Still vibrating

[peteyg]

Getting really annoyed now!

I still have this frustrating vibration that permeates the whole car and is really felt through the steering wheel and up through the seats. I've attacked the whole front end now and really sctracthing my head as to the cause.

Sorry to repeat but since the last post I've replaced front hub bearings and had the front wheels re-balanced (they were well out, but newly balancing them has made no difference).

The vibration starts when the tyres are warmed up beyond 50mph and gets worse the faster you go. It's continuous and makes no difference if travelling in a straight line or going round a bend in gear or in neutral.

Is it worth getting the rears checked for balancing and if out would they have an effect on the viration coming through the steering wheel?

Other than getting the suspension setup checked/adjusted I think I've just about run out of ideas, it's got to be the front end, surely!!??... :crybaby:

Help

Pete

[hilly]

Getting really annoyed now!

I still have this frustrating vibration that permeates the whole car and is really felt through the steering wheel and up through the seats. I've attacked the whole front end now and really sctracthing my head as to the cause.

Sorry to repeat but since the last post I've replaced front hub bearings and had the front wheels re-balanced (they were well out, but newly balancing them has made no difference).

The vibration starts when the tyres are warmed up beyond 50mph and gets worse the faster you go. It's continuous and makes no difference if travelling in a straight line or going round a bend in gear or in neutral.

Is it worth getting the rears checked for balancing and if out would they have an effect on the viration coming through the steering wheel?

Other than getting the suspension setup checked/adjusted I think I've just about run out of ideas, it's got to be the front end, surely!!??... :crybaby:

Help

Pete

Have you check that the front tyres are in good condition.

I have come across tyres causing vibration/noise before (not on an Esprit i should add) which I thought was wheel bearings etc, change the tyres fixed the problem.

Just an idea

Hilly

Edited March 27, 2007 by hilly

[matk]

Pete

Are you going to the Oxford meet? If so we can try swapping front wheels if you like? Would prove/disprove wheel tyre combination.

[Loose Cannon]

Same here, had Toyos with shedloads of tread, nasty vibrations like a balance problem. Rebalanced twice and finally binned, new tyres transformed the car.

I would normally question the age of them but I know you use your car a lot.

[Evil_Dr_Fish]

Flat Spot?

Maybe there's an imperfection that 'eggs' a little bit once warm?

I think Mat's suggestion is top drawer

[trackmagic]

As mentioned before the tires are probably to blame. Jack up the front and roll the tire or run your hand across the tread. If it feels lumpy then there is your problem.

Balancing won't fix this.

Jeff

[rocket63]

Getting really annoyed now!

I still have this frustrating vibration that permeates the whole car and is really felt through the steering wheel and up through the seats. I've attacked the whole front end now and really sctracthing my head as to the cause.

Sorry to repeat but since the last post I've replaced front hub bearings and had the front wheels re-balanced (they were well out, but newly balancing them has made no difference).

The vibration starts when the tyres are warmed up beyond 50mph and gets worse the faster you go. It's continuous and makes no difference if travelling in a straight line or going round a bend in gear or in neutral.

Is it worth getting the rears checked for balancing and if out would they have an effect on the viration coming through the steering wheel?

Other than getting the suspension setup checked/adjusted I think I've just about run out of ideas, it's got to be the front end, surely!!??... :crybaby:

Help

Pete

Hi Pete. I believe the problem may well be the wheel rims. i had a similar problem on my merc. no amount of re balancing would resolve the problem. It would appear that this is the only items not replaced.

[USAndretti42]

While it not be 100% safe, why not try switching the front and rear tyres for a test and see if the vibration moves from the steering wheel to whole car. This way you separate rims and tyres from bearings, bent spindles and loose ball joints.

No spirited cornering, though.

[f1karting]

Hi Pete. I believe the problem may well be the wheel rims. i had a similar problem on my merc. no amount of re balancing would resolve the problem. It would appear that this is the only items not replaced.

Perhaps bent slightly..

[esprit22]

Tyres would be the first thing to check, I had the same problem on my Renault (garage reckoned that it was wheel bearings), it turned out to be the tread on the REAR tyres!

Next thing I would check is the front shocks. I had a knocking/vibration for years which was diagnosed by the factory to be a dodgy front shock. Infact the guy just gently bounced the front wing down, and you could hear the shock making a strange creaking sound.

Last thing would be a slack cam belt. I again had a problem with this. Years ago I decided to change the cam belt myself, all seemed ok but I had bad vibration through gearbox/steering.

I took it to Gerald Turner(top man) who said that some twat had not tensioned the cam belt correctly and it was about to come off!! Shit, was I lucky....

