Death wobble!?

Tilo said:

I apologize to have pulled this thread from the ashes but...

This is turning into a bit of a quest... and a money well.

Propshafts in place. Little improvement, yet, not fixed, only less violent.

One thing I've noticed, there's a humming noise and a slight vibration can be felt in the footwell (LHD) at about 90 Km/h once I take my foot off the throttle. As soon as I accelerate again it goes away. Any ideas? (Could it be related to the shock noise I describe below?)

Don't know if it's relevant or not, but on tight turns at low speed (5-10 Km/h), p.e. accessing parking or maneuvering, you can feel a little roughness all over the car. Again, only when the steering wheel is almost fully turned to either side.

So far:
1. all suspension bushes replaced (front and rear) with Britpart polybush kit DC7107 (they might be crap, but can't do anything about it now...)
2. steering shock replaced (aftermarket, did it myself)
2. wheels balanced (probably poorly balanced)
3. Front brake pads and discs replaced (done by me, so nothing could go wrong here ound
4. wheels balanced (again and again probably poorly, can't trust anyone on this. I might try to go and learn how to do it myself and get someone to let me use the machine)
5. front and rear propshafts replaced (I tried to do it, but couldn't remove the nuts so sent it to the workshop)
6. whats next? Swivel ball joints? Put another set of wheels and see if it makes a difference?

I'm determined to get to the end of this now...

Also, last week I started to hear a knocking noise from the front left side and you can even feel in your feet (LHD) when going over a hump with a bit more speed. It doesn't come when accelerating or braking hard, so I figure it's related to up and down movement. Crawled underneath and it seems to me the front left shock is not tight enough. It turns very easily by hand, whereas the left side it's very hard to turn. Also there seems to be a small gap between the lower bush and the mounting plate. Is it worth to look into it? How do I stop the shock absorber from turning while tightening the nut?

Click to expand...

Datatek said:

Have you checked the VCU yet?

Click to expand...

Tilo said:

Tell me how and I will...

I've read that's a possibility as well in other forums.

Click to expand...

Tilo said:

Well, today I finally found the courage to dust off my tool kit and went outside on 46º C to do my rear brake pads and discs.

As I had borrowed a jack for this I tried out the VCU test above from Datatek. Gear in Neutral, parking brake on, raised the front right wheel, tried to turn it and... nothing! I guess there's a good chance the VCU has seized and that's what causing the remaining vibration felt while driving at 90ish speeds. Also, a few months back when I replaced the bushes I had the front and rear wheels swapped because the front were badly worn out on the outside. Now the front tires start to have signs of wear on the outside again.

Only thing I have to look into now is the transfer box. It has a leak and since I bought the car the low range does not engage. So that's already 3 things wrong with the transfer box. Instead of replacing just the VCU maybe I should look for a second hand box and replace the whole thing.

Click to expand...

Tilo said:

2. wheels balanced (probably poorly balanced)

4. wheels balanced (again and again probably poorly, can't trust anyone on this. I might try to go and learn how to do it myself and get someone to let me use the machine)

Click to expand...

Tilo said:

Well, today I finally found the courage to dust off my tool kit and went outside on 46º C to do my rear brake pads and discs.

As I had borrowed a jack for this I tried out the VCU test above from Datatek. Gear in Neutral, parking brake on, raised the front right wheel, tried to turn it and... nothing! I guess there's a good chance the VCU has seized and that's what causing the remaining vibration felt while driving at 90ish speeds. Also, a few months back when I replaced the bushes I had the front and rear wheels swapped because the front were badly worn out on the outside. Now the front tires start to have signs of wear on the outside again.

Only thing I have to look into now is the transfer box. It has a leak and since I bought the car the low range does not engage. So that's already 3 things wrong with the transfer box. Instead of replacing just the VCU maybe I should look for a second hand box and replace the whole thing.

Click to expand...