What is causing the shake

gastons

2004 Megane. Tracking was off, drivers front wheel had some wear on the inside of the wheel as the tracking was off. There is a shake on the front of the car when it hits around 40mph. Its grand when you drive under or over that speed. Got a new tyre put on and the balancing and tracking done, thought that was causing the shake. It's still shaking. What could it be?

El Guapo!

Could be a buckled wheel. If you have a spare, put that on and see if the vibration is still there. If it's gone, you know it's a problem with the wheel (probably a buckle.)
If it's still there, then it's time to take a closer look at the suspension.

gastons

That was the original thought, but got a new tyre put on today and its still there.

El Guapo!

gastons wrote: »

That was the original thought, but got a new tyre put on today and its still there.

I mean the wheel itself could be buckled. Not the tyre.

slimjimmc

If the vibration is mainly felt though the steering it's usually the front wheels, otherwise it's usually a problem with the back wheels.
In my experience bad wheel balance is usually felt at higher speeds than 60km/h so you could have a dented rim as mentioned above or you could have a damaged tyre. Tyre damage may not be obvious as it could be internal or gone out of roundness (I've had a tyre go oval shaped and eventually develop a flat spot).
The Megane II is also prone to worn tie rods but you'd notice this from a slight knocking in the steering. I suggest you have all your wheels and tyres properly examined first then look at the suspension.

BTW, you only fitted a (one) new tyre so the problem could be in the other tyres.

gastons

It shakes the front of the car only. It only happens at that speed. I am bringing it to get checked tomorrow and hopefully get an answer.

paulgalway

Have the same issue with my 2005 megane.

Mentioned it to mechanic when car was in for service. Think he suggested it may be engine mounts.

Stavros Murphy

Could be warped brake disc.

JohnBoy26

El Guapo! wrote: »

I mean the wheel itself could be buckled. Not the tyre.

The wheel couldn't of been balanced if it was buckled

challengemaster

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

The wheel couldn't of been balanced if it was buckled

Yes it could

JohnBoy26

challengemaster wrote: »

Yes it could

Sorry no that's not what I meant to say. I meant to say that a buckle would be apparent to the tyre place when balancing the wheels.

CJhaughey

Swap wheels back to front, diagonally if they are directional tyres.
I always ask for all 4 wheels to be balanced when I fit tyres as I swap them over to equalise wear.

bear1

No one has mentioned the drive shafts yet.

gastons

I saw a mechanic today. He was baffled and couldn't understand the shake. He said I needed another tyre. I went back to the tyre place from yesterday. He took it for a spin, he thought there might be a bend in the drive shaft. He put the car up on the lift. Turns out I needed 3 tyres. He took them off, replaced the tyres, and tried to balance them. He wasn't able. The rims were f**ked. I needed the 4 rims replaced. I have the rims got, so I'll be back tomorrow to get them done on the car. Hopefully that is the problem.

bbam

gastons wrote: »

I saw a mechanic today. He was baffled and couldn't understand the shake. He said I needed another tyre. I went back to the tyre place from yesterday. He took it for a spin, he thought there might be a bend in the drive shaft. He put the car up on the lift. Turns out I needed 3 tyres. He took them off, replaced the tyres, and tried to balance them. He wasn't able. The rims were f**ked. I needed the 4 rims replaced. I have the rims got, so I'll be back tomorrow to get them done on the car. Hopefully that is the problem.

Worrying that it wasn't seen when changing the first tyre.

gastons

The first tyre that was changed was the best out of the bad bunch. I thought this myself and questioned it.

CJhaughey

Who is driving the car that is able to bend 4 rims?
I can understand potholes ruining maybe 1 or 2 on the same side, but Carlos Sainz would hardly do all 4 in the Dakar Rally! Maybe someone needs to slow down and avoid potholes or stop kerbing the wheels.
If a wheel is damaged a tyre is prone to damage as well.

gastons

CJhaughey wrote: »

Who is driving the car that is able to bend 4 rims?
I can understand potholes ruining maybe 1 or 2 on the same side, but Carlos Sainz would hardly do all 4 in the Dakar Rally! Maybe someone needs to slow down and avoid potholes or stop kerbing the wheels.
If a wheel is damaged a tyre is prone to damage as well.

We only got the car a week ago.

back from the tyre place. All rims are changed, new tyres put on, all balanced fine.

The car is still shaking and I have forked out €300.

I have seen a few different mechanics, no one knows what is causing it.

