Steering vibration and stupid interior light

[sanjay]

hey guys

noticed as i was driving at speeds above 80kph (doesnt happen often due to the nature of my driving and where i need to go) that i was getting some subtle but noticeable vibration in my steering.

its perfect at 60kph and under, as if it were a new car.

ive never driven another AU before so dont know if this is to be expected...in my bluebird for instance, there would always be some steering wheel vibration above 80kph but i never really gave it much thought as it was just a $2000 runabout.

its got four brand new tyres all round, last alignment and wheel balancing was 1000km ago, only thing im thinking it could be is the shock absorbers, but ive been quoted $834 for monroe shocks supplied and fitted front and rear from my mechanic, which is more money than i want to spend on this car, well, ever, because i am thinking about an AU2 XR8 when i get my full licence at the end of the year. already had to spend $130 on handbrake shoes because the left one was worn to nothing (causing really bad squealing on LHS only after they adjusted it 3 times). sick of spending money on this thing...

...also, my interior centre dome light wont come on when i open the door unless i give it a fair whack from the back...any cheap and easy solutions to this? i cant even see how the whole light fitting would come out of the ceiling (apart from the clear cover of course).

[Mr Hardware]

just because the tyres/wheel alignment is recent doesnt mean its good or right

also

get a new globe, see if that fixes it.

[sanjay]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

just because the tyres/wheel alignment is recent doesnt mean its good or right

also

get a new globe, see if that fixes it.

new globe was installed a month ago.

mmm who in adelaide to go to for a good alignment then? :p

was driving at 90kph on tapleys hill road today and there was almost no vibration either. depends alot on the road surface i guess.

[bodes-sh]

normally a shake at those speeds indicates wheels out of balance, a shake at that speed when braking normally means warped rotors...but as you said, it may have been the road surface causing it.

[sanjay]

no shaking when braking, new rear rotors were installed barely 1000km ago too with new bendix pads all around

ive always been told that bob jane are the few chains that actually do wheel alignments properly. i gotta say they fixed the rather bad pull-to-the-left that the car had when i first bought it good and proper with a bronze wheel balance and alignment

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by sanjay

hey guys

noticed as i was driving at speeds above 80kph (doesnt happen often due to the nature of my driving and where i need to go) that i was getting some subtle but noticeable vibration in my steering.

its perfect at 60kph and under, as if it were a new car.

Does this happen when the tyres are warm or just first thing on cold tyres?

[SSD-85]

i had an EL with the same problem, hardly any k's on it, did a million good wheel alignments on it, then i pushed down on the front of the car one day......mmmmm, jelly suspension hahaha. but i didnt stop there. i came to the conclusion the poor thing was in an accident and wasnt properly fixed up, the front suspension was ruined :(

[SSD-85]

as for the interior light, the switch that activates it from the door may be the issue, or the wiring connected to it

[bodes-sh]

wheel balance could still be an issue. the last alignment i had done at bob jane, will be the last lol...i had to take it back twice, first time the car still pulled left, second time steering wheel was way off centre to the right, now it's off centre to the left but i haven't bothered taking it back, it still slightly pulls left too, and needs another balance, but i have done prob only 6000 km or so on it....although in their sort of defence i'm pretty sure the car has had a hit to the front left which wouldn't help...anyway...

as for the balance, it depends how well their machine is calibrated. if it's not calibrated properly, or is out, it won't balance properly

[sanjay]

Originally Posted by GasOLane

Does this happen when the tyres are warm or just first thing on cold tyres?

god i dont think i ever drive my car for long enough periods to get the tyres warm. i think ive been on a trip that took longer than half an hour once :p

[aye you]

Sanjay, New doesn't always = fixed ;)

i'm gonna go call the wheel alignment as your problem

[sanjay]

yeah but im betting i cant get bob jane to redo my wheel alignment for free like i could get my mechanic to set my handbrake three times till he got it right :p

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by sanjay

god i dont think i ever drive my car for long enough periods to get the tyres warm. i think ive been on a trip that took longer than half an hour once :p

The reason I asked if they got warm was my new Yokohama's (not el-cheapo ones) gave a very slight vibration untill warm. I put this down to slight flatspotting from sitting overnight during cold weather.

[Dauphin]

I got mine re-done for free after there was still vibration after a rotation, balance and four wheel alignment. It turned out that one of the wheels had balance "out by a few grams" (whatever that meant) and they corrected it and it is all good again.

[sanjay]

i'll see what they say seeing as i only got two new tyres from the mob last week.