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Pajero vibration 70-90 km/h


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Since a few days the blue lady has developed some humming kind of vibration from the steering wheel, most noticeable between 70-90kmh in 2WD on the highway. Below or above these speeds the vibration disappears.

The steering wheel is not shaking, it’s  a slight vibration felt in the center of the steering wheel.  

I was suspecting a wheel bearing so jacked up the front and turned the wheels but couldn’t really find anything wrong. Later i realized that on 2WD my rear wheels are driven and the front ones are freewheeling so I’ll still need to check the rear wheels.

The vibration is also there during coasting (release gas and put in N), so I suppose drivetrain could be excluded ? Unless drive shaft maybe ?

Also thinking about wheel balancing: maybe a balancing weight fell off from one of the wheels....

Tyre pressures are all at 35psi. 

any other hints or tips before I go for the balancing ? 

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If it’s a tyre balancing issue, it usually kicks in at a certain speed then gets worse the faster you go. It doesn’t tend to disappear when you go faster.

Same with wheel bearings. It kicks in at a certain speed and gets louder the faster you go. It doesn’t disappear when you go faster. 

I had a Lexus in a couple of years ago that did exactly this. I couldn’t find the problem so I told him to go for alignment. He didn’t come back to complain so maybe I guessed right but he didn’t come back so I don’t know but I don’t think it’s an issue with wheel balancing or bearings.

Question, does revs affect the sound? Or just the speed you are travelling?

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1 minute ago, Barry said:

If it’s a tyre balancing issue, it usually kicks in at a certain speed then gets worse the faster you go. It doesn’t tend to disappear when you go faster.

Same with wheel bearings. It kicks in at a certain speed and gets louder the faster you go. It doesn’t disappear when you go faster. 

I had a Lexus in a couple of years ago that did exactly this. I couldn’t find the problem so I told him to go for alignment. He didn’t come back to complain so maybe I guessed right but he didn’t come back so I don’t know but I don’t think it’s an issue with wheel balancing or bearings.

Question, does revs affect the sound? Or just the speed you are travelling?

Thanks Barry. 

I’ll go for a balancing tonight to start with, but I’m also more thinking about a worn CV axle. On the last drive when making a full turn right I started to hear a slight crunching sound every now and then. Could that be the culprit ?

It does not change with revs, and the vibration itself is pretty high in frequency, bit like holding a beard clipper in my hands instead of the steering wheel 😆

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9 minutes ago, Frederic said:

Thanks Barry. 

I’ll go for a balancing tonight to start with, but I’m also more thinking about a worn CV axle. On the last drive when making a full turn right I started to hear a slight crunching sound every now and then. Could that be the culprit ?

It does not change with revs, and the vibration itself is pretty high in frequency, bit like holding a beard clipper in my hands instead of the steering wheel 😆

Yes, a worn CV joint will make a clicking sound on full lock. Go into an area where you can do a full circle left and right on full steering angle. If you hear a clicking when driving slowly, you found the problem. Congratulations, you solved your own problem and you’re a mechanic now. You’re certificate is in the mail 😬

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Specific speed vibration - 90% wheel balancing doubt and they do tend to disappear or reduce after you cross certain speed. Get the proper wheel balancing done and see zero and zero on both sides. I keep screaming this as majority of guys accept 5-10 = 0, whereas it will still have this vibration. Perfect 0 and 0 on both sides for all 4 tires "MATTERS".

CV joint does make click clack on full turn and your gen Pajero prone to breaking CV joint after slight lift. I have been changing or re-greasing them almost every year, its usual wear and tear if front is slightly lifted.

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UPDATE: 

Wheel balancing done and definitely improved on how the car behaves in terms of stability. Vibration is still there but less noticeable.

They found a large nail stuck sideways in the tyre, but luckily not a puncture. Could have created imbalance.

54687DD3-120B-41C7-8FA0-BD319D519037.jpeg.948d3be89eab74e08e5fd25a77c03f34.jpeg

Both front upper arm rubber bushes are worn, so that’s up for the next service. Probably not the culprit.

Both tie rod end bushings are also on their way out too, but that’s nothing new and will definitely improve the on road stability even more. 

Did some slow motion donuts and no crunching sound from the CV axle this time. The rubber boot however is torn and I’m afraid sand might have gone inside and messed up the bearing

B883780D-A02D-4A3C-A7E8-D94B810567A1.jpeg.c7df29fd9417edc1e690c8ce509fcd15.jpeg

I’ll keep an eye on it the next coming weeks and schedule some works on the next service. 

Thanks for the swift replies and help !

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