H3llR4iser

CJhaughey wrote: »

Who is driving the car that is able to bend 4 rims?
I can understand potholes ruining maybe 1 or 2 on the same side, but Carlos Sainz would hardly do all 4 in the Dakar Rally! Maybe someone needs to slow down and avoid potholes or stop kerbing the wheels.
If a wheel is damaged a tyre is prone to damage as well.

They can get bent at different times. If you drive on bad roads, it's easier to make it happen than it sounds.

Bending all four, or at least the front two, is also easier than one may think: all that's needed is an unmarked speedbump of the "Mount Blanc" variety at night; Go over it as slow as 40 kph, and you will f'up up a lot of stuff, rims first


OP, in all this we are lacking a very important bit of information: does the steering wheel shake in your hands with the vibration, or do you just feel it through the car body? It would narrow down the search area.

Also, we know the problem only appears around 40 mph and not above or below that, but what are the other characteristics? In particular:

1. Does it happen under acceleration?
2. Does it happen while coasting?
3. Does the vibration persist if you disengage the clutch while it is observable?
4. Did you try reaching the same speed in a different gear than usual and check if the problem shows up in the exact same way?

bear1

Before you keep throwing more money at buying wheels etc, have your driveshafts checked out.

nc19

Common problems with meganes are track/tie rods and (less so) wishbones

gastons

The steering wheel doesn't shake, just the front of the car.

I have tried different gears, it shakes worse in 3rd or 4th. 5th gear, it shakes but not as bad.

Taking foot off the accelerator and dropping the speed does not make it shake. Only when building up the speed.

I have had all the wheels checked, also tie and track rods. There are no problems.

I am going to a different guy tomorrow to get the drive shaft checked. Is it a big job? Will it take long?

bear1

gastons wrote: »

The steering wheel doesn't shake, just the front of the car.

I have tried different gears, it shakes worse in 3rd or 4th. 5th gear, it shakes but not as bad.

Taking foot off the accelerator and dropping the speed does not make it shake. Only when building up the speed.

I have had all the wheels checked, also tie and track rods. There are no problems.

I am going to a different guy tomorrow to get the drive shaft checked. Is it a big job? Will it take long?

Tbh those symptoms sounds seriously like the driveshaft issues I was getting with my Alfa - I think it was the inner shaft but I'm not sure.
It's not such a big job, probably 2 hours should be enough. Depending how good the mechanic is.
Another thought: Could also be an engine mount.

H3llR4iser

bear1 wrote: »

Tbh those symptoms sounds seriously like the driveshaft issues I was getting with my Alfa - I think it was the inner shaft but I'm not sure.
It's not such a big job, probably 2 hours should be enough. Depending how good the mechanic is.
Another thought: Could also be an engine mount.

I would agree with Bear1, driveshaft or engine mount. Being a Megane, I would suspect more the second than the fist, but really needs to be checked. Did you try doing some VERY HARD accelerations in 1st and 2nd gear?

gastons

I had the engine mounts checked, but I will mention them again tomorrow.

Would the drive shaft cost much? Heart is broken paying out so much already.

I haven't done the speed in 1st or 2nd. Would it help with the answer if I did it?

Interslice

Where are you based OP?

Kingser

If the front yet not the steering wheel is shaking, I would agree with some posters on engine mounts.

Do them drive shafts have a rubber weight on them?

gastons

I'm based in longford.

Interslice

gastons wrote: »

I'm based in longford.

I know a good renault mechanic but he's in Meath. Maybe someone can recommend someone closer.

noelf

gastons wrote: »

2004 Megane. Tracking was off, drivers front wheel had some wear on the inside of the wheel as the tracking was off. There is a shake on the front of the car when it hits around 40mph. Its grand when you drive under or over that speed. Got a new tyre put on and the balancing and tracking done, thought that was causing the shake. It's still shaking. What could it be?

My sons polo gti had similar fault throttle body required cleaning

H3llR4iser

gastons wrote: »

I had the engine mounts checked, but I will mention them again tomorrow.

Would the drive shaft cost much? Heart is broken paying out so much already.

I haven't done the speed in 1st or 2nd. Would it help with the answer if I did it?

I had a top engine mount break on my old MK I Megane, and it took quite a while to diagnose. In my case, the noise/vibration was mostly felt while accelerating hard from a standstill in 1st, 2nd and 3rd - essentially the engine moved inside the compartment due to the broken mount and one of the pulleys touched the bodywork producing the vibration.

Opening the bonnet or lifting the car for inspection produced no results, as everything looked fine with the car stationary. It took...trying to move the engine in the bay with a crowbar to actually see the mount wobbling