SO, Tyres, front shock(s), cambelt. IMHO.

[WayneB]

Could be belt separation /flat spotting on your tyres.

Unusual in your case though as they usually improve as the tyre warms up.

Some makes are more prone to this than others .

Raise up the car, and fix your eye on the side of the tread and slowly spin the wheel/tyre and you might see if its out of round or has a bulge in it (or them)

Then spring for a new set! (sorry Im good at spending other peoples money)

[peteyg]

Thanks for the input chaps!

Jeff, Wayne, Hilly, Fishy & Mark - Hoping you guys are right, think I'll change the tyres and see what happens.

Mat - thnaks for the offer but I don't think I can wait 'till the meet.

Jan & Paul - hope it's not the rims that are duff!!

Chris - cambelt recently done (professionally!) so hopefully not an issue. Will be getting the suspension looked at sometime soonish anyway.

Trevor - Won't there be issues with the offset of the rear wheels if I swap the fronts & rears?

[matk]

No probs Pete, hope a tyre change sorts it out, let me know if you change your mind, have jack will travel............

[chris]

Does the vibrating go away after 50 but come in again at 80ish?

Did you watch the garage who balanced your wheels?

[peteyg]

OK, story so far...it still vibrating!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

Just had new tyres fitted to the front and it's made no difference. I has to be front end with the amount of movement coming through the steering wheel.

I've given up now

Time to hand her over to the garage and wait for the big bill...

Thanks for the ideas all, will let you know when (if) it's sorted...and just when the weather was getting nice :crybaby:

Pete

[cly_mitchell]

I have been following your tread. I know the S2s have U joints in the rear drive shafts. If those shafts are splined to retract and extend when the suspension is moving. It is possible to get the yokes out of time. That will cause a hell of vibration. I don't know if this is even possible.

Are you sure your ball joints are ok. Grab the front wheel and pull it toward you. A small amount of play is normal, but a pop is not.

I hate for you to have to take the thing to shop.

Cheers

Clay

[peteyg]

Right...was tinkering again and noticed something interesting!

The upper wishbone on the nearside has been eating into the body. You can clearly see in the photo the white patch where the fibreglass has been worn away. The other picture is of the offside which has the lip on the wishbone cut away so that it has clearance from the body.

The pictures are taken with the car raised so the wishbone is lower than when it has weight on it.

What do you think? Duff bushes? Should both sides have the lip cut off? This could be where the vibration is coming from! It would make sense as to why the whole body is vibrating!

Pete

[WayneB]

Errr Pete, thats not good.

Get a long bar or lever in between the inside of the upper wishbone and the chassis tower (where the spring and shock are), and use it to move the wishbone to see how much play is in whats left of the bushings (probably lots)

Thats a lot of rust BTW!

[cly_mitchell]

Pete,

Looks like its time break that front end down and build it back. It may not be any one thing , but a culmination of things. Those dampers look a little un-healthy as well. I just re-vamped mine. It was'nt bad but now very nice.

[catty s2]

Clean as a nun's knickers!

Pete,

Looks like its time break that front end down and build it back. It may not be any one thing , but a culmination of things. Those dampers look a little un-healthy as well. I just re-vamped mine. It was'nt bad but now very nice.

[peteyg]

No discernable play in the wishbone which is odd. The rust is just surface stuff. I moved house the end of last year and the garage has major moisutre problems so everything has gone rusty and the engine is covered in white powdery stuff. Fear not these issues are being sorted presently noew the weathers improved.

Turns out my steering rack is mega futched hence the enquiry for a referb specialist.

Will keep you posted.

Pete

[peteyg]

OK, swapped the rack - made absolutely no difference!

:crybaby:

I'm going with Clay's suggestion now and a suspension revamp. I'm hesitant to change the springs and damper what with the potential new stuff coming from Lotus. Can I get away with new wishbones and ball joints for now as they would be the most likely culprits?

[esprit22]

Pete, are you sure that the REAR tyres are not causing this??? The front end set up is simple and a problem like this should be easy to spot. As the rack has been changed, the only other thought is a dodgey shock, but I would still go for the rear tyres.

[cly_mitchell]

Pete,

From your pics, you have a clearance issue. Something is worn to cause this. As far dampers go, I am using spax and sj has some good units. I dont think you would need springs. You would need to measure then when they are removed to see if they have collapsed. If they have not, just blast and paint.

I don't know for a fact that this will solve you immediate problem, but you will be better off, and safer, with a new front end.

Cheers,

Clay

[Loose Cannon]

I'm still feeling guilty for suggesting the wrong thing (tyres) , but could the chassis mounts cause this? If one side is chafing could the body be aligned differently?