Bought a car with a speed vibration

harringtonp

Bought a 2004 Ford Focus a couple of months ago. It has low mileage and is in great condition but only recently noticed that there is a slight vibration once you start getting up to 120km/hr (hadn't been on a motorway with it until recently, joys of living in the west).

The vibration is felt through the steering wheel and car in general. Any ideas what the source of it may be ? The car was NCTed just before sale and wheel balancing within limits

OldMrBrennan83

harringtonp wrote: »

Bought a 2004 Ford Focus a couple of months ago. It has low mileage and is in great condition but only recently noticed that there is a slight vibration once you start getting up to 120km/hr (hadn't been on a motorway with it until recently, joys of living in the west).

The vibration is felt through the steering wheel and car in general. Any ideas what the source of it may be ? The car was NCTed just before sale and wheel balancing within limits

Do you mean the wheel balancing was checked as well as the NCT, as they don't check that in the test.

Mint Sauce

Tracking, balancing, kink in an alloy.

As said, balancing not done in test.

RobMc59

harringtonp wrote: »

Bought a 2004 Ford Focus a couple of months ago. It has low mileage and is in great condition but only recently noticed that there is a slight vibration once you start getting up to 120km/hr (hadn't been on a motorway with it until recently, joys of living in the west).

The vibration is felt through the steering wheel and car in general. Any ideas what the source of it may be ? The car was NCTed just before sale and wheel balancing within limits

I know you`ve said the wheels were balanced before sale but you have`nt hit any pot holes or bumped up a curb have you since then?Or a weight fell off one of the wheels?It might be worth getting checked just in case.

PS-tracking and wheel balancing are different

sternn

I had a similar problem with my Fiesta. When I went over 110km it was vibrating. It ended up being a kink in the alloy. The guys I buy tyres from fixed it for free (beat it level) and has done the trick. If beyond fixing, it's just a new wheel from a scrap yard.

tedpan

Most likely tracking

White Clover

tedpan wrote: »

Most likely tracking

You mean balancing?

Sleeper12

tedpan wrote:

Most likely tracking

Tracking covers the steering. Balancing is the wheels

The high horse brigade

Most likely balance. If you feel it through the steering wheel it's most likely the front, and from the floor is the rear. Get all 4 balanced anyway, it doesn't take much to knock it off. The bigger the wheels the more noticeable it will be.

tedpan

White Clover wrote: »

You mean balancing?

No, Tracking or alignment

TheChizler

tedpan wrote: »

No, Tracking or alignment

How would that give a vibration? Unless they're absolutely miles out and the car is pulling massively.

Edit: NCT would surely have caught that?

harringtonp

Thanks guys. My mistake, if balanciing or tracking are not measured in an NCT then it was not done. Sounds like that may be the issue, I just thought it would show at lower speeds too

The high horse brigade

harringtonp wrote: »

Thanks guys. My mistake, if balanciing or tracking are not measured in an NCT then it was not done. Sounds like that may be the issue, I just thought it would show at lower speeds too

Balancing generally only becomes noticeable at 80 - 100 kph.

Mint Sauce

harringtonp wrote: »

Thanks guys. My mistake, if balanciing or tracking are not measured in an NCT then it was not done. Sounds like that may be the issue, I just thought it would show at lower speeds too

Not nessesary. I had a known kink in an Alloy, vibration in steering was only noticable at over 110.

TheChizler

harringtonp wrote: »

Thanks guys. My mistake, if balanciing or tracking are not measured in an NCT then it was not done. Sounds like that may be the issue, I just thought it would show at lower speeds too

NCT would detect tracking problems all right, not balancing. I had the same symptoms as you up to recently, got new tyres and properly balanced them didn't touch anything else and the vibration was gone.

OldMrBrennan83

harringtonp wrote: »

Thanks guys. My mistake, if balanciing or tracking are not measured in an NCT then it was not done. Sounds like that may be the issue, I just thought it would show at lower speeds too

Wheel balancing is one that would nearly always show up at a certain speed rather than all the time.

harringtonp

So much info here, it great guys. You could be googling for ever and not get much back

cajonlardo

Are the wheels original Ford spec.
If not Google hubcentric rings.