Vibration when engine under load.

Anonymous · June 18, 2005, 01:03

Hi all,

Recently the 2 has developed a shake/vibration which seems to be coming from the rear of the car (but I can't be sure). This only happens when the engine is under load. It's very faint in all gears from around 30mph. But once you reach 70-80 it is seriously uncomfortable. It's not alway the same intesity too. Some weeks it worse than others.

There's no obvious signs of missing wheel balancing weights. What could be causing this?

Cheers all,

Anonymous · June 18, 2005, 09:06

Possibly wheel alignment s:?: :?: s:?:

darrenjuggins · June 18, 2005, 09:52

Hi,

What about engine mount failure ? possibility ?

Cheers

Darren J

Tem · June 18, 2005, 14:40

Any chance your clutch is slipping?

Anonymous · June 18, 2005, 14:48

Does the problem happen when you rev your 2 while stationary??

Anonymous · June 19, 2005, 00:14

Quote from: "DavidM"Does the problem happen when you rev your 2 while stationary??

It does not shake when stationary or whilst in neutral and revved - the problem only appears exists whilst in gear and under load.

I thought the clutch might be a possibility but I'm going to rule out the wheel balancing first! Can anyone else suggest a reason for this?

Cheers,

Anonymous · June 19, 2005, 00:44

not got much experience at this sort of thing, but check all your heatshields. I had one underneath that would make the worst ever rattling/vibrating sound when under load, at about 2k rpm, ie, at 30mph in 3rd, or 40mph in 4th, that is, when you're driving through town centre and dont want embarassing rattles!!!

When the engine was warm, it was at about 2k rpm (when under load)... when stood still it was only just noticeable when you gave it some gas, as a slight 'tick' on the up, but then nothing when the revs dropped again... only really noticeable when accelerating past 2k rpm when warm, but it was really noticeable at the right (or wrong) point!

good luck either way!!!

Tem · June 19, 2005, 10:34

I believe he has a shake/vibration, not just a sound.

Anonymous · June 19, 2005, 11:32

There's no sound or rattling, it's a shake/vibration.

Thanks for the input though.

Anonymous · June 30, 2005, 23:52

Hey Noble

I've just been hit with the same thing!

As you said, I don't get much of a vibration until I get to 80mph! Tried the engine at a range of revs, but only get it at that kind of speed.

Going to take my car in to have the wheel balancing looked at asap - so did you manage to find the cause of the vibration??

Anonymous · July 1, 2005, 13:30

wheel bearing?

Anonymous · July 1, 2005, 18:49

Hi all,

I've not had chance at all to get it checked yet, but I'm taking it in for balancing and alignment this weekend so I hope to have an answer for you all.

Cheers

Anonymous · July 4, 2005, 20:16

Snap Noble!

Mine is having the balancing checked tomorrow, so I'll post what the result is on here..

Anonymous · July 4, 2005, 21:12

I've just had the wheels balanced and it hasn't made any difference. Paid £20 for all the wheels to be balanced and just as I turn into my street from a 20 mile trip home I hear one of the wheel weights falling off!! So I'm off up there again tomorrow to get it put back on.

The only other things I can think of are alignment, bushes or clutch...

Anymore input from you guys???

Jap GT300 · July 5, 2005, 07:39

Are you suspension struts bolted hard inside the turrets?

Anonymous · July 5, 2005, 15:33

Quote from: "Jap GT300"Are you suspension struts bolted hard inside the turrets?

I never thought to check strut top bolts. Surely they wouldn't work loose?!??
I remember reading something about strut top bushes being noisy ages ago (something which my '2 suffers from incidentally) - do you mean this?

Anonymous · July 5, 2005, 18:40

Hi

Well just had two new rear tyres put on and everything rebalanced..

The nasty judder has now gone so back to driving at normal speeds again!

Noble, are all your tyres okay?

Anonymous · July 5, 2005, 18:49

All tyres seem ok and are less than six months old. All have at least 6mm of tread left and are wearing evenly.

kanujunkie · July 5, 2005, 18:52

Quote from: "Noble"All tyres seem ok and are less than six months old. All have at least 6mm of tread left and are wearing evenly.

but are they balanced, wear can mean jack

Anonymous · July 5, 2005, 19:19

Quote from: "kanujunkie"but are they balanced, wear can mean jack

I had all four wheels balanced yesterday. Didn't make a difference.

Anonymous · July 30, 2005, 14:33

Well I've just come back from having a proper 4 wheel laser alignment done. It showed the tracking to be just a tiny bit out on both driver side wheels. (osf + osr) It was rectified and it still has not made any difference at all.

I'm beginning to think it might be something to do with the drivetrain or a completely perished bush which I cannot see...!

This might be unrelated but when I corner fast and consistently it feels like the chassis is twisting - and if I back off mid corner the car seems to steer-in sharply and gives the feeling of instability!
Why is this? Are the two problems related.

As always, any feedback is gratefully received.

Anonymous · July 30, 2005, 22:33

Quote from: "Noble"I'm beginning to think it might be something to do with the drivetrain or a completely perished bush which I cannot see...!

This might be unrelated but when I corner fast and consistently it feels like the chassis is twisting - and if I back off mid corner the car seems to steer-in sharply and gives the feeling of instability!
Why is this? Are the two problems related.

As always, any feedback is gratefully received.

My 2¢ from the US-
The tire(s) could be out of round. Have you checked this? If the tire(s) are in warranty, this could warrant a replacement.
On the second item, you are possibly experiencing "lift throttle oversteer", and, carried to an extreme, this can launch you in a totally unexpected direction. Best to stay on the pedal in a corner so as not to unweight the rear and add another problem to your list! s:lol: :lol: s:lol:
Good luck!
Bruce

Anonymous · July 30, 2005, 23:30

Quote from: "ITSMR2U"My 2¢ from the US-
The tire(s) could be out of round. Have you checked this? If the tire(s) are in warranty, this could warrant a replacement.
On the second item, you are possibly experiencing "lift throttle oversteer", and, carried to an extreme, this can launch you in a totally unexpected direction. Best to stay on the pedal in a corner so as not to unweight the rear and add another problem to your list! s:lol: :lol: s:lol:
Good luck!
Bruce

Thanks for the feedback.

How can tyres become out of round? I've never heard of this - unless you mean a bulge in the sidewall of the tyre?

On the Lift Oversteer - I realise that's the problem but I've never, ever experienced it so severely before (and I've driven a fair few motors!).

Cheers.

SteveJ · July 31, 2005, 00:07

It is NOT 'lift-off oversteer' - the sensation you are getting is actually a reduction in under-steer that is caused by the diff being locked when under acceleration that then unlocks as the power is removed causing the car to turn in more sharply. J-Spec cars (without the LSD) do not suffer this problem, and CAN be provoked into lift-off oversteer which is a far more violent and unpredictable.

Agreed if you are not ready for it and you have put too much steering input in trying to counteract the effect of the diff being locked then you can find yourself loosing the rear of the car as you discover just how much front-end grip the '2 really has.

Anonymous · August 4, 2005, 13:26

Not sure if you have managed to sort it out but it sounds like your wheels need balancing. It's usually more noticeable on the front wheels as the vibration can be felt through the steering wheel...