steering vibrates even after balancing and alignment..

[scoupe]

hey guys,

i have a problem with my car.. the steering vibrates excessively from about 90km/h onwards.. i have changed new tires.. rims checked not bent, alignment and balancing done.. what else could be the cause of this? btw after doing alignment and camber alignment the vibration got stronger.. my car set up is 4agze custom made driveshaft on the left side to correct length but same spec as ori gze shaft.. right side is original gze drive shaft. bearings are relatively new.. hope someone can shed some light on this problem that im facing..

 

[yeehau86]

maybe the bush problem? just my prediction. correct me if I'm wrong

 

[leynye]

maybe the custom made drive shaft not go through high rpm balancing tuh... if all the parts already check, check the drive shaft ..

 

[sugizo_takuro]

maybe the bush..they called it 'bush satay' which connects the front stabilizer bar and the lower arm on both sides....because my car (box lancer) also vibrates heavily like the front wants to collapse. after i change the bush, i never experienced it again...maybe u can ask the mechanic about the bush..

 

[Vagabond]

steering rack & steering column.

 

[scoupe]

hmmm... as for the bushes i have changed a complete set bout 2 yrs ago.. all the arm bushes, antirollbar bushes and new ball joints too.. i doubt they would be worn so fast.. when my mech said he custom made the driveshaft he did say that they will do balancing.. is there a different form of balancing? hmmm steering rack and column prob? vagabond can elaborate more on this? like symptoms and solution.. hmm is there any other way of confirming that it is the steering rack and column prob?

 

[trojan]

u can try to do on wheel balancing first....maybe ard rm60-80 for all 4 wheels....

 

[scoupe]

wheel balancing done d..

 

[yn_hell]

erm... what about steering rack?

 

[chinozie]

Good day,

Try to swap the front tyres with the rear tyres...
Just to see if the front wheels properly balanced...

later post the results here...

 

[trojan]

wheel balancing done d..

ON wheel balancing bro....

 

[scoupe]

hmmm.. will try and see if i can borrow a set of rims from a friend.. but i doubt i can post the results soon cause this whole week will be busy.. will keep u guys updated.. will on wheel balancing make a huge difference??

 

[joe2d]

I think its ur custom drive shaft, since you said its worse after camber adjustment. Most probably ur drive shaft is spinning off-center. I don't think local machining shop can customize a drive shaft as good as factory standard.

As for worn bushing, it will vibrate at lower speed (not just over 90kmh) too & will 'rattle' abit especially hitting bumps or potholes.

As for steering rack problem, unless its wrongly mounted or the whole thing is bent it shouldn't vibrate. If vibration is caused by steering rack you'll probably feel the car wobbling or snaking.

From what you said above i think its probably ur custom drive shaft. Just a guess.

 

[sugizo_takuro]

from all that u mention u had done, everything is factory set except for the custom driveshaft. maybe your mechanic didnt do the balancing for the shaft..i think so..u can try out wheel swap with your friend first..

 

[trojan]

will on wheel balancing make a huge difference??

1 satisfied customer here....i've just convert from 4 lugs to 5 lugs and my wheels vibrate like hell...even wheel balancing on machine is just can't cure it...

then my fren proposed me to do ON WHEEL balancing...meaning your rims still attach to your car and they balance it...then 200km/h also no issue...but make sure your tyre is in a good condition lorr...

it won't cost u hundreds of ringgit, rather than u change here and there but the problem still persist....try to do something simple and cheaper first...

anyway, this is just my suggestion...u can keep on identifying your car's problem and keep us updated with your findings....cheers

 

[scoupe]

hmmm... assume its the driveshaft problem.. any idea if it can be solved?? things is the original 4agze drive shaft is longer thats y we custom made it to shorter.. hmmm.. anyidea if there is anyshop which can make a gud driveshaft? as for the rims since its an option that is free i should try that out first.. i too have a feeling that i cant be the rack and coloumn prob..

 

[joe2d]

hmmm... assume its the driveshaft problem.. any idea if it can be solved?? things is the original 4agze drive shaft is longer thats y we custom made it to shorter.. hmmm.. anyidea if there is anyshop which can make a gud driveshaft? as for the rims since its an option that is free i should try that out first.. i too have a feeling that i cant be the rack and coloumn prob..

I think if it really is the driveshaft problem, it might not be that ur customized shaft is not well made or not balanced. But i suspect its because its shorter than original spec. Think about this if the drive shaft is shorter it means the angle its attached from the gearbox to the wheel will be steeper than original. Which means its going to spin off-balance from how it was designed. Just a thought.

 

[scoupe]

hmmm... it does make some sense.. but if this is the case the problem cannot be solved rite as mt car requires a shorter driveshaft.. could you elaborate more on this? btw just curious u sound like a mechanical engineer.. are u? just wondering..

 

[joe2d]

hmmm... it does make some sense.. but if this is the case the problem cannot be solved rite as mt car requires a shorter driveshaft.. could you elaborate more on this? btw just curious u sound like a mechanical engineer.. are u? just wondering..

No, im not an engineer. I just have a friend having similar problem b4, his 4AGE 20v is too wide for his AE80 Corolla LE so have to shorten one of the driveshaft as well. After that his car also vibrate like hell. He tried everything, wheel balancing, suspension setup but also din help. Finally we found out its the driveshaft problem coz the driveshaft joint started wearing out. We know its because the shorter driveshaft created a steeper angle between wheel & gearbox. So what he did was shorten the other driveshaft to a similar percentage since both driveshaft r different length. After that the vibration problem is gone. Coz now both driveshaft are balanced again, same proportion as before, so the angle between the gearbox & wheel is similar to original spec. With the driveshaft spinning like how they should be the vibration problem is solved.

But don't just go shorten ur other driveshaft just yet, make sure its really a driveshaft problem 1st. If it is a driveshaft problem look for signs of wear on the modified driveshaft. And make sure you find a good machine shop to shorten the other shaft. This method works for my friend but it might not work for you. So try to consult as many ppl as possible before committing to this method. You've been warned. Good luck!

 

[Rspirit]

I dunno bout driveshafts but ive faced the same problem of steering shaking even after balancing for many times. I finally found the solution to my problem, try interchanging the tires, like right tires to the left one and the left one to the right one. Magically my steering didnt vibrate anymore after changing... Worth a try i guess..