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[Webby the Bear]

....sorry to keep posting help threads but since my ma hit the kerb theres been a few issues 

Hopefully sorted my suspension issues but the other thing I completely forgot to mention was that ever since the kerb-smack there's a barely perceptible steering wheel vibration between 25 and 30mph.

am I right in thinking main culprit would be wheel balancing.....

if not that then to look for a bent wheel/bad tyre....

and if not that we're talking bent wishbone? which bearing in mind the creaking has reared its ugly head with confirmation today of the fubar'd wishbone bush could it be that it all started from a bent WB?

cheers boys and I promise ill bugger off soon 

[jonny2112]

Sounds about right to me 
Don't know how much force it would take to bend the wb, but something else might suffer first?

[Webby the Bear]

Thanks Jonny. To be honest even if it was bent its not a problem.... the bushes need doing so it only means I get it (or them) out from under the car as opposed to doing it in situ...

...although just for convenience I hope it's the wheel balancing 

[jonny2112]

I'm in the process of organising 4 wheel setup,  but having read your posts I'm now considering some preventative maintenance. Wb are already poly'd, and new droplinks fitted this year, but wondering if it's worth new tie rods? No mention at mot in September though, so is it a case of " if it's not broke ........."?

[Shackeng]

In my experience wheel balance issues have always shown up at higher speeds than that. However they may still happen at lower speeds.

[Webby the Bear]

I'm in the process of organising 4 wheel setup,  but having read your posts I'm now considering some preventative maintenance. Wb are already poly'd, and new droplinks fitted this year, but wondering if it's worth new tie rods? No mention at mot in September though, so is it a case of " if it's not broke ........."?

Wouldn't have thought it's necessary mate... unless you find something suspect 

[Webby the Bear]

In my experience wheel balance issues have always shown up at higher speeds than that. However they may still happen at lower speeds.

Yeah same as mate/...last one was at 70-80. but ill see if I can get them balanced at college.

presumably if you had a bent/buckled wheel that wasn't immediately visible this would be found out on the balancing machine when it tells you that you need to add 2 tonnes on? lol

[jonny2112]

I'm in the process of organising 4 wheel setup,  but having read your posts I'm now considering some preventative maintenance. Wb are already poly'd, and new droplinks fitted this year, but wondering if it's worth new tie rods? No mention at mot in September though, so is it a case of " if it's not broke ........."?

Wouldn't have thought it's necessary mate... unless you find something suspect 

Yep, think I'll leave it alone for now.

[chrisgixer]

....sorry to keep posting help threads but since my ma hit the kerb theres been a few issues 

Hopefully sorted my suspension issues but the other thing I completely forgot to mention was that ever since the kerb-smack there's a barely perceptible steering wheel vibration between 25 and 30mph.

am I right in thinking main culprit would be wheel balancing.....

if not that then to look for a bent wheel/bad tyre....

and if not that we're talking bent wishbone? which bearing in mind the creaking has reared its ugly head with confirmation today of the fubar'd wishbone bush could it be that it all started from a bent WB?

cheers boys and I promise ill bugger off soon 

Bent wishbone won't cause a vibration, it will bugger the geometry and the steering will be off. But a knackered wb bush might cause a wobble on the steering.

Wheel or tyre damage is usually present at all speeds in ine form or another, ime.

Tbh Webby, I would hope that the wheels and tyres have been thoroughly inspected and that the owner is 100% cirtain there is no issue at all in that area, before the car is driven again.

[Webby the Bear]

....sorry to keep posting help threads but since my ma hit the kerb theres been a few issues 

Hopefully sorted my suspension issues but the other thing I completely forgot to mention was that ever since the kerb-smack there's a barely perceptible steering wheel vibration between 25 and 30mph.

am I right in thinking main culprit would be wheel balancing.....

if not that then to look for a bent wheel/bad tyre....

and if not that we're talking bent wishbone? which bearing in mind the creaking has reared its ugly head with confirmation today of the fubar'd wishbone bush could it be that it all started from a bent WB?

cheers boys and I promise ill bugger off soon 

Bent wishbone won't cause a vibration, it will bugger the geometry and the steering will be off. But a knackered wb bush might cause a wobble on the steering.

