Very annoying wobble (actually extremely annoying) help :(

I've got a loose feeling wobble/shake from the front and it's getting to me.
Having just had the shocks, topmounts, wishbone bushes, arb links replaced and the arb done in November last year I was hoping/expecting, along with having new front tyres and a geometry check, to have a planted, very solid feeling A2. NO, I don't; there's a wobble from somewhere on the front doing just enough to ruin everything, to add vagueness to how everything feels, a degree of feeling disconnected
I don't know the cause is, the track rod ends were ok when we checked them whilst fitting the front dampers and nothing is visibly amiss with the engine mounts so I'm stumped and fed up. At the moment it's taking away all the goodness the new bushes have done and getting me down.
Without throwing money at it and just replacing bits until it's fixed I don't know what to do and while I don't mind spending a bit to tighten and freshen it up (hence the new stuff recently) there is a limit!

Help please, any ideas/suggestions/whatever, it's spoiling the drive and making me fed up

what about your brake discs / calipers are they ok?
has there ever been a helicoil used on any of the caliper screws?

Hi

I can really relate to your situation, sounds like you've done a load to remedy it. I've just replaced the wheels on my car with original a2 se ones to try and remedy the vibration i'm getting through the steering wheel, I bought the wheels from someone else and although they tell me they're not buckled I'm not so sure, maybe you have something simple like a buckle or wheels need balancing? Yesterday I moved the two front wheels to the rear and the vibration seems to have disappeared. Might be worth a try? I too have been feeling like everything's right with my car apart from the ride/front two wheels/vibration.

Good luck

John

I concur with John, try the simple check of swapping the front wheels with the rears to see if they aren't buckled.

Also years ago I had a Scorpio and had same issue, this turned out to be front discs but the wobbling was at its worst when applying the brakes.

Does the wobble get worse with speed?

Cheers
Sarge

mwh; the brakes are about half worn and don't feel warped when braking.

John, all four were balanced when the new fronts went on and they all seemed ok but I shall move them around to see if anything changes. It's easy and free so reason not to!

The problem seemed improved when the new wishbone bushes were fitted and seems to have returned now the new dampers are fitted I think it must have been masked by worn dampers.

I didn't change the other items for this reason because it wasn't obvious, any looseness I just attributed to the 60k it had (which seemed fair) and only started changing shocks because I was going on holiday with a loaded car.
I've got to say that even though the dampers hadn't failed completely, it's been transformed by the new dampers and the expense was very worthwhile; I recommend them (Monroe Reflex) to anyone

sarge, it does vary though I wouldn't necessarily say there's a speed when it worst. That's not to say nothing's happened in the last month & 2k since they were balanced!
Hmm, if pushed I'd probably say things improve under braking; they certainly don't get any worse and they feel much better since the front dampers were changed

Another thought; I've done quite a few miles since I last looked at the cv boots, I wonder if ones split and lost it's grease but hasn't quite got to the clicky point?

I haven't found anything yet

I'd say it's more from the passengerside if pushed and feels tappy, pattery, like something moving only a certain contained amount rather than an out of balance vibration/wobble (the more I try the less clear the description ).

It's due an oil change soon so I'll get it checked over by another set of eyes then.

Annoyingly I had problem with my Passat that was solved by worn track rod ends but I don't remember it feeling the same as this! Speaking to an Audi tech has made me aware that it could be the inner track rod joint that's worn, not the obvious outer, which only comes as a complete rod. I think I'll be a bit annoyed if it is that because the Passat had wone two and half times the mileage before they needed replacing!

I've got a 9N Polo dogmount to compare to the A2 one as well because the A2 is only available with an additional mount which means a lot more expensive

I'll get the nearside engine mount checked when the oil is changed. It should be ok but better to be certain.

Hi there.

This wobble.. how does it feel?
I have a '02 A2 1,4TDi, and i have a wobble in the front. This is my wifes car so I don't drive this car so much, but as I have sold my A6 I have been using the A2 a lot lately.

I have a wobble in the steeringwheele, and when I break it get a lot worse.
My local serviceman told me that this could be the wheels, but it's the same with both summer and winter tires and both have been balanced.

Then it can be the breakdiscs or the wheelhub.

I have been running a lot on new asphalt these last few days, and it actualy feel like the front of the car goes up and down, like the wheels should be cone, but they are not. Is it the same for you or is it just a wobble?

I have something a little like this; the car simply doesn't feel very planted. Yes, it might be because it's down at the back - thanks to the hifi - but it's simply not as stable as it might be.

Wheels it's not.
Brakes vibrate mildly from higher speeds - 60mph+
there's a MINOR imbalance in the wheels
it took less than a week from the tracking correction at Stealth for my wheel to shift again to the position it was (i.e centre bottom spoke is at 5.30pm)
I'm thinking track rod ends or maybe a bush.

Wheelbearings / hub? Maybe but I doubt it. There's no play. How would I feel play on the hub itself?

In the mean time, I need to get this fixed as the wife is essentially refusing to drive the car now. It didn't miss a beat this weekend (400miles @ 5.5l/100km thanks to the new wheels / tyres, despite torrential rain on the first section of the way home and some... rapid... progress on the way up). The FSD / Eibach combo only caused the mudflaps to catch three times on some truly uneven roads.

