[bossman72]

first off , hi to all
second, i have just purchased a 2006 156 v6 auto with 42000 km on the cloak, the problem is at 60-75 kmh i get a shake coming from the steering wheel, had all the tyres checked and re checked, all fine with no buckles in the wheels. does anyone have any other ideas on what to check for , also when the aircon comes on and i change from fresh air to re circulate there is a clicking sound ( about 3 seconds) coming from passengers side of car.Again, any ideas
thanks andy ( bossman72)

 

[Guest]

Hi mate, welcome to the forums....:thumbs:
So that works out at 35 to 46 mph for us UK folk

Hmmm unusual.... Just down to the low speed, usually 60 to 70 mph (98 to 112 kph) is down to wheel and balance.

So lets go through the process of elimination.... The more detail you can give us, the more accurate we can be on diagnosis and advice mate ok.
First thing I would try would be swap the front wheels with the rear wheels to see if this changes the vibrations, LR for LF & RR for RF. If that does the trick then you know its tyre/ balance or wheel only issue.
If that makes no difference, then.......

Is it a constant vibration that increases with speed and then tails off the faster you go?
CV joints/ wheel bearing/ bent or warped driveshaft issue! Very rare for a driveshaft on a Q-system auto but the previous owner could have hit something?

Or is it a fairly fast pulsing that is constant and seems to pull the steering wheel over to either side as you turn slightly?
Power steering pump or rack issue Check the fluid level and also check the colour of the fluid. It should be a red(cherry soda) colour or at worse light brown... If its black like old engine oil then it's time to change it.(dexron II)
Also get your whell alignment checked (tracking). It could be out if new bottom wishbones have been fitted recently.

Is it coming from just the steering wheel or can you also feel it through the pedals and floor too?

How are your brakes... Do they pulse slightly?
Do you get a lot of vibration when braking harder than normal from high speed? Discs out of true (warping). Which could also be causing your problem lower down the speed range if they are really bad... Check it in safe area to confirm... just note that high speed braking vibration is NOT the ABS.... ABS kicks in a very low speed 26kph and lower.

Try them, give as much detail as you can and let us know what happens mate... Good luck:thumbs:

 

[bear1]

I think I may know whats the problem. I had this recently myself and was left with quite a nice bill but I had a few things done as they all contributed to my vibrations etc.

First off - have a look at the driveshafts, if these are damaged then you can have vibrations whilst setting off etc, mine were cracked so had them replaced. Easy to check, get a grab of them and pull, if they move inwards and outwards slightly then its ok but up and down with ease then they need replacing, Also you may get noises whilst turning the wheel etc
Second - How are the shock absorbers and springs acting? I had no idea my shocks were gone until they took them off and showed me how loose they were and the springs were completely snapped in half you cant tell without taking the plastic/rubber cover off of them
Thirdly - AS mentioned, tyres. Mine are completely bald due to excessive wear from the bad suspension and are causing a droaning noise now.
Fourthly - Wheel bearing, Mine was failing when i brought it in for its suspension repair and it too was causing vibrations and noises but from 50kph onwards.

Hope this helps :thumbs:

 

[satanism]

don't worry about the noise from the passenger side-its normal..

 

[alfadaveuk]

faulty driveshaft if your lucky other thing could be the engine could be wobbling due to a misfire at certain rpm. try driving at the same speed and change down a gear if the rpm is not to high and the go up a gear if its not in stall rpm. coz just b4 my turbo let go i had the same type of thing turbo was causing misfire and u could feel vibrations through steering wheel. what engine is your bella and whats the mileage. turbo fix is about £500 and if you have some know how you can do it yourself. and thats a price on my car when had it done i have the top turbo for 156 variable turbo 20v engine. i hope its just the ds for you. whats the mpg do check mpg on the actual read out then when u get to that sort of speed check if its dropped right down due to lack of air. also other things such as split intercooler pipes will cause engine to missfire which will cause engine wobble and steering wobble as a side effect.

 

[alfadaveuk]

lol just looked at what car. turbo is out the question. but it could still be due to engine wobble misfire. just not caused by turbo

 

[davealfa11]

if its wheel balance surely vibration should happen at twice problem speed

i would check all suspension bushes /ball joints and check tracking

another thing you can do is swap front to rears and see if its still there .......if its your wheels/tyres you should feel a drumming through the chassis

 

[satanism]

vibration could happen at 60-80kmh aswell....usually if it occurs below 120kph its the front wheels and over this speed it's the rear wheels...

 

[davealfa11]

....usually if it occurs below 120kph its the front wheels and over this speed it's the rear wheels...

i disagree with that ...........

 

[satanism]

i disagree with that ...........

that's what I've heard from quite a few tyremen...

 

[bossman72]

hi, thanks for all your replies, have swapped all wheels around but still no better, car has only done 42000 kms ans is 6 yrs old, full service and had cam belt replaced 2000 ago. so would not of thought of shocks but will get checked out and the drive shafts at the same time, this is my first alfa, i just hope it wont be my last.,
still welcome all help
andy

 

[davealfa11]

hi, thanks for all your replies, have swapped all wheels around but still no better, car has only done 42000 kms ans is 6 yrs old, full service and had cam belt replaced 2000 ago. so would not of thought of shocks but will get checked out and the drive shafts at the same time, this is my first alfa, i just hope it wont be my last.,
still welcome all help
andy

so not wheel balance then.........

 

[alfadaveuk]

i still from experience would check engine vibration due to the fact of the certain speed the vibrations happen at. being as drive shafts would happen at multiple speeds i had a drive shaft go and it happened more at lower speeds when turning the wheel in 1 direction a bit more. i used to have a 2litre ti 146 and i had steering wheel wobble caused by a misfire at certain rpm's that was faulty plug leads and coil pack. being as that v6 is a heavy lump in a light car. so if that is shaking then it will shake the car and the wheel.

 

[AValfaTi]

i had a harsh vibration start out of nowhere at about 70mph, not whilst braking though.
today i replaced my front discs and pads as they needed doing anyway and put my rear wheels on the front and vice versa, but gave every mounting face a good going over with a wire brush attachment in an angle grinder, back of wheels, hubs, etc,

wobble gone,

the old front discs had corroded quite bad on outer lip with lumps of rust broken away, maybe this would have the same effect as a wheel weight falling off.

what are your brakes like?
did you clean all the mating surfaces? even hub face behind discs, (remove discs)

 

[bossman72]

steering wheel shake

all brakes are good , new discs 2000 ago on last service, car gone back to dealer this morning to see if they can fix it, hopefully i will have her back this week minus the shake, will let you know how it goes and what it was,
many thanks for all your help
andy

i had a harsh vibration start out of nowhere at about 70mph, not whilst braking though.
today i replaced my front discs and pads as they needed doing anyway and put my rear wheels on the front and vice versa, but gave every mounting face a good going over with a wire brush attachment in an angle grinder, back of wheels, hubs, etc,

wobble gone,

the old front discs had corroded quite bad on outer lip with lumps of rust broken away, maybe this would have the same effect as a wheel weight falling off.

what are your brakes like?
did you clean all the mating surfaces? even hub face behind discs, (remove discs)