Deebrief

Have just been down to mid France and had vibration through the column and
into the steering wheel.

Suspect this may be a wheel balance problem or dare I say it a warped drive
shaft.

Any suggestions out there.

Thanks.

Dave Gower

"Deebrief" <nick.dunstan@virgin.net> wrote in message
news:x1bue.93$iT1.87@newsfe1-win.ntli.net...
> Have just been down to mid France and had vibration through the column and
> into the steering wheel.
>
> Suspect this may be a wheel balance problem or dare I say it a warped
> drive shaft.

Bent or out of balance wheel are certainly more likely. Drive shafts are
pretty sturdy things, and if you hit a wheel hard enough to bend one the
wheel is probably going to have a lot more serious damage.

Alloy wheels are much more prone to damage than steel ones.

per

Unbalanced wheels may be most likely, but worn inner drive joints also
produce similar vibrations on the Focus.
I have had one replaced.
/per

"Deebrief" <nick.dunstan@virgin.net> skrev i meddelandet
news:x1bue.93$iT1.87@newsfe1-win.ntli.net...
> Have just been down to mid France and had vibration through the column and
> into the steering wheel.
>
> Suspect this may be a wheel balance problem or dare I say it a warped
> drive shaft.
>
> Any suggestions out there.
>
> Thanks.
>

Dave Gower

"per" <nospam@nospam.com> wrote in message news:42bac34e@news.wineasy.se...
> Unbalanced wheels may be most likely, but worn inner drive joints also
> produce similar vibrations on the Focus.

The way to tell worn drive joints or wheel bearings is to take a corner with
the radio off and listen. If you have worn joints, the noise should increase
when you apply power on a corner. If you have worn bearings, it should drop
with the side load.

per

"Dave Gower" <davegow.removethis@magma.ca> skrev i meddelandet
news:AKGdnRhTHNuZUSffRVn-hQ@magma.ca...
>
> "per" <nospam@nospam.com> wrote in message
> news:42bac34e@news.wineasy.se...
>> Unbalanced wheels may be most likely, but worn inner drive joints also
>> produce similar vibrations on the Focus.
>
> The way to tell worn drive joints or wheel bearings is to take a corner
> with the radio off and listen. If you have worn joints, the noise should
> increase when you apply power on a corner. If you have worn bearings, it
> should drop with the side load.

Bad outer joints make a knocking noise when turning tight, but bad inner
joints can sometimes not be heard when turning at low speeds, and yet
provide ample vibration at high speed.
/per

Dave Gower

"per" <nospam@nospam.com> wrote

> Bad outer joints make a knocking noise when turning tight, but bad inner
> joints can sometimes not be heard when turning at low speeds, and yet
> provide ample vibration at high speed.

OK, I won't argue that one not having personal experience with it, but if I
remember correctly the outers take the greatest punishment since they have
much greater angles to transfer power through (they handle the steering
motion whereas the inners handle the suspension movement), so are what
usually fails first, or am I wrong?

per

"Dave Gower" <davegow.removethis.@magma.ca> skrev i meddelandet
news:UvOdnWt7QsoMmibfRVn-vw@magma.ca...
>
> "per" <nospam@nospam.com> wrote
>
>> Bad outer joints make a knocking noise when turning tight, but bad inner
>> joints can sometimes not be heard when turning at low speeds, and yet
>> provide ample vibration at high speed.
>
> OK, I won't argue that one not having personal experience with it, but if
> I remember correctly the outers take the greatest punishment since they
> have much greater angles to transfer power through (they handle the
> steering motion whereas the inners handle the suspension movement), so are
> what usually fails first, or am I wrong?

I've had many front wheel driven cars, and the outer joints have always
failed first.
But, on Ford Focus the inner joints seem to be a weak point, and one of mine
have failed before any outer joints problems.
/per