4 wheel alignments

Allias,

Not sure if my post from this morning worked correctly. Here are scans of the 4 wheel alignments. I had one done in Jan, and another this August.

I know this has already been mentioned, but a warped brake disc(s) would give all the symptoms you've mentioned

First post by the way, great forum

Edited 2 November, 201114 yr by liverpoolphil

I know this has already been mentioned, but a warped brake disc(s) would give all the symptoms you've mentioned

First post by the way, great forum

Hi liverpoolphil - Wouldn't I get judder under braking if the disks were warped -braking is totally smooth. Also, we have the car jacked up with the wheels off and ran the disks up - they looked totally fine.

Edited 2 November, 201114 yr by sandyacreuk

You dont need a ramp to check it. You need someone who can help you. Start car, pull hand brake and try to take off. As you rock your engine trying to take off (going in 1st and later in reverse) see for engine movement under the bonnet. If movement is visibale within engine bay then one of the mounts is damaged. Engine should sit solid.

as far play in driveshaft - what you desribe is normal.

Are you based?

Cheers allias - I'm going to try that. Also, looking through other posts I see there have been several problems with mounts. In particular, the gearbox mount which is kind of hidden under the battery tray? That seems to be where I get that "thump" from when I brake sharply at low speed (and going over shallow bumps). I wonder....??? Should I also see movement here if rocking the engine as you describe?

Yes... you will. It will harder to notice because on a side but you might. Depend on how far in wear is it.

As far your post on alignment Ive seen it in your first attempt. It looks fine. No worries there depite the fact that rear should be a little better. Nothing I would scream about.

I know this has already been mentioned, but a warped brake disc(s) would give all the symptoms you've mentioned

First post by the way, great forum

You would feel that during braking - not while acceleration or normal crusing.

I'll keep this short and concise, but I'm at a loss what to do next and it's driving me crazy (literally)!!....

56 Octavia MK2 VRs FSH 85,000.

I have a vibration/shudder that frankly is making the car undriveable on the motorway. The vibration can be felt through the whole car and is worse at speed (70+) but definately though the whole range. The steering feels vague - almost like the wheels are loose. It's also worse when the car is loaded with passengers. I can feel the problem at all speeds, probably because I know the car well. The car has gone from a vehicle I felt very confident driving, to not wanting to go over 70. At the moment, I stay in the slow lane around 50!!!!.

It's been to many garages including two dealers and no one can find a fault - that said, no one has taken it on a motorway at speed.

Whats been checked;

- Countless wheel balances - everytime they give difference reading by 10-15 grams, rebalanced many times - no difference

- Tyres changed, wheels rotated - no difference

- Finally wanted to eliminate wheels and found a Hunter Roadforce. One wheel had a slight buckle on inside egde but balanced fine. RoadForce reported all wheels spot on lateral/radial runouts/tyre imperfections..etc - no difference

- 4 wheel alignment on Hunter system - everything spot on!

- Visually inspected (by several garages, including one with a ramp with vibration plates). Everything visible no problems,all bushes, steering components, shocks, springs. Skoda dealer ran safety check - no issues, recently MOT'd - no issues. That said, there's a large cover on the underside which prevents inspection of everything - to my knowledge, no one has taken this off (whats underneath?).

- I began to suspect maybe vibration is from powertrain. Ive read issues regarding the DMF. I do have a slight judder when moving off, and driving through town can be a bit jerky, but the vibration is definately still there when dipping the clutch at speed. I'm assuming this eliminates powertrain, DMF??

- One thing I have noticed is that hitting the brakes sharply at low speed, there's a dull 'clunk' from the near side, somewhere near the footwell? It's also there when going over small bumps again at low speed (this isn't brake pad clunck which everyone seems to be telling me). It has been down several potholes, that frankly I thought had ripped the wheel off (NSF).

Nothing has been taken apart yet - purely visual inspection.

Anyone any advice - this is driving me mad. Anyone recommend someone that knows what they are talking about in the West Midlands?

I have gone through to same symptoms recently and checked all that you did but as the fault starts to become more evident to pick up i becomes more obvious.I was a mechanic 8 years ago before mass flywheel were being used and over the last 2 weeks i have understood what a useless design it is.It will proberly be the mass flywheel get a replacement smf fitted it will be far cheaper.

So is it road speed related or engine rpm related?

So is it road speed related or engine rpm related?

Hi...putting everything together this is definately road speed related. In summary- I can feel the issue from starting off (as I know the car well)- just gets more intense the faster you go. When cruising at speed, dip the clutch - no change, coast in neutral - no change, while coasting and revving the engine - no change. I think this eliminates powertrain/clutch? I also assume this rules out engine mounts?

Wheels - many balances incl roadforce - only problem, small buckle on OSF inner rim- balanced out fine - this was moved to back - no real difference. Tyres changed / rotatated - no difference. No vibration under braking - this eliminates warped disks?

Suspension mounts (those visible that is) checked by two garages (incl dealer and one with ramp vibration plate) - nothing obvious. Also passed MOT 2 weeks ago - although there were notes on there saying full inspection couldnt be done due to undertray cover (also no one has taken this off) - no idea what it's covering!!.

