T-sport 2004 Few Things That Worry Me.

[mad91K]

Hello all.

Hope you all are having good times and all is well. Glad to be a part of this forum.

I have recently purchased a 04 plate T-Sport with a relatively small mileage of 67k and I'm astronomically pleased with the car haing moved on from '98 MX5 NB. However , there are one or two things that concerne me.

1. When starting ( especially from cold ) there is a buzzing noise lasting few seconds , coming from the engine bay. I am suspecting that it might be a loose heatshield , this sound can be heard also on warm engine when held at approx 1900 rev. Am I looking in the right direction ? Has anyone encountered this issue ?

2. Ok , this is a bit more serious .... Right after purchasing the car I have treated it to an all 'round set of new Kumho Ecsta tires. Now , at speed between 60 and 80'ish the steering wheel vibrates quite violently. The tires were balanced twice now , yet problem persists. Is it possible that wheel allignment can cause such vibration ?

I have though that perhaps the alloys are buckled , swapped fronts with rears but did not see any improvement. Maybe all of them are buckled , the car came from Sheffield ( sorry to say this ) and I was all but not impressed with the quality of roads up there. Never seen so many potholes per square meter of road. What else should I look at ?

3. This is just a small thing really , I have seen a few posts about this but none of them had any answers so I'll give it a shot.

I have replaced the factory stereo with a JVC double din unit , fits great into the mounting points using the hooks from standard stereo however im having trouble finding facia for it. The new stereo left a gap of approx 2cm each side of the dashboard , can anybody point me in a good direction for facias ?

Thanks a lot and have a good day.

mad91k

[RUToyota]

Hi...welcome.

Heat shield rattle is not uncommon...so it's worth investigating...particularly the one at the back of the engine block (exhaust).

I'd suggest you get your tracking checked assuming the wheels are ok

Perhaps a stereo fascia/surround can be found on the bay.?..

Enjoy it...they are a great car.

Neil

[alan333]

1. there is a buzzing noise lasting few seconds , coming from the engine bay. I am suspecting that it might be a loose heatshield , this sound can be heard also on warm engine when held at approx 1900 rev.

2. Right after purchasing the car I have treated it to an all 'round set of new Kumho Ecsta tires. Now , at speed between 60 and 80'ish the steering wheel vibrates quite violently. The tires were balanced twice now , yet problem persists. Is it possible that wheel allignment can cause such vibration ?

I have though that perhaps the alloys are buckled , swapped fronts with rears but did not see any improvement. Maybe all of them are buckled , What else should I look at ?

The buzzing could well be a heat shield. Tap the heat shields lightly with your fingers - if one sounds rattly then it's loose. Alternatively repeat the process with an assistant holding the revs at 1900 so the noise is present while you look.

If the tyres are balancing ok, and swapping the wheels around makes no difference, then the vibration probably isn't wheels or tyres. Wheel alignment probably won't give you vibration either. Look for something out of balance like a bent driveshaft or something. Warped discs will give you vibration but it would be more noticeable when hard braking. Feeling the vibration through the steering wheel points to the problem relating to the front end.

[mad91K]

Hi.

Thanks for the above answers.

In the question of steering wheel vibration I believe I can rule out warped discs , braking is smooth and it rolls in a straight line. I was thinking about track rod ends perhaps , or maybe Im just wishing for it to be that as it would be a relatively easy fix.

If I wont come up with anything I will have to give it to my local Toyota garage , it will probably cost an arm and a leg but the car is worth it.

[RUToyota]

Why do you feel you have to take into a Toyota dealership.??..there's nothing magical or mystical about the problem..just a process of check and elimination of all the front end component/steering geometry etc...any good, competent independent garage with a decent reputation should be able to help you...and at a cost that's more palatable.

Neil

[Scarlett Arrow]

Neil is right..you need a mechanic to have a root around, and you won't find any at a Toyota Dealership, they're just fitters.

