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Apr 28, 2015 12:50 pm
Apr 28, 2015 12:50 pm
Subject: LG45 steering shake
I’ve now covered 750 miles on my rebuilt engine and all is good. It feels and sounds strong so without tempting fate I am reasonably assured. I do have one slight issue however and would appreciate any thoughts and advice.
Twice now I’ve experienced a rather unnerving steering shake – what we motorcyclists would call a ‘proper tank slapper.’ The first time was after about 400 miles and the second after 730 miles. In between it has been absolutely fine. The circumstances were similar so I think this suggests a basic set-up problem rather than anything broken or loose but perhaps I just can’t find something wrong.
Both times I was in a second gear navigating my way at less than 15mph through a narrow lane and steering about 30° right. It was slightly uphill after a downhill section so the weight of the car would have been on the off-side front with me turning right. The steering wheel shook violently from side to side and the whole car shook until I straightened and slowed to almost a stop. After that it was fine but it was very disconcerting. Heather was terrified!
All the wheels are centred and tight. The steering box bracket isn’t cracked. Track rods all seem tight. I haven’t had the wheels balanced but don’t anticipate this being a problem at such low speeds. I daresay it’s hard to balance the wheels with the wheel discs and locking rings on in any case.
I wonder if the set up needs toe in or out or whether there was some sort of harmonic vibration caused by the shocking uneven roads. Have you anything to suggest? Another member I have spoken with says that this is not an uncommon problem and that many people claim to have solved it with wedges or spacers on the suspension but it sounds a bit unlikely to me. As with all intermittent problems that are hard to replicate I suspect you can convince yourself that you’ve solved a problem and then find that in 6 months you haven’t.
David
I’ve now covered 750 miles on my rebuilt engine and all is good. It feels and sounds strong so without tempting fate I am reasonably assured. I do have one slight issue however and would appreciate any thoughts and advice.
Twice now I’ve experienced a rather unnerving steering shake – what we motorcyclists would call a ‘proper tank slapper.’ The first time was after about 400 miles and the second after 730 miles. In between it has been absolutely fine. The circumstances were similar so I think this suggests a basic set-up problem rather than anything broken or loose but perhaps I just can’t find something wrong.
Both times I was in a second gear navigating my way at less than 15mph through a narrow lane and steering about 30° right. It was slightly uphill after a downhill section so the weight of the car would have been on the off-side front with me turning right. The steering wheel shook violently from side to side and the whole car shook until I straightened and slowed to almost a stop. After that it was fine but it was very disconcerting. Heather was terrified!
All the wheels are centred and tight. The steering box bracket isn’t cracked. Track rods all seem tight. I haven’t had the wheels balanced but don’t anticipate this being a problem at such low speeds. I daresay it’s hard to balance the wheels with the wheel discs and locking rings on in any case.
I wonder if the set up needs toe in or out or whether there was some sort of harmonic vibration caused by the shocking uneven roads. Have you anything to suggest? Another member I have spoken with says that this is not an uncommon problem and that many people claim to have solved it with wedges or spacers on the suspension but it sounds a bit unlikely to me. As with all intermittent problems that are hard to replicate I suspect you can convince yourself that you’ve solved a problem and then find that in 6 months you haven’t.
David