Wheel or tyre damage is usually present at all speeds in ine form or another, ime.

Tbh Webby, I would hope that the wheels and tyres have been thoroughly inspected and that the owner is 100% cirtain there is no issue at all in that area, before the car is driven again.

Yeah my initial post doesn't really highlight the inspections I've been doing... apologies for that.

I've had the wheels off and gave them a good going over.... no odd tyre wear, no bulges or cuts or anything untoward. I span the wheels and also cant see anything odd.

I suppose what I was really getting at is finding a buckle that was imperceptible to the eye cos obviously I don't have anything other than them to look for issues, that's why I asked if a balancing machine would pick up something I couldn't spot just by looking

[chrisgixer]

Balancer can still balance an out of round wheel. So although balanced it will still vibrate.

Did you check the inboard rim? This is the weakest as there's no spokes to support it. The outboard rim can take a lot more hammer than the inboard side. Apologies if stating the obvious there.

Just spin the wheel by hand, you may need to push the callipers back a tad so it spins nice and freely, so you can observe the rim edge clearly.

But if your happy with the wheels for damage, time to re balance. But as said, a balance issue usually shows act higher speeds IMO. 70-90 being the most likely Ime.

[Webby the Bear]

not stating the obvious at all chris... id rather every avenue was looked at before condemning parts as faulty 

going to be honest I looked at the inside wall of the tires whe they were off and I looked at the outside when I was spinning.... I didn't spin them whilst observing the inboard wheel  .... but what you've said makes total sense and ill get a look tomorrow morning as im in college late tomorrow 

[omega3000]

I think your just dreaming up all these issues at night , you just want to take your car to bits for practice really  Wanna fix my handbrake 

[Webby the Bear]

Once again, sorry to post again regarding this but i am just trying to get myself a list of what i need to do to get the car riding tip top again. For some reason my slow brain is making this a bit of a mountain out of a molehill. 

Can i ask this first.... as i've mentioned i've been under the car and pried on everything. if a steering or a suspension component was bent would it be loose and immediately obvious when i started prying on components? Reason is cos i feel i've done all the checks i can as i've pried on everything and using this method the only thing i've found bad is the wish bone bushes.

when i take it to WIM (which i'm going to do after i've rectified this small vibration and the suspension creaking) i obviously want the car to be geo'd with all components healthy....otherwise i risk having to replace further parts and then paying for another alignment.

So below is what i plan to do and why.... can you let me know if there's anything else i can do....

looking at the 25-30mph vibration first...
1.) Recheck for wheel being buckled, outboard and inboard (i'm confident it's not this as i've checked them but i'm going to check and triple-check for good measure)
2.) Wheels re-balanced

Suspension creaks from rear and front...
1.) replace front wishbone bushes... there's definitely slop there and was an advisory on MOT anyway.
2.) replace ARB bushes... going to do these for good measure as they're easy and as a preventative measure
3.) replace donut bushes... as mentioned by chris these didnt give any play or movement at all (pushed on the rubber bumps) but the noise definitely went away when soaked in silicone spray. again not overly expensive and quite happy to replace them based on the testing and all other components were tight
4.) wheel alignment and steering geo at WIM.

one final thing....is there any seperate checks on the steering i can do other than prying for looseness? as said i'm keen to not get to WIM and hand over £115 for them to set it up and some part of the steering is bent and have to then replace that and have another alignment done....OR can the alignment/steering geo still be done with a bent part as it will just have to compensate for it... i assume not but i thought i'd ask.

cheers boys. sorry for huge post but just feel i'm a bit outta my depth as i have little to no experience of these and it's such a critical and detailed part of the car

[Webby the Bear]

I think your just dreaming up all these issues at night , you just want to take your car to bits for practice really  Wanna fix my handbrake 

Hahaha dreaming they'll go away mate