Wobble through steering wheel?

[vfr800]

Hi

Before last winter my car was aligned perfectly - no issues and no wobbles etc.

Back in the winter when it snowed, I managed to slide the car at low speed and clip the NSF wheel on a curb, which knocked the alignment out a bit.

A day or so later, and before I'd had a chance to get it realigned I drove into a long down-hill car park. I turned down the hill to and pulled forwards to find the car park wasn't covered in snow it was compacted - zero friction - ice. I decided it would be a good idea to stop. Physics said NO!

So. Brakes on. ABS juddering. Car still moving forward and showing no signs of stopping - felt like it was speeding up.

The car must have been travelling at about 5-10 MPH when I got to the end of the car park and the NSF wheel hit and went over a curb surrounding some foliage. The wheel and tyre hit the curb dead square. It was a nasty bump and I'm pretty sure it bent the alloy a little as I had a wobble from the NSF like it was out of balance afterwards.

The garage checked out the car and realigned it and gave it a clean bill of health. But I still had a wobble that could be felt through the steering wheel.

Since I've got new/different alloys which have been refurbed, balanced, checked etc. I still get a bit of vibration which is annoying.

What would cause vibration through the steering column?
Hub? Hub Carrier/Bearing Housing? Subframe? Wishbone? Suspension Damper? Trackrod? Bearing?

How do I get the car checked or what do I replace first - bearing in mind the garage couldn't find any damage the first time round?

Liam

 

[Westy]

Might be worth dropping ASN member "Rhubarb" a PM as he had a bent wishbone from a similar incident. His might have been a bit more obvious though a his drivers wheel was catching the arch liner on full lock and you could see that the wheel wasn't central.

Have a search on here for topics started by him and I'm sure you'll find some pics of it.

 

[jojo]

Need more info on vibrations, does it happen as you pick up speed or during braking etc.? At the moment, we only know you have a vibration, and that you've clipped your car twice, that's how I'm reading it anyways.

 

[vfr800]

Thanks Guys.

Thanks. Yeah I remember rhubarb had a wonkyness. I'll look that up. But the car has had a 4 wheel alignment and comes back 100% straight.

OK. so through the steering wheel I get a small amount of 'wobble' or it feels like rotation of the steering wheel - very very small <1-2mm but . It increases in frequency (not amplitude) with speed 50MPH + although it's more noticeable at 'private road' speeds the car doesn't feel unstable like a failing damper/spring. (new front springs about a year ago)
I can still feel it under braking but I don't recall feeling feedback through the pedal - it doesn't (noticeably) impair the braking and slows/dies/fades with retardation.
I can't feel any thing adverse happening during cornering - at least nothing unsettling the car.

I don't know how to describe it but it doesn't feel like an unbalanced wheel. And these are completely new/straight wheels since the bumps occurred anyhow.

It's obviously something rotational but doesn't amplify with speed just increases in frequency. It makes me think it's non-mass related i.e. something slightly bent close to the rotational centre of mass. So Hub Flange, Hub Carrier, Drive Shaft?

I'm close to buying a subframe with hubs, driveshafts and wishbones to swap it all ... just in case ... ?

Liam

 

[jojo]

Rhubarb didn't have steering wobble, he couldn't align his car properly due to a bent lower arm and knackered subframe. But I did notice his wheel was wonky on the the move, so he swopped it anyways, and replaced the faulty parts, now it all tracks up and handles aswell!

On your car, rotate your wheels front to back to eliminate the wheels!

 

[vfr800]

Rhubarb didn't have steering wobble, he couldn't align his car properly due to a bent lower arm and knackered subframe. But I did notice his wheel was wonky on the the move, so he swopped it anyways, and replaced the faulty parts, now it all tracks up and handles aswell!

On your car, rotate your wheels front to back to eliminate the wheels!

Ah yeah I remember now.

Yes I've done that before - still got da wobbble.

Liam