Bret

Before I had this problem I renewed various other parts simply because they were past their best and because I'm aware that 9N Polos eat the rear bushes on the front wishbones. The A2s use a different design of bush and don't have this problem but while there I checked the front bushes and they were worn allowing the wishbone to move. Renewing those tightened it up, got rid of a wandery feeling to it and are well worth checking.

The latest on mine;
I had the balancing on the front wheels checked (he checked the wobbles & flats also, all ok) and swapped sides; no difference.
I had the joints/mounts/track rods checked; all ok.
I swapped front to rear earlier this evening and it feels different but not fully sorted (mind you I haven't checked the balancing of the rears). The ride feels better (Kuhmos now on the front, Marshalls on the rear); they're the same size, speed & load rating and running at the same pressure yet it doesn't seem so spikey/bangy ridewise Maybe just the difference between makes and which better suits my shocks & springs. It's difficult to tell if it felt better tied down/less wobbly because it's very windy tonight.
Tomorrow I'll check the balancing of the Kuhmos and hopefully have calmer weather to find out if it feels more planted.

Any answers I find I'll post

i am having a problem like this and i think it is the driveshaft. mine does it worst when accelerating and wobbles from the passenger side. i think it is the driveshaft as it has slight play in it. when i jack the car up and turn the wheel the driveshaft does not turn straight away.

do anyone know if any of the polo driveshafts fit the a2. was looking for a secondhand one on flee bay to see if it improves things....

Iirc the driveshafts are A2 specific.

I haven't got any further with mine yet, it's been secured away while the alarm siren gets investigated so I'm currently enjoying a 6N Polo 1.4 8V
I think I'd need a 1.6 to get the same luggability in the A2, it's just so easy and effortless & 50mpg is easy also (I won't mention the soft ride because it's on 65 profile tyres).
I'll get stuck into the A2 again at the weekend if it stays dry.

Do alrm sirens require coding to the vehicle?

Anyone with the steering wobble under braking checked the fluid level in the power steering reservoir. My in-laws had a similar problem which was cured by topping up the reservoir. Only explaination I can think if is the fluid acts as a steering damper so if its low, the rack may oscillate slightly side to side as the wheels try to do their own thing under the braking forces. In writing this I have not convinced myself its a valid argument but its certainly worth checking

Cheers Spike

I still haven't found an answer to this yet

It didn't get driven from the beginning of October until the trip Rinner and somewhat forgotten about but it showed up clearly on that trip, 130kmh seems to be worst speed for it! This was on the winter wheels and tyres.
I've tried it in different gears, accelerating up through the revs and it feels as if it's something in it's bowels rather than an external bolt-on that's out of balance and also that whatever it is has the effect of making it pull to the left also. The clutch has some wear but is far from slipping plus it's a single mass flywheel so I wouldn't have thought it could be that (and I haven't experienced it before even with cars that have come to a standstill with a slipping clutch that'd been slipping for months).

The inspection at Rinner didn't show anything apart from the from discs being lipped, no warping etc though and nothing showed up in the mot either. On that basis I'm ruling out drive flanges, wheel bearings, brakes and wheels & tyres which doesn't leave a lot

One chap on ukmkivs had a problem with an inner cv joint which sounds like it gave similar symptoms.

The next step is to give to a friendly local tech and start stripping and inspecting it...not long till Finland

I had a problem like this on a Ford Cortina Company car that went into the Company workshop to have it sorted. Now bear in mind at the time I worked for a magazine publishing Company that produced among other titles Hot car and Car Mechanics magazines. okay, I know I'm giving my age away here. The workshop was used to do jobs on cars that were featured in the mags so they (should have) known what they were doing.

They changed everything. Brake discs ball joints, steering rack - they even changed the front subframe The wobble still hadn't gone. I took the car home with me that night as I was due to go to Manchester the next day and I didn't fancy putting up with 'the wobble' so I jacked the front of the car up and span each front wheel and just watched each one spin.

To my surprise I notice that the surface of one of the tyres had a slight 'hump' in it and you could see it as the wheel span. The tyres steel banding or whatever the technical term is had broken and had allowed the tyre to become slightly egg-shaped. I popped the spare wheel on and the car drove perfectly.

Have a look at your tyres. You never know - you might have the same problem

I've probably still got some Hot Cars lurking about!

It's done it with two different sets of wheels & tyres, the first set also being swapped end for end and the current set were checked for roundness at the last service (it was thorough 8) )

I've had the dogbone (gearbox) mount changed; big, big difference
I should have known better and to almost consider it a serviceable item...
Anyhow, a 9N Polo one fits and is £80 cheaper than the A2 one, the only difference being the metal bracket that is bolted to it !
You simply unbolt this and use the original A2 one, the dogbone itself is the same

ditto

I also have the same vagueness. Some times it feels fine and sometimes it feels like someone else is driving the car. It almost feels like I'm on top of a jelly!!!
Thinking of having the wheels balanced and swapped then tracked. Boy i didn't realise it might be a long road to travel down before this could be solved.

Anyone else have this problem ?-- anyone solved it?

Not solved yet and a constant pain on thed Icetrack trip...
Next step is to start stripping the front end; I will get it resolved!

You may also want to consider the engine mounts. I realised at the track that mine are on their way out (quick take-off, judder from 1-2).

Bret

I am, also considering the full monty wishbones & track rods...that won't leave anything other than the rear axle bushes so it should feel as toight as my finances atm