Body Wobble

[Genepaul]

Hi

 

The car not me, has a bad body wobble at around 45-55 under hard acceleration!

 

I had the half shaft and the driveshaft replaced after a total loss of drive and it was fine for about a 500 miles, it then developed this wobble, checked under the car and found most of the grease from the CV gator around the inside of the alloy, took the car back to the garage who tested various things rebalance all the wheels repacked the CV with grease, the wobble is better but still not gone.

 

Could something be have been damaged by the lack of grease?

 

Thanks

 

Kev

[Dave-G]

I doubt the CV joint ran totally dry during the 500 miles so it's unlikely to be a "dryness" problem. The fault is more likely to be incorrect location of the drive shaft - perhaps the "c" clip was not replaced properly.

[Genepaul]

Thanks Dave, is this something the garage should/could find easily as they seem to be sctratching their heads at the moment.

 

could it be something completly unrelated to the work they have done?

 

Kevin

[Guest KAS]

HI MATE GET YOUR BOTTOM ARMS CHECKED. THE BUSHES MIGHT BE WORN.

[Genepaul]

HI MATE GET YOUR BOTTOM ARMS CHECKED. THE BUSHES MIGHT BE WORN.

 

Thanks Kas, had the bottom arm bushes done last year.

 

Catch up on where we are with this one, garage has the car booked back in next Tuesday to take out the Half shaft and Driveshaft that they fitted, they are then going to refit checking that everything is ok, if this does not clear it then they will reject the parts back onto Ford and refit new parts, they are as keen to get this sorted as me as it's costing them dosh!

 

Kev

[Sher]

I presume the Drive shafts and half shafts mentioned are the same as mentioned and shown in this topic, on the Drivers/offside?

 

http://www.fordgalaxy.org.uk/ford/index.ph...10745&st=15

 

I'm interested as I have just replaced these at 66,000 miles on my 2002 Tdi Ghia 115bhp.

 

P.S. I had problems on a previous car Rover Sterling 827 that was related to the rear shock absorbers and only took place at specific speeds.

 

Has the car been used for towing a caravan?

[Dave-G]

This don't sound like a spline problem to me. More like a bent shaft, incorrectly positioned tri-thingy joint, or a bent wheel/damaged tyre.

 

Any updates please Genepaul?

[Genepaul]

Hi update is as follows,

 

Had the car back in last week and refitted the halfshaft and driveshaft to ensure that there was nothing amiss with the work that they had done, they then also twigged that they did the MOT at the same time as the original work and swopped one tyre that was almost worn for the spare that had been under the car for god knows how long! and they now suspect this as the car is still wobbling although not so bad (they swopped the side this tyre was on to see if it made any difference.

 

The car is back in tomorrow for a new tyre that i will not be paying for if it does not do the trick, so Dave you might be on the right track with the tyre suggestion, i hope.

 

Although the garage is being really good about not charging for anything till now, i am really losing patience and will seriously consider getting it looked at by someone else if this tyre does not work.

 

will let you know the outcome after the tyre change.

 

Sher, I would also asume that the bits in question are the same and the car has no towbar so has not towed.

 

Kev

Edited May 30, 2007 by Genepaul

[Genepaul]

Wow, can't believe that its been another month and no solution!!

 

Had the car back from the garage to be told, that's it nothing to do with the work we have done, take it somewhere else to get it fixed and if by some small chance it is our work we will give you a complete refund! and by the way we think it's your gearbox!

 

Well after having it back and driving it about for a couple of weeks it had got to the point of feeling like i was driving over rumble strips while accelerating from 45-50 upwards as well as the body shaking.

 

Booked it into my normal garage who I have used for the last 15 years and sods law on the way to the garage could hardly get it to shake and vitrually no rumble strip sensation, garage had it for the day and while they can feel the problem while driving are at a lose as to what the problem is, they can not see anything that appears to be wrong and suggest a visit to Fruad, while commenting it could be the gearbox, so that's two garages that don't know what it is other than "could be the gearbox"

 

One thing i have noted, everytime it comes back from the garage having been on the vehicle lift it seems better for a few days before getting worse again, maybe just a coincidence??

