Steering wheel judder at speed

[RichC4]

I'm getting some annoying wobble / judder through the steering and to a lesser extent through the seat above about 50 mph. The steering wheel is visibly shaking about half an inch while this happens.

It has done it a little since I bought it, but seems worse today which coincided with new tyres.

Is this normal? Is something knackered?

I'd kind of thought it might be wheel balancing but having had the tyres changed today that should now be fixed, unless the garage really messed it up of course.

Other thoughts, alignment? Suspension? Steering (seems less likely as its rear as well as front)? Buckled wheels?

 

[karl2000]

As it's got worse with the new tyres, I'd be double checking the new wheel balancing! Maybe a weight fell off or sommat!

 

[RichC4]

As an aside, how much alignment correction can be done on these given the solid rear axle?

 

[BobMurphy]

Check the front driveshaft CV Joints and the Tripod Bearing & cage on the inner end of the shafts.

Steering arm ball joints.

Front shock absorbers.

Front wheel bearings.

Wheel alignment.

If any (or a combination) of these has undue play it could cause a shudder.

If these all check-out OK it will likely be something bizarre - loose body mount, Engine or gearbox mounting, caster angle, steering rack attachment bolts the list is endless.

Eliminate one at a time, and good luck.

Bob.

 

[RichC4]

I think I have found the culprit. It's certainly not helping. Nearside rear shock. Pretty sure that's meant to be attached.

Thoughts on shocks, I notice roughtrax has some aftermarket stuff, are they worth it over something more OE?

 

[diggerdave]

I've used Monroe, Pedders and Tokico. All of them were fine. My OE shocks went exactly like yours, with the top stud snapping off. A matter of age I think, rather than inherent problem with the shock.

 

[RichC4]

New shocks are on. It rides a lot better, but I'm still getting the judder. It comes and goes without any obvious cause.

I'm thinking getting the wheels aligned is probably a good next step?

 

[Bmonck]

I had a similar issue. It was a rear prop shaft Cv joint. Problem is that you can’t really tell if they are partly seized /not fully flexible without taking them off. As an aside I also paid up for a toyota replacement (much more expensive than an after market one) but it has significantly larger holes for the grease. So figured it was worth doing. One Cv joint and problem solved.

 

[RichC4]

Feels like I might have to just start stripping things down and seeing what looks good.

 

[AndycruiserguyLomas]

I see a slippery slope appearing on the horizon.

 

[AndycruiserguyLomas]

In relation to the judder BFG's ( especially the KO2's) can be buggers to balance. I've had the local tyre place I use shift them round 180 on the rim to get a better balance. The simplest thing to try if you have juddering through the steering is to swap the fronts to the back and see how that is ( cheapest/ simplest option first).

On the subject of slippery slope , having bought my Collie a couple of weeks ago seem to be working on it constantly to get it to where I want it to be so you're not on your own.

Getting there:-

Next job, straighten that sidestep out.

 

[Aeroelastic]

Nice stance. What size tyres is her on? And offset of the rim?

 

[RichC4]

Yeah I think it might just be the balance is off. I'm thinking I'll pop to the local tyre place and get them to look at balance and alignment.

 

[Lancashire Cruiser]

That looks an incredibly straight and unmolested Collie you have Andy

 

[AndycruiserguyLomas]

Nice stance. What size tyres is her on? And offset of the rim?

Wheels are 8x16 with +8 offset. Tyres are 275/70/16. They are a just about fit without a lift. 80 wheels look good on a Collie but stick out a fraction further. I've had the wheels ages and previously had them on my 24V auto 80.

 

[AndycruiserguyLomas]

That looks an incredibly straight and unmolested Collie you have Andy

Yep its not bad, I've owned it previously ( it was a barn find) and bought it back. Its done 87K now. The bonnet and roof need a bit of paintwork so its booked in for that. The aircon needed a pipe so I'm on with that but everything works including the diff lock and the electric aerial. I did consider making it into a green laner and modding it up but its too nice to not keep original. Underneath is the best I've seen.

 

[SteveJB]

With wheel balancing problems some have used Dyna Beads with some success more a HGV use and finding a tyre dealer that has them on the shelf near you

 

[Lancashire Cruiser]

There seem to be so many Collies that are destined for the scrapyard in a few years time due to chassis corrosion or will have been off roaded to death, a nice original unmolested Collie will be worth holding on to.

 

[Lancashire Cruiser]

This one is mine, totally stock, nice interior and body and with a mint chassis, hoping to keep this for a good few years.

I

 

[RichC4]

Update on this, had the wheels rebalanced, turns out they were way off - one was 175g out of balance. Running smooth now.