Engine steady and vibration Sorted

[RogerRust]

Sophie suffers from vibration at 60 plus mph

I have traced this to a mend and make do repair by the previous owner.

As is common the engine steady bracket has pulled out of the body below the battery tray. What he did was straighten the old bracket and bolt it into the battery box. As a result it it now at the wrong angle and too close (I think) to the block. I'd like to put it back where it belongs with some extra stenghthening plates, but the previous has bent it out of shape.

Does anyone has for sale;

A spare bracket (the bulk head end)
or
A Mr Grumpy conversion to fit it to the Shocker mount
or
Any other suggestions

I'd also like to know the correct position for the bracket so a photo with some measurements would be helpfull.

If the worse comes to the worst I will fabricate a new one.

Roger

[Welung666]

I'll do you a pic & measurements when I get back from the school run Roger.

[steve4063]

i prob have one knocking about rog
pm me with your details and i'll post it

steve

[DaveC]

My trav has suffered from this and someone has skilfully welded an engine lifting eye welded to the crossmember, which is the right size. The welded (longer) portion runs to the offside away from the battery box.

[Welung666]

Here you go Roger...

[aupickup]

the complete item with back plate can be bought from esm at about £12.00 i think

[RogerRust]

It's OK I think I've fixed it now with a bit of bending and twisting!

Thanks for the offers. The photo of what it should look like helped too.

I still have a problem with some vibration, but since its speed related and not rev related I suspect its a balance problem. I'll get the wheels checked.

Roger

[rayofleamington]

Good luck with the wheels Roger.

If it's not the wheels then I'd get worried about the probshaft (mainly because I've had a lot of bad luck with prop vibes).
When driving at night does the car headlights (in rear view mirror) turn into a figure of 8? On the cars where I had problems with this, the dreaded figure of 8 was always a sign of things not right...

[RogerRust]

I can twist the prop shaft 1/8th of a turn when I lie underneath, but I can't detct any play in the UJs. The vibration doesn't seem to come through the gear stick. Sounds like a low frequency drum from the front around 60 once it starts its stays with the car untill below 55mph but doesn't start till about 62. I haven't tried driving through it, but its still there at 70. The front drums were warm when I got back, but not hot. I cant find any slack in the wheel bearings or suspension joints.

[rayofleamington]

It does sound like it could be wheel related.
Prop: The other place to check for play is where the nose of the prop fits into the gearbox. This is seated in a plain bush which is prone to wear over life (especially if the box oil has been low and very rapid wear if a UJ has gone). If there is any slack between this bearing and the prop, then the propshaft will run out. This causes pretty bad vinrations and can lead to many things breaking (broken exhaust at the manifold, broken engine backplate etc...)

[MikeNash]

Couple of thoughts, Roger.
Re propshaft, do you get a Ting! sound when the drive takes up in first or reverse, the same sound when you tap the p'shaft? If so, you've got the beginnings of U/J wear even if you can't detect any backlash.
Re wheel balance, check that the tyres are really on true to the wheel, 'cos even if they're then accurately balanced you'll still get some tremble thro' the steering.
Remember our kilted friend said that static balancing was adequate? Well, I gave it a go and its true, BUT when balancing on an old spare hub, I found that the hub itself needed 30g stuck to it to be balanced and all my (8 inch) drums needed 30-40g each to balance! By getting each heavy part as opposite the other (much chalking) I could reduce the total balance weight to no more than 30g.
So if you've got balanced wheels, your out of balance hubs and drums (esp if additive) can upset things on the front. If the tyres are even slightly out of true then the same again.
When back off hols will describe the process in more detail.
Regards, MikeN.

[bmcecosse]

Adjusts 'kilt' - yes - that's why balance on the car using the hub/drums that are there is a far better overall balance even though it is only 'static'. The adjusting hole in the drum puts it out of balance - even if everything else about it is perfect. And yes - discs tend to be better balnced as they stand, but the hub itself (as above) can be out of balance. So - it's till worth doing a balance on the car - of course you will need to pop the pads out first.

[chickenjohn]

A friend of mine had bad vibration and noise on his saloon at between 50-60mph, turned out to be both UJ's and a duff diff!

[bmcecosse]

The knackered UJs may have damaged the diff.

[RogerRust]

OK the reason I've only just noticed it is because I'm only now allowing speeds over 60 mph. So it may be an old problem.

1) I have just jacked up the front end and spun each wheel it turn 10 times the position they stop is random all the way round. So not a balance problem.

2) I have pushed rocked and pulled the wheels - no knocks or play.

3) I have checked the exhaust isn't knocking

4) While it was jacked up I looked closely at the tyres they seem to run true.

5) I'm not very happy with the front shockers. I didn't replace them in the rebuild and if I put my great weight on the wing and them spring off the wing bounces about 2 1/2 times before settling. I have checked the shocker oil levels.

6) The front engine mounts look a bit spongy I didn't replace these either.

7) I have double-checked the prop shaft and rear end and can't feel any play.


SO WHY is it doing it?

I'm going to take the front panel off next week to replace the crank pulley with a damped one. I think I will replace the engine mounts while I'm there.

What about the shockers?

[chickenjohn]

Unlikely to be shockers. You say you have spun the wheels, but it may still be wheel balance related, or wheel related. Spin the wheels and check none of the rims are buckled.

Another cause of high speed vibration- uneven tyre wear- remove all the wheels and check for bulges in the tread or side walls. Also get the tracking checked, this was a cause of high speed vibration in my other car (not a Minor, but RWD). A flat spotted tyre from locking the wheels during an emergency stop can give problems too.

Also check engine/gearbox mounts (you said engine ones were spongey!) and that the gearbox steady cable is not too tight, and don't overlook the obvious, such as tyre pressures or even a loose or sheared wheel nut/lug.

[RogerRust]

mmmm loosen the gearbox steady cable I will!

[RogerRust]

I have just put some rubber (old seat webbing) into the sandwich where the engine steady fits - result MUCH less vibration.

I am therefore going to change the engine mounts next week and see if that helps.

[Judge]

As I think I mentioned Roger, if the steady is not correctly adjusted it can in fact make matters worse. Have you tried running without the steady fitted?

[RogerRust]

Now Bill that is a very good idea!

I'll try that next.

Can any one tell me the correct way to adjust the engine steady? I have fitted new poly bushes.