 

Will have to book it into Frauds next week and hold my breath i think. :16:

[Dave-G]

Wow, can't believe that its been another month and no solution!!

 

Had the car back from the garage to be told, that's it nothing to do with the work we have done, take it somewhere else to get it fixed and if by some small chance it is our work we will give you a complete refund! and by the way we think it's your gearbox!

 

Well after having it back and driving it about for a couple of weeks it had got to the point of feeling like i was driving over rumble strips while accelerating from 45-50 upwards as well as the body shaking.

 

Booked it into my normal garage who I have used for the last 15 years and sods law on the way to the garage could hardly get it to shake and vitrually no rumble strip sensation, garage had it for the day and while they can feel the problem while driving are at a lose as to what the problem is, they can not see anything that appears to be wrong and suggest a visit to Fruad, while commenting it could be the gearbox, so that's two garages that don't know what it is other than "could be the gearbox"

 

One thing i have noted, everytime it comes back from the garage having been on the vehicle lift it seems better for a few days before getting worse again, maybe just a coincidence??

 

Will have to book it into Frauds next week and hold my breath i think. :16:

 

Might be an idea to get someone to follow you for a while on roads that are reasonably quiet. That could give you a little space to find the speed it happens at without someone else slipping into the gat between you. Bugger innit?

[CM2007]

Hate to say it chum but I have heard of this once or twice on auto's and it sounds like it could be the gearbox. I hope for your sake it's not but prepare yourself.

 

Mike

[Genepaul]

Hi CM2007, Gearbox is a manual so won't be as bad as it could be.

 

Back from the second garage for two days now and has virtually stopped doing it!!!

 

Down to Plymouth and back tomorrow so will se what 360 miles does to her, booked at Fruad on Thursday and when I explained to the guy on the phone the reason for the booking he instantly said "sounds like a tyre to me"!

 

Oh well lets see what happens!

[CM2007]

Hi CM2007, Gearbox is a manual so won't be as bad as it could be.

 

Back from the second garage for two days now and has virtually stopped doing it!!!

 

Down to Plymouth and back tomorrow so will se what 360 miles does to her, booked at Fruad on Thursday and when I explained to the guy on the phone the reason for the booking he instantly said "sounds like a tyre to me"!

 

Oh well lets see what happens!

 

 

Oops, didn't realise it was manual!

Oh well, the mind boggles! I know on the e34 shape 5 series BMW's they are renowned for having sensitive front suspension. Being multi link there are many ball joints and bushes that can be at fault as well as tyres going off balance, being out of round or poorly inflated and then there's warped brake discs etc...

Not too familier with the Galaxy yet as It's only a few days old to me but I'll be doing a bit on mine over the coming weeks so will learn pretty quick!

 

I'll be very interested to hear what it was.

 

Mike

[Steve P]

Are you sure the new drive shaft is not duff? It won't be the first time in history that new parts are found to be faulty or don't last very long. Even more possible if it was a recon unit rather than new.

 

Many years ago I had a front wheel drive citroen that started to wobble quite violently under hard acceleration. This was a worn drive shaft. There was nothing to see but a replacment driveshaft fixed it.

 

Cheers

[Genepaul]

Thanks Steve P, I do think that the very fact that it has only been doing this since the new driveshaft means that in my mind this is a very suspect part, they say that they fitted genuine Ford parts, I am sure that Fruad will check this out on Thursday!

 

Well just got back from Plymouth and the journey down was not too bad but the return journy was terrible, shaking very badly every time that I accelerated, just hope it will be as bad on Thursday so that they can feel the problem at Fruad.

 

Kev

[Genepaul]

Ok update so far!

 

Fraud had the car all day yesterday and were still working on it last night, I received a phone call this morning saying that it needs new driveshafts both sides!! and will not get it back till Monday as they need to order them.

 

So obviously a claim coming on against the original garage, fitted original Ford parts with 12 month guarantee and 12 months guarantee on the work that they did.

