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[TeeVeeTee]

Hi Guys,

I have a W reg 2.5 Elite Estate with a vibration problem, I've had the car for just over 2 years and have added probably 8000 miles in that time (yes 8k). In total it has done around 49k.

The vibration has always been there I suppose but because of the low miles I've never really been that concerned but it is now becoming an annoyance and is spoiling what otherwise would be a lovely car.

This is what I've done so far to address the prob - wheels balanced about 4 times at different outlets (all of which seem to have their own idea and say whoever did it last was a plonker), Tracking done once, rears on front with new rubber. I'm at the point now where I need to use the car more frequently but don't want to chase the problem around my bank balance. The wheels are the 5 spoke alloys that seem quite popular with you guys and I'm told none are buckled and there are no bulges on tyres.

Can one of you kind souls give me a bullet point list in order of likely cause so that I can take a sensible and economic approach - thank you.

Incidentally, I did search the forums and didn't really see anything that pinpointed the prob.

I put the car in neutral briefly and the vibration was still there and no, the vibration cannot be driven through, at least without seriously upsetting our wonderful Police, so I only went so far.

Many thanks, TVT

[Markjay]

Welcome... someone more knowledgeable will come along soon I'm sure, all I can suggest is a trip up the M25 to Watford to see Tony, he will adjust the suspension geometry properly and will also be able to advise re any perished bits e.g. bushes, drop links, etc. He is a member on this forum, and see also his website http://wheels-inmotion.co.uk.

[cem_devecioglu]

I also had similiar problems in the past..Wishbones and joints will be good points to check..

PS: some 5 arm alloys make problem in the balance.For that reason I changed to 19-20 arm  profiles..Now no problem for balance
except washing them  

[ffcgary1]

Can you feel the vibration through the seat ? or through the steering wheel? if you can feel it through the seat i would suggest it is the prop shaft out of balance. the big rubber joint at the front of the shaft near the box have a tendancy to go soft and cause a vibration through the car.if not then suspension joints or bushes next on the list.Good luck let us know what you find.

[davlad22]

the vibration cannot be driven through, at least without seriously upsetting our wonderful Police

With a V6 Estate, just tell em you ARE the police, special branch  8-)  

Yeah, there are a few known problems, and there have been a few threads recently (I find the search facility on this site poor too!). With the Omega being such a heavy car with a big engine, it can take its toll on the suspension. You see alot of people replacing wishbones/bushes etc.

I don't see the wheels/alloys really being a problem, i'm guessing they are the 17" flat 'Dish' design wheels so should be pretty tough.

'Wheels In Motion' is the guy on here that can 'work his magic', and there's only a limited number of things it can be so sit tight and don't start opening your wallet just yet!

All the best  

[davlad22]

Have you had a read of this thread?

http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1187649557

Though yours is a facelift so a bit of a shot in the dark, there's a bit of a 'checklist' though!

[JasonH]

I had a problem like yours. Spent ages checking everything and getting all the tyres balanced.

Eventually (after 25k miles) replaced the rear tyres because they wore out and the problem disappeared.

Wheel balances are only good to about 70mph, after that it's pot luck and I had a duff tyre (and it was a good make).

[cem_devecioglu]

I had a problem like yours. Spent ages checking everything and getting all the tyres balanced.

Eventually (after 25k miles) replaced the rear tyres because they wore out and the problem disappeared.

Wheel balances are only good to about 70mph, after that it's pot luck and I had a duff tyre (and it was a good make).

I agree... most shops check the balance with slow speeds (on the machine) even very few grams of erroneous weight in high speeds will have big effects..

Once see a shop with really measuring the balance on the car turning the wheels 60-70 mph with light flashes results were really perfect but was dangerous..

[STMO123]

I have a similar problem, although mine doesn't start until about 90mph. Obviously I'm not doing that kind of speed every day so I live with it. Nevertheless, it would be interesting if we could get to the bottom of it. Vibration at that speed has got to affect handling characteristics and cannot be good for general tyre wear.

[EddieX]

That's odd, I've had my estate for 15 months and experienced a high speed vibration for the first time on Friday. Couldn't feel anything thro' steering wheel or floorpan but the noise was deafening! So I assume it was an unusual crosswind condition causing turbulance over that huge roof panel.
Maybe your vibration is similar?
Eddie.

[TheBoy]

Many rapid fit tyre places do not balance very well. Omega has wide wheels and is very much affected by poor balancing...

[alanfp]

Eddie

Sorry if you think Im teching grandmother to sich eggs and all that, but did you have a rear window open at the time?  I have experienced some horrible ear-numbing vibrations which are instantly cured by closing all the windows - it's just the air vibrating in the cabin, and, as you witnessed, not felt through the body of the car.

Maybe?

[EddieX]

Eddie

Sorry if you think Im teching grandmother to sich eggs and all that, but did you have a rear window open at the time?  I have experienced some horrible ear-numbing vibrations which are instantly cured by closing all the windows - it's just the air vibrating in the cabin, and, as you witnessed, not felt through the body of the car.

Maybe?

Got me worried there. I havn't touched the window buttons since then, so I've just rushed out to see if any windows were still open. They aren't but it was a point worth checking.
Thanks,
Eddie.

[TeeVeeTee]

Thanks very much for the responses guys, I must say I do like this site!

The vibration is at the wheels as far as I can tell, knocking it into neutral and slowing the drive train down made no difference so I'm guessing it is wheels/geometry etc and not the propshaft or the engine (it was a Mercedes mechanic that suggested that, so don't shoot) but what do I know.

There is no noise associated with the vibration and thankfully it isn't violent, just enough to be a pain and spoil things. Windows were not open but the the sunroof has been in a variety of positions, including closed, so that isolates that I think, on that subject though I do get lots of 'turbulent' air in the cabin with the roof fully open, so I generally keep it one or two clicks towards closed, depending on speed.

Yes Davlad22, I did read http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1188219855/0, thanks for that - I would add that the car passed an MOT about two weeks ago, but keep em coming and I'm not discounting anything, if there's any left of course

Thanks again.

[alanfp]

I'm afraid the propshaft could be the culprit as in neutral, it rotates with the rear wheels, not with the engine.

But if your tyres are old, they can go out of shape, and as stated above, sometimes the only cure is a pair of new tyres.

Good luck (and don't shoot that Mercedes mechanic yet).