is this problem just wheel balance?

Grand_Benders

We had a friend rotate the wheels on our Smart Forfour to spread the wear more evenly on the tyres but since we picked it up, there's been weird noises, like a road rumble similar to a helicopter rotor and we can feel it vibrating, like when you have a flat tyre, but we checked air pressure today and all tyres are fully inflated.

It gets worse at higher speeds so we're reluctant to take it over 50mph, and worried that we could be doing additional damage. It's our only car and we have a 70 mile round trip to work, so we rely pretty heavily on it.

I think it might just be the wheels need rebalancing, but could it be something else? We also just had problems with the handbrake binding and this has been fixed, with some additional wear on the rear brake discs, so could it be related to that?

Also, anyone any idea how much a wheel balance might cost?

tberry6686

Could be as simple as wheel balance being out. Shouldn't cost much to fix - £20-30 in total.

Could also be a wheel bearing on the way out - bit more pricy then but very car dependent.

mikey72

One of the back wheels you have now put on the front will need balancing. You won't have noticed at while it was on the back.

Norman_Castle

Out of balance front wheels on my cars have only been noticable at approx 50 mph when the steering wheel shakes. Might be worth checking for loose wheel nuts. When I fit wheels I tighten the wheel nuts fully after lowering the jack. I've forgotten in the past.

mikey72

Norman_Castle wrote: »

Out of balance front wheels on my cars have only been noticable at approx 50 mph when the steering wheel shakes. Might be worth checking for loose wheel nuts. When I fit wheels I tighten the wheel nuts fully after lowering the jack. I've forgotten in the past.

Good point about the nuts, a bulge on the tyre could be an issue as well, but it's likely you would have noticed this on the back, unless it's just on the edge of the sidewall/tread.

lil.smartie

If it needs a wheel bearing & you are close to Airdrie go & see Sam at McSmarts Servicing, good reliable chap

Kate

scotsbob

As two posters above have already mentioned, I would be checking correct torque on the wheel nuts. Sounds to me like they have not been tightened correctly.

Joe_Horner

If it's noticeable from low speed and gets worse as you speed up then it's very unlikely to be wheel balance. That gives a characteristic vibration that appears fairly suddenly at certain speeds, usually around 50 - 60 MPH, when the imbalance is shaking the wheel at the resonant frequency of the suspension. Above and below that speed you get virtually no noticeable effect because the suspension damps it out effectively.

Norman_Castle

We also just had problems with the handbrake binding and this has been fixed, with some additional wear on the rear brake discs, so could it be related to that?

I've been driving a car recently with a worn front wheel bearing. No problem below 20 mph. Above that a constant noise and vibration through the car. No idea about the handbrake set up on your car, but if the rear hub was disturbed during the repair a loose or overtightened rear bearing may be the problem

red_eye

Norman_Castle wrote: »

Out of balance front wheels on my cars have only been noticable at approx 50 mph when the steering wheel shakes. Might be worth checking for loose wheel nuts. When I fit wheels I tighten the wheel nuts fully after lowering the jack. I've forgotten in the past.

loose nuts would give a clunk would it not?

wheel balance is around £10-15

photome

Norman_Castle wrote: »

Out of balance front wheels on my cars have only been noticable at approx 50 mph when the steering wheel shakes. Might be worth checking for loose wheel nuts. When I fit wheels I tighten the wheel nuts fully after lowering the jack. I've forgotten in the past.

So have I back in the day when i was a teenager, ended up with a front wheel hanging on with one nut when doing 70 on a motorway, havent forgotten since

Def check all nuts are tight first before the wheel balancing