Car problems due to lockdown

Tankers come into Millford Haven with liquid gas

 

Hi All,

Know this is not a car mechanics forum but just thought while a lots of you were following this car post there might be some ideas as to the cause of our little problem ..?

Our old style Toyota Corolla FWD is in good order but this year when doing small trips on the motorway noticed a slight vibration though the floor /seat and our feet and calf muscles once we went over 60mph

Put it down to the rear tyres being nearly worn down the limit and assumed the balance was being affected.

Had two new Goodyears fitted the other week and when we had a trip out all seems ok, until we got above 60 again and the vibration was very bad, so much so we had to finish the motorway journey under 60.

Inspected the new tyres for run out and bulges etc but all seemed ok, so thought the guy may have balanced them incorrectly, as does happen.

Just thought before going back to the tyre place we would swap the new rear tyres for the fronts which were about half worn, but well in balance and never had any steering wheel vibration from them.

As any imbalance on the new tryes now being on the front, expected a load of steering wheel vibration but rock steady right up to 70 ?

However there was still vibration from the floor , but only about half as bad as with the new tyres,

This seems like the extra rubber /weight on the rears was aggravating the problem, and we suspected the shocks which at 14 years old would be well worn anyway.

Got them replaced and sure enough the old shocks were well worn, hardly being able to return the piston rod when pressed down.

So took it for a run expecting it to be nice and smooth , but no ! no change in the floor vibration level ?

Things like wheel bearing, brakes and all the suspension joints seem sound, so a bit lost as to what the cause may be.

Any ideas ?

 

At 14 years old I'd be thinking along the lines of checking drive shaft and differential.

 

Hi,

The car is fwd so the rear is just a simple torsion beam with shocks and springs plus brakes.

Seems so obvious ( to us.. ?) that three different tread depths of tyre, the old worn, the new one and the half worn tyres from the front , all affect the vibration level so distinctly, but in reverse, ie the more tread depth the worse the vibration.


As you say @Fat Controller , its an old car, though been perfect so far, but not wanting to fall into that trap of keep fitting parts on a hunch, though thing getting the new rear shock was almost essential judging by their condition.

 

Not really, 99%+ of tyres ( I meant the tyre on the wheel) are balanced off car, so it should be irrelevant what corner they are fitted to, as long as each axle has the same tyre type.

On car balancing is rarely done these days, not many garages have such equipment either.

 

Sounds like bearings. The faster you go, the worse it vibrates. Just my humble opinion.

Did you actually have them checked ?

 

Hi,

Just been double checking things today, no movement on any of the wheel bearings, no noise or sticking etc.
The Antiroll Bar bushes again no movement, though easy to replace on this model.
No clicking on the steering full locks or any unsually knocks or clunks form anything when driving.

The Tyres are Asymmetric so no worries about their position unlike the Directional ones.

Just phoned to book in for a MOT, expecting it to be next week or so, but they have a slot in the morning; its the council test center so what they do not know about Toyotas with them having to test the Taxis, perhaps they might find the trouble spot ....

 

Maybe your Tracking is out ?
Mine was,vibration above 68mph.