As the T Sport rims are made of cheese rather than metal, I suspect that at least two of the rims are out of true.

[RUToyota]

As the T Sport rims are made of cheese rather than metal, I suspect that at least two of the rims are out of true.

Very true, Kev...I'd forgotten about the "cheesy" wheels.!!. ...quite possibly contributing to the problem.

Neil

[alan333]

If the rims aren't running straight they shouldn't balance properly.

[RUToyota]

They shouldn't...but I've known differently if the balancing hasn't been as, shall I say, "thorough" as it should have...I'd also be taking the wheels off to make sure there is no obvious crap between the mating surfaces. hub/wheel

Neil

[mad91K]

Hello. Hope you guys are enjoying the bank holiday monday.

I have some degree of faith in the balancing being thorough , the tires were put on and balanced by ATS people therefore I would imagine they shouldnt do a bad job out of it ( unless I'm totally wrong about this ).

I have , however , made an interesting discovery today. I drove to see a friend of mine who lives approx 12 miles away , it was a dual carriageway most of the time , so speed around 65 mph most of the way and I did notice ( apart from an Evo landing in the field on the opossite side of the traffic , due to heavy rain ) that the shakes / vibration tend to come and go when at constant speed.

I did try to measure the intervals at which they would appear but it made little sense , vibration would come on for a few mins then slowly fade away to what seemed like normal road feel through the steering wheel , then the vibration would start again , all at constant speed.

Dont know what to think about this , I will get the rims checked and report back with the findings.

Have a good day.

[mad91K]

Hello.

Ok , alignment was done today , problem persists.

Now , I have been told that wheels are buckled , but yet they balance out ( is it possible ? ) , next thing is the bloke down at the tire place pointed out that the tires Ive got are extra load rated , therefore it could add to the problem , could it ? Somehow I fail too see that but Im no expert.

Some of the people I have visited whilst looking for a remedy to this problem , have suggested that the problem could be in the suspension rather than the wheels themselves. Bushings in the wishbone or the suspension strutt itslef. ??

Have a good day.

[Scarlett Arrow]

The problem could be the tyres (although nothing to do with XL). What brand are they?, and can you see a date of manufacture on them?. One common problem on the Gen 7 is "tread lift", where slight raising of the blocks means the tyre is no longer exactly circular. This would not be picked up when balancing, yet could cause the vibration you're experiencing.

The DOM on the tyre is a four figure number such as 3009. This would designate the tyre was made in week 30 of 2009.

[mad91K]

Hi.

The tyres are Kumho Ecstas Sports , exaclty the same ones which were on when I bought the car. I have repplaced them as the original one were quite old , these new ones , all of them have been produced 0615 so they are relatively new.

Also , I believe that I may have , possibly , found the root of the problem. There is much play sideways play in the wheels when turned just strong enough not to move the rack. I believe that caused by worn track rod ends. Having done some research around the net , worn trakc rod ends tend to cause steering wheel vibration and shaking at motorway speeds. Hopefully replacing them will cure it.

Now , in terms of the heatshield vibration , I have found the cause of it. The top left bolt on the heatshield has been snapped in half. There is no way to drill it out or remove the other bolts without risking them snapping too. So I guess the only way to secure it for good will be to use the mastic seal to stick it to the remaining part of the bolt. Unless anyone has been through this ?

Have a good weekend.

[mad91K]

Hello everybody.

Case solved.

Reason : Bad job done by ATS in putting and balancing all 4 tires. All required re-fitment and re-balancing. Drives as smooth as babys bum now.

Conclusion: Lesson for future , never ever ever go to places like ATS , Kwikfit , National etc. Waste of time and money.

Case closed.

Thanks a lot to everybody for their suggestions.

Have a nice day.

[Scarlett Arrow]

Add Halfords to that list..glad it's sorted..and have a nice day :)

[RUToyota]

Glad to hear it...now enjoy it.!

Neil