bad vibration's

[levi]

hi all just after abit of help my 1996 3.0 surf has developed some bad vibrations through the steering wheel when i get to about 50mph and above.
any idea what this could be??

thanks for your help

[VidaMusic]

Universal Joint on prop shaft....

easy to do, bout £20

[schrodingers-cat]

Tyres falling apart, wheels outa balance maybe

[levi]

i have checked the props they look ok but i couldnt turn the rear prop even with the handbrake off and it being in neutral.

but i did notice one of the inner CV boot is leaking could this be the cause of the problems

thanks

levi

[Nick V]

i have checked the props they look ok but i couldnt turn the rear prop even with the handbrake off and it being in neutral.

but i did notice one of the inner CV boot is leaking could this be the cause of the problems

thanks

levi

First check that the front wheels haven't thrown a balancing weight, or that none of the wheel nuts are loose. Does this occur in driving or under braking? If under breaking, it could be discs warped/pistons in callipers sticking. Are the tyres old and worn? There are many things to check.

If it's at the front I doubt it will be the prop UJ's, but even if you have the h/brake off and the g/box in neutral, you will not be able to turn the prop unless you jack the rear end up and get the wheels off the ground!

Cheers, Nick

[Albannach]

i have checked the props they look ok but i couldnt turn the rear prop even with the handbrake off and it being in neutral.

Were the rear wheels off the ground when you tried this?

[Bayside]

I had a meander in the steering between 40 - 50 accompanied by a mettalic rattle over ripples in the road (this was only in a straight line) which turned out to be badly adjusted bearings. Took out the excess play and seems to have fixed it.

[levi]

hi thanks everyone for all your help i think there could be a number of things that could be wrong so i am going to try and find a local mechanic who knows what there on about

[Hazzo]

My lower ball joints were goosed and this was the same symptoms, only noticeable at 50-60. H

[KERRSURF]

Could be worn bushes in the steering idler, causes play but perhaps vibration too.

[Antob]

My gen3 also has wobbly steering around 40-50mph, seems to disappear at higher speed which I find odd.
Since i have fitted 2inch suspension lift, new wheels and BFG tyres, new ARB bushes and new steering rack bushes yesterday.
Wobble is still there and starting to get real frustrating at this point, any clues to what I should be looking at changing next?
Any help much appreciated.

[Bogus]

Have you had your wheels balanced. Its usually a balancing issue when the wobble comes in at a certain speed then seems to go away at higher speeds.
Big wheels, big rubber can be harder to balance.

[Antob]

I have tried 3 different sets of wheels and tyres and it's exact same each time so I could almost rule this out.
How can I check my lower ball joints for wear?