Shudder is felt through car and steering. I can only put this down to driveshafts/CVs.

Im taking it back to dealer this afternoon and taking the guy down the motorway - this is so frustrating - I want my baby to drive the way I remember!!!

HUBS...

Got to check these. My mate's Porsche has exact same problem. He's replaced all 4 disks and pads etc. Still terrible shuddering even at lower speeds now. Car currently at Porsche waiting for Warranty Direct to make up their minds if they are going to cover this or not!

One more idea... If you can check your wheels and tell me if weights are installed "one place a side". by that I mean that there is no 50g in one place and then another 5g or 10g on other.

Also would be a problem for you to take a picture of at least one wheel off (the one which has most weights on) from both sides. I really would like to check something. I had a customer 3 weeks ago with wheels balanced "at the other place" and someone installed 240g on one wheel when it only needed 20g. I know its radical but it might be the same.

To me this case is sooooo intresting (sorry about that) that I really would like to road test this vehicle.

Is the driveshaft that has a weight in the middle ok, I mean the rubber weight.

When I had the VW G60 had this gone and remembered that taking off I heard a knocking sound, this will also affect at any speed because the driveshafts are always rotating. Just a thought :yes:

As I've said before in this thread check hub runout. I had a bent hub on my last Octy which I checked and replaced myself, When finished the problem was fixed.

You have nothing to loose and it would rule out the problem.

I agree - road speed related means something that is rotating or relating to that.

I have a warped hub before and it takes ages to pin it down as it is the last thing you look at.

It could still be driveshaft / CV Joint / Wheel bearing / Wheel / Tyre related.

I would take a look at driveshafts outwards at the front. Could also be excessive play in the diff as well.

I had a vibration that got better or worse with road speed--not engine revs. Tried everything. More than once.

Problem was ?

Think of my wheel as a clock face. At 12 and 6 I had less tread left on the outside half-width than the inside half-width. At 3 and 9 I had less tread left on the inside half-width than the outside half-width. All four tyres were affected .

They were Bridgestones --noisiest tyres I've ever had. Replaced with Michelin Energys Now done more miles than Bridgestones and no problem.

The uneven wear balanced itself out so it never showed up on the test rig. And because the tread depth difference was only about 2, 3 or 4 mm it was nearly impossible to see but it could be measured and felt when I knew what I was feeling for. A tyre shop manager found it with the palm of his hand.

Hope this may help.

I had a vibration that got better or worse with road speed--not engine revs. Tried everything. More than once.

Problem was ?

Think of my wheel as a clock face. At 12 and 6 I had less tread left on the outside half-width than the inside half-width. At 3 and 9 I had less tread left on the inside half-width than the outside half-width. All four tyres were affected .

They were Bridgestones --noisiest tyres I've ever had. Replaced with Michelin Energys Now done more miles than Bridgestones and no problem.

The uneven wear balanced itself out so it never showed up on the test rig. And because the tread depth difference was only about 2, 3 or 4 mm it was nearly impossible to see but it could be measured and felt when I knew what I was feeling for. A tyre shop manager found it with the palm of his hand.

Hope this may help.

Intresting case but he already tried with different set of tyres.

Intresting case but he already tried with different set of tyres.

Good point--well made. Missed that. Sorry.

sandyacreuk, check your PM.

Allias - got your email and will send a reply in a short while.

Everyone - Just a quick thank you to everyone that has been interested and contributed their thoughts to my issue.

Unfortunately the problem - in my view, remains unresolved. The local Skoda dealer contributed an hour of their time this week to test drive on the motorway. In their opinion, the problem is possibly down to the harshness of the tyres. On a relatively smooth motorway the vibration seemed minimal, but when moving onto rougher tarmac he could feel the vibration, particularly through the armrest.

It's difficult for someone to just jump in your car and feel exactly what you feel. I know this car well, and as I say, I still believe the vibration isn't normal.

Maybe Im going bananas??

What brand tyres are they?

I don't think you're on your own with this one. I have exactly the same problem. It's very annoying and I have tried everything to get rid. I have even put a new set of Uniroyals all round as I suspected the tyres I bought in July. The Vibration is Still there!

I am at a loss on how to get rid of this issue, so If you solve it, please let me know.

I am facing the same problem including the vibration and shudder as mentioned, Replaced my left drive-shaft with a new one (sound from the left front wheel ) still did not help, Suggest you check on the ( C-mounting bushes, lower arm brackets and the others bushes in the front ) This should solve your problem.

I am facing the same problem including the vibration and shudder as mentioned, Replaced my left drive-shaft with a new one (sound from the left front wheel ) still did not help, Suggest you check on the ( C-mounting bushes, lower arm brackets and the others bushes in the front ) This should solve your problem.

I recently had my wishbone bushes replaced. Wonder if it's anything to do with that?

Interesting comments from people. Last week I changed front tyres over again, from PZeros (which had been on the back for a while) to EfficientGrips. While it's a bit quieter there's definately something wrong up front. Even though someone has road tested it and "thinks its fine", I know this car.

I cant even explain how it feels, definately a vibration at speed and while driving slowly - almost like someone picks the car up and moves it forward....really really weird.

I'm sure I'll sort it when I have more time.