 

Need to speak to the Ford guys on Monday and check whether in their opinion the faulty or incorrectly fitted new one could have caused the problem with the other one? anyone have any thoughts on this theory? should I go for full cost of repair from the original garage.

 

Suppose the other theory could be that Ford just suspect the problem is Driveshaft related and therefore are just changing them both :P

 

Just be glad to get the car back on Monday with no wobble, fingers crossed that it will actaully be fixed!

 

Kev

[seatkid]

They should not have repacked the CV with grease - it was obviously faulty and should have been replaced.

 

The other garage have taken the opportunity "what the hell, change the other side as well!". It may well be faulty, but something tells me its not. One side failing has no bearing on the other side.

[Genepaul]

This is what I suspect, change both while they are at it!!

 

Will be asking for all the old bits that they replace as I will no doubt need them in persuit of my claim against the first garage.

[Steve P]

This could be interesting - the first garage will blame Ford for the faulty parts supplied! So who picks up the bill. Can't remember - did you have both driveshafts done originally? If not you'll be picking up the bill for one of them as it's just worn out through wear and tear ( so now you see the decision to replace the second shaft will cost you money !!).

 

Good luck!!

 

But obviously above all that I hope that your wobble is now gone.

[Genepaul]

Ok, car back from Ford and it now seems OK, very smooth in fact!

 

It would appear that the previous garage changed the Intermediate Shaft and the Drive shaft that come out of the gearbox (output flange I think it's called) and never changed the Half shaft at all!! The workshop manager showed me the old halfshafts which were both knackered and both CV joints rattled like bags of nails.

 

So hopefully I now have a car that is A ok again, suprised that both previous garages never picked up on the knackered Halfshafts though!!

 

Thanks to all for all the suggestions given.

 

Kev

[Dave-G]

Alls well that ends well - kewl :ph34r:

[Genepaul]

Only thing that doesn't look healthy at the moment is the bank balance, Fruad prices, ouch they hurt!!

[jpjp]

Hi

 

Thought I'd post here a saga for those who come after. I drove over a pothole around 20 months ago north of London. On the way back home on the M1 I noticed a judder around 50mph whilst accelerating. Really bad. Got home. Took it to the garage (not Fraud dealer. Someone who knows about cars and a personal friend). He found a slightly worn offside drive shaft (but "not too bad") nothing more. Check the mounts OK. Checked the anti roll OK. He then suspects the tyres. Back ones were rather worn so these were changed. No improvement. Swapping the back to the front and re balancing everything more than once and still nothing. Now changed the offside drive shaft. It turned out to be bad inside, ready to fail, but still the judder. Tried a Fraud fix for this by loosening the holding nuts and re tightening after starting the car a few times. No joy there either. Next try was the Dual mass flywheel. This was around 1 to 2 two teeth loose. In desperation (no promise for the mechanic) this was changed along with the clutch. Still no joy. At this point my friend was going somewhat mental. So was my bank balance! We then went down to T4 on the beach in Weston. On the way back I noticed "no judder". It just disappeared. So we were all happy. Even drove down to Italy and back 2,500 miles. Still no problem. One month later it was back just as bad. Now the nearside half shaft was slightly loose. Changed and now its totally totally gone!!! Only took one year to fix.

 

I am so glad I didnt go to the dealer. All this would have cost a fortune.

 

 

Hope this helps someone

[mumof4]

thank you for the post and letting us know.Much appreciated ;)

[skippy 2]

Thanks Steve P, I do think that the very fact that it has only been doing this since the new driveshaft means that in my mind this is a very suspect part, they say that they fitted genuine Ford parts, I am sure that Fruad will check this out on Thursday!

 

Well just got back from Plymouth and the journey down was not too bad but the return journy was terrible, shaking very badly every time that I accelerated, just hope it will be as bad on Thursday so that they can feel the problem at Fruad.

 

Kev

Its interesting tyres were mentioned as I have experienced wobble on my old car. I thought it was the steering as thats where it felt it was coming from. It turned out to be a bubble on the tyre even though you couldn't see it. A new tyre cured the wobble.