes would only be noticed when you brake, not whilst your driving as normal.

Worst case scenario id check the chassis to ensure the car wasn't in a little bump before you got it.

How long have you had the car? How long has this problem been around? Did you have this problem before any of the bushes / suspension changes? If not then id associate the problem with one of them.

Ant. :wink:
 

MarkTurbo

Well-Known Member
Check your front wheel bearings :wink:

I had this problem and it was down to both front bearings being sh*gged. Jack the car up so the front wheels are off the ground then with one hand at the bottom of the wheel and the other at the top try wobbling it and see if theres any play there :wink:

But then if you've had it MOT'd recently i'd have thought they would have found any worn bearings :?
 

antgtir

New Member
Suppose there is always the possibility of it being something to do with a worn steering rack :idea:

I would check anything remotely attached to the steering, its got to be one of the things, its just a matter of working through the cheaper stuff first then look at the expensive stuff if you dont solve it, goodluck.

Ant. :D
 
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Brett G

Guest
Even if it is the disks it certainly isn't because they're grooved etc, don't get plain ones, if any thing get some more grooved ones. If they are standard size brakes you're using you'll regret it :shock:
I had the same problem and it was mostly warped disks but you've had yours skimmed so I would personally look at other things especially if it doesn't get any worse under braking.
Good luck

Brett :wink:
 

Dooie Pop Pop

New Member
i had the same kind of wobble, felt just like the wheel balance was out despite being checked/balanced . got myself a set of new wheels and it went :D
 

jonee

New Member
r

dude jack up each wheel in turn and check that the tyre is not distorted by spinning it by hand slowly.

hope this helps




jonee
 

OZ-Racing

New Member
I also had this problem ever since some tit walked out in front of me and I had to drop the anchors, ABS kicked-in and the surface was rough and dry. Needless to say, my tyres were peppered with flat-spots that no amount of balancing could compensate for.

Just slapped on a set of s/h wheels and nearly new tyres, job's a good 'un. No more juddering :D
 
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