After a bit of opinion/advice please on this problem.
Recently bought an 06 Mondeo 2.0 petrol Ghia hatch, 1 owner, Ford SH, only 60k miles, lovely clean car.
However I've noticed for a while it shakes/vibrates slightly at motorway speeds. It starts at around 60mph and carries on right up until 85mph, well thats as high as I've been (in Germany!).
There are 'sweet' spots of no vibration around 75mph and 80mph, but overall you can feel it through the steering wheel and through the bases of both front seats. On a long journey its annoying.
Its wearing Michelin Pilots all around on 16" Ford alloys, all look in good arder, no cuts or bulges, tyre pressures are as recomended by Ford. I've had the wheels rebalanced and swapped from to back and this hasn't made any difference...
Its got a years warranty, but before I let a garage look at it, any ideas?
Its recently had new front disk and pads, but it brakes from speed without any judder, so those should be OK. I'm thinking maybe a driveshaft is damaged, maybe its had a big clobber on a kerb at some point prior to my ownership?
Edited by Pugugly on 19/08/2009 at 17:42
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You have possibly got a defective tyre that's out of round. Jack up each wheel in turn to just above the ground and rotate it watching for any difference in ground clearance as it turns.
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He has swopped the tyres round and it made no difference,try the lower wishbone for starters and have the car tracked up on a laser you have to inspect every rubber and every joint you can normally tell if its balancing that wobble comes in at 65 to 70 mph when its over 80 it is normally worn parts or tracking.
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Yep the wheels/tyres have been swapped front to back. The original fronts are low on tread, but still have a couple of months left in them, the tread blocks also look to be slightly 'feathered' in the wear pattern, but as swapping front to back has made no difference, so it cant be the tyres.
I wouldnt have thought its tracking, as the car runs perfectly straight at speed, no bias to either direction, no movement under braking also...
So you reckon its a worn bush/component in the front suspension? I think I'll drop it in to my local Ford garage under warranty and get them to check the suspension out. Incidentaly the suspension feels very good and firm, no rattling noises of worn bushes.
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Bit of an update...
After driving 1600 miles across Europe and back, 800 back to the Uk fully laden, with a roof box and tyres pressures blown up to max load, it seems a lot better.
Cruising down the M5 today, with tyres pressures at normal levels, its not shaking at all.
Maybe it had been stood at the dealer for a while and the tyres had 'flat spotted', got out of shape and the heavy usage has worn them back straight again??
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keep your eyes on them then,tyres dont like standing for periods and your long journey might have cured or stressed them
saw a right blow out today in the boot of a car,if its still there tommorow i will take a picture
glad i wasnt at the wheel
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You said:
"the tread blocks also look to be slightly 'feathered'"
I'd use that as a starting point. Incorrectly set tracking doesn't necessarily mean it will pull to one side.
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