Vibration @ 100 S - 120 Ks

[Trumpy]

Guys,

Just as an aside to this issue.

I have had vibration to a certain extent in my car since new. Have had the tyres rebalanced serveral times (twice at ford dealers, once at a tyre place) as well as having the tailshaft balanced. Nothing cured it completely, just different levels of vibration.

I just had a new pair of tyres fitted (Michelin Pilot Preceda, will mention in a tyre thread), as well as getting the tyre fitter (Bob Janes Wollongong) to do what they call a Gold Balance, which basically involves running the rim on its own on the balance machine, matching the tyre as well as possible to the trueness of the rim, then balancing. Then when its on the car they run the on-car balancer to check it.

I have taken it for a quick run on the freeway and it felt great. Trumpy is a happy man at present.

I am off to Canberra tomorrow, so I will be able to give a better report after 2 hours or so or Hume Highway boredom, but just thought this might be something to investigate.

I also believe Jax offer a similar "gold" level balance service, and this isnt an ad for Bob Jane. I'm just happy with the service.

[bdennis]

Guys,

I just droped into the dealer and they adjusted a "plastic" weight on the tail shaft by 90deg. It seems to have made a small difference but I am not 100% convinced that it is completely fixed. I plan to test over the next few days and then go back if it is not right. (Mine had a new diff centre last week).

[Henry]

Removed bonnet protector, no change.

My bird is back at the dealer with an instruction not to return it until it is fixed.

Unfortunately I have now had to advise Fomoco that if it aint fixed this time we will be going down the independent inspection and Fair Trading route.

Hopefully from all perspectives this wont be necessary.

Hey Trumpy, we are still waiting for your update on whether the new tyres have corrected your vibrations?

[Trumpy]

Yep, I'm happy.

Have the Michelins at the front, the old Dunlop LM702s at the back (will replace with Michelins when required), as well as the gold balance service from the local Bob Jane.

All seems well for now.

And no flat spots first thing in the morning either.....

[chrislak]

It's has to be your tailshaft, mine went out of balance at 5k on the clock, go to city ford rockdale they have re balanced a heap of xr's and xt's

[Henry]

Hey Chrislak

I have been going there for 7 months and had the tailshaft balanced at least 3 times including a rebuild!

Problem still not solved.

[Zeke]

Henry

Maybe it's a silly question, but here goes. Have you, at any stage, driven the car with a set of wheels and tyres that you know are round and in perfect balance? If not, why not? Trumpy's experience seems to validate what I've been saying on this forum for some time.

In 1986, I had a 5 litre V8 SLE Commie, with Aussie made Dunlop tyres - couldn't get the car to drive like it should in spite of all sorts of hocus-pocus , including driveshaft balancing (at Southcotts). When I put a set of Jap Bridgestones the car was transformed. Have had somilar experiences recently with zeke jr's 2nd hand Magna's - vibration thru car(s) (one was written off early) until Pirelli P6000's donated by me!

So I pick u my T on a wet Friday afternoon and it vibrates thru car something awful - minor improvement only with wheel balance. Service manager starts talking Driveshaft balance/ loosen tighten exhaust etc. I take the car to Bob Jane - trade Dunlop for Michelin and problem is immrediately solved for good!

Sure, with that experience (and there've been several other cars over the years with similar stories), I'm biased, but who could blame me? My motto now is - if you are going to go over 90 kph, get quality Jap or Euro rubber. Aussie tyres, sadly, are not worth the hassle or heartbreak!

I'm not saying out of balance driveshafts don't occur - Just preaching the mantra of looking at the easy stuff first!

Cheers

zeke

PS - have posted in the past re swapping wheels with Mrs Z's 17" alloy equipped XT with Jap Dunlops to instantly identify culprits in my T.

[Henry]

Thanx Zeke

Firstly no I havent.

Why? Only recently have I found someone with wheels and tyres that they are willing to lend to me for a trial. (I did put a request on this forum without success)

The bloody thing is under warranty and has been off the road for around 20 days since new, including another 4 this week. This is a FORD problem and they should identify the source not me.

Today they ring me and say its as good as it gets. If you want to make it better replace all the rubber and we will pay for 1 of them. The tyres incidently have plenty of meat left.

Like the brake thingy, why should I have to shell out my hard earned for something which should be covered under warranty. I bet if Polites drove it down the highway he would be screaming like a wounded pig and get something done. Would he honestly accept the car as his personal car the way it is? There u go Polites, the challenge is out, come and drive it!!!

Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh, that's better.

Now Zeke, once I get the opportunity to change these wheels/tyres for myself (which incidentally the dealer said they would do, but obviously didnt) can you let me know which michelins you traded, where and what you got for your craplops?

Cheers

[Superoo]

My car ran vibration free for the first 15000K. After the service and a tyre rotation - instant vibration over 80kmph. After rebalancing and aligning, my dealer has told me my tyres are the cause. 4 weeks later they ring me and tell me I have to wait another 2 weeks for a dunlop rep to OK the replacement. Customer service.......??

Considering this vibration began immediately after a rotation, the dealer may (I hope) be on the right track. Now to get dunlop to come to the party....

[Zeke]

Henry

As posted previously, I chose the Michelin Pilot Preceda's in a hurry at 500k so the tyre dealer (Bob Jane franchise where I've spent a lot of money over the past few years) would give me $150.00ea trade-in before they were past where they would trade them at all. Not a lot, granted, but second hand tyres are hard to shift unless you're a tyre dealer and someone comes in looking for a bargain. And I just wanted my T to drive smoothly so much that I didn't hesitate to spend some cash. Service manager's comment "hate to say it, but I think you did the right thing!)

The tyres are fine - smooth, quiet and ROUND. Did well in a Wheels test - so so in a Motor test (or vice versa)

I seem to remember that the test they did the worst in they still got top marks for driver feel in the wet and the dry. That can be better for safety than outright adhesion, especially for those of us whose boy racer days are over.

Cheers

zeke