Mk 1 Avensis Wheel Wobble

[talldave]

Hi all - my trusty 1998 Mk 1 7AFE (139,000 miles) has just sailed through the MOT today. No advice on MOT relevant to the below problem.

However for the last couple of weeks I've had wheel wobble coming through the steering wheel. I've had the front wheels re-balanced and the tracking checked (front was OK, rear is a bit out) but that hasn't really helped. It's not really bad - at about 70mph I don't really notice it - it's most obvious very low speeds and around 30-40 mph and the car drifts very slightly to the right.

Could it be a problem with the shape of the tyre (e.g having changed to not exactly circular any more) - or something else like the power steering pump or steering rack - as it sometimes seems worse than at other times.

Any thoughts welcome.

[Konrad C]

I would inspect the driveshafts, brakes and suspension, if the tyres are not at fault. The power steering should not directly cause the wobble, but worn track rod ends or inner ball joints on the steering rack could if worn. They were checked and passed the MOT! If the vibration occurs when braking, I would look at the brakes.  

[talldave]

Hi Konrad - thanks - I can always rely on you for a quick response!

The problems does not occur when braking - so it probably isn't the brakes.

Often on the MOT advice they mention worn inner ball joints on the steering rack - but this advice comes and goes depending on who is doing the test - this year it wasn't mentioned - but maybe this is the problem. However the problem did seem to come on suddenly a few weeks ago - I would have thought that if it was the steering rack it would gradually  have got worse over time?

Presumably if it is the steering rack this will be expensive.

I have thought of swapping the front wheels for the rear to see if this makes it better.

Would they have noticed an out of shape wheel at the MOT?

[Duggerz]

If it passed the mot then is not suspension joints or wheel bearings. Could be wheel or tyre out of round and this would not be picked up by mot tester unless really bad. I've had both, it was enough to make the car unsettled at speed and create a slight wobble. You can check by jacking up and spinning each wheel in turn, standing a reference point next to a wheel before spinning it so you can use it's edge to see any incorrect movement.

[Konrad C]

Duggerrz and you Dave are right about the tyres wheels. Yes, swap the front with the rears and see what happens.

[talldave]

I swapped the front and rear wheels yesterday. I suspect that the drivers side front tyre might be slightly out of shape - but it was hard to tell. Anyway as a result the wobble has gone away and the steering is much better. Does anyone have a view on whether it's OK to leave the out of shape tyre on the rear?

[alan333]

Personally I wouldn't.  Imagine how hacked off you'd be if you had an accident for the sake of a fifty quid tyre.