Lumpy2

Hi, XR6Pete. Hope the that info helps. I have established a site that might be helpful to other. An Alien Encounter (Wobbly Wheels) Regards, KH

Hi from Wobbly Wheels, Like me, you too might have wobbly wheels. They come and go and sometimes confuse you for just when you think that they are gone forever, strangely they return when you least expect it. How do you get them? Well it could be as simple as taking your car to the local garage or tire place to have new tyres or wheels fitted to you car. You drive in OK and then later you notice that the car wobbles a little as you drive out of the shopping complex. No troubles, it must be all the new roadwork they have been doing in the car park. All is soon forgotten as you get your new HD video machine home and set it up to work on your favourite sports channel. Then comes the weekend, you put the family in the car and go for that long awaited trip away. Apart from the occasional waddle things go smoothly in the suburb, but as you approach the 80k zone you notice a slight rumble coming through the steering wheel but, out on the highway strange things begin to happen. As the car cruises along and you turn this way and that the steering wheel begins to take on a life of its own. It is as if some alien has entered your car and is fighting you for control of the steering wheel. Well not a problem, the wheels are new, the tires are new and just need to settle down, all will be well when they get up to temperature. Days move into weeks, months and years as the elusive alien comes and goes. You talk with the mates who make all sorts of suggestions, have an alignment done, maybe a balancing weight has fallen off, are the tyres OK - even new tyres can do strange things. Have you had the wheels checked, what about the suspension, is it a bit worn? You could take the car to the local alien exterminator if you could find one. But, here’s a tip. After much mechanical work, expense and frustration we stumbled over an alien exterminator in a country town. It was as simple as tensioning the wheel nuts on the car wheels to manufactures’ specifications – evenly, as under, over or uneven tightening of the wheel nuts can cause the alien to appear. Now our alien has been banished to places unknown and I no longer have wobbly wheels. You too can be an alien eliminator, without using a mouse, by following our tip or you can ask your garage to be one for you. So, I hope this simple message helps you have a happier and less wobbly Christmas. Regards, Keith Harris [alien eliminator] Wobblywheels2@aanet.com.au safetyalert18.pdf

Dear Moderator, Thanks for your comment. Over the past three years I though that I was going mad. Sometimes the car would vibrate and at other times not. Since my last post we have marked one wheel nut recess on each rim position as A-B-C-D, clockwise from drivers side front RH wheel, and placed a mark on each wheel stud next to that. Then we moved the wheels at random either clockwise or anticlockwise one or two locating studs leaving the wheel on the same hub. The wheels were then re-tensioned to 60ft/lb and the car taken for a run. The result was astounding. No front steering vibration was felt as previously experienced following the many wheel rotations, balances and alignments on the car as reported above. I do not know how to get this message out as there might be many other drivers on our roads experiencing the same frustrating issue. If you could find away of making a general comment on this issue on your web site, like 10 top tips etc, I think that many would benefit. Regards, Keith

Hi All, One small additional note to the above post: It seems absurd that a problem like this could come down to factory spec wheel nut tension and garrages using crude air guns to tighten wheel retaining nuts. When I was talking to DePulu they said that it is not the wheel nuts that locate a rim on a hub but the taper or centre of the hub mating with the taper or centre of the rim. With different wheel nut tension across the face of each wheel on the Fairlane, as measured upon our return to Ipswich from the trip to Gatton, it is possible to pull one side of the rim on the taper/cone/centre mating surfaces and distort the allignment of the wheel rim on the hub. This can result in vibrations in the front, and also to some extend rear, suspension of the vehicle as we have experianced in the Fairlane over the past three years. Regards, KH

Hi, plasmid2 A lot to say about three years of mechanical work to resolve a front end steering vibration in my 1997 Ford Fairlane. If you look at my posts and history at Ford Australia Forums, you will see my discussion regarding our 1997 Ford Fairlane. In short, my last comment copied here is worth reading. Ford Australia Forums Hi All, Read this and weep. Did a Google search for "wheel nut tension", Australian only, and came up with this. http://www.minerals.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/21694/safetyalert18.pdf Although not my vehicle please have a read and a look at points, 4 and 5 on page 3, quoted here. 4. Do always use a torque wrench to set the final torque. 5. Do not use air tools to reliably torque wheel nuts to the specified tension. I will send a copy of this to each garage that has worked on the vehicle since Biloela in 2007. They ALL used air guns to secure the wheel nuts and NO ONE and I mean NO ONE EVER used a torque wrench on the wheel nuts on our 1997 Ford Fairlane except to dopes who did so one afternoon in Darra. Following our work on the vehicle the front-end vibrations have gone. There is still an issue with he steering rack but that will be replaced [third time] under warranty. Brief history: a. 2007 Vehicle accident in Biloela - vibration in steering wheel b. Local garage uses air gun to replace tyres after balancing - vibrations in steering wheel at 60-80-100km/hr c. 2008 Front and rear suspension replaced - vibrations still there d. Steering rack and pump replaced - vibrations still there e. Various wheel alignments, balancing, and rotations - vibrations still there but vary in intensity f. New tyres all round, front hubs, bearings replaced - vibrations still there g. 2009 Front upper lower ball joints, tie rod ends, link rubbers, watts link replaced - vibrations still there but vary with wheel rotation h. New tyres fitted, various balancing, rotation and alignment - vibrations still there but vary in intensity and speed I. Steering rack replaced, new hubs, bearings - vibrations still there j. Front brakes replaced, new hubs and bearings, rotation and balance and alignment - vibrations still there but different k. Drive to Gatton to try out second hand set of mag wheels. Wheels do not fit so front driver’s side-wheel replace using Ford supplied wheel brace [important] - vibrations [visually] evident on drive to Gatton l. Return drive vibration greatly reduced. m. Arrive back in Ipswich check wheel nut tension on replace wheel. [Remembered reading in Ford Manual that tension should be 60f/lb for my model] n. Discovered that replaced wheel somewhere between 55 - 65f/lb tension. o. Check other three wheels discover varying tension of 55 - 125f/bl with different tensions on adjacent wheel nuts. p. Set all wheel nuts to 60f/lb with wheels remaining where they are on the vehicle. q. Vibrations at 60 - 80 - 100kh/hr almost non-existent. r. Drive to DePulu Wheel Restorers [Gold Coast] to have rims checked - vibrations just noticeable at 110km/hr but otherwise non-existent. DePulu state that rims are OK. Return to Riverview - vibrations non-existent s. Search Google for 'wheel nut tension' [Australian search] and find Safety bulletin issue for Qld Give listed above. So, what have I learnt? 1. Costs to date, 2007 - 2009, approx $8,000 on vibration issue 2. I will go the Auto shop and buy a tension wrench and wheel nut socket for my vehicle. 2. I will always check wheel nut tension, 60f/lb, after work has been done on the vehicle at Tyre service place or garage. Hope this helps you. PS: I think that this issue should be listed at this site as a general info topic. Thanks again for the opportunity to post this experience and I hope that it helps others not spend al that we have on an issue that was so simple to resolve. Regards, Keith.