bad vibrations only on acceleration. if not wheel balance, what?

[dangermouse]

hi,

the 1.8t, i've just bought, has significant vibrations through, dash, wheel & seat when you accelerate only. braking is fine, the car runs in a straight line. there is a little subtle knocking when going round corners. vibration is bareable at low speeds say to 40mph, thereafter, any gear and any level of acceleration causes big vibrations, the more throttle you give the more vibrations you get!

i've had the wheels balanced up, they were way out (no weights on the inside of either wheel). this improved things no end when off the throttle - but no difference under power.

I'd thought, warped discs, or flat spots on the tyres, but you'd assume this would cause vibrations when off the throttle as well.

when i went back to the tyre shop, a guy there suggested an out of balance driveshaft, he said the balance weights can corrode and come off, causing the whole thing to spin in an oval rather than a circle. which makes sense to numpty me, but i'm new to the golf ownership (after 10 years away) and thought i'd get some advice here.

he recommended replacing the driveshaft rather than rebalancing, and to do the long driveshaft first.

what do you think then? is there anything i shoulld look for if i jack the car up??

Huge thanks in advance for any advice!

[matping]

jack the car up mate and rock the wheels to see if the wheel bearings hevent gone it sounds like thats ya fault

[matping]

if they are ok try  see if  theres any play in ya  track rod ends  , ball joints  wish bone    cv joint  ??   steering column

[vwprime]

Wish bones bushes are a common thing to wear out 1st so maybe have a look at that and also have a look at the engine mounts.
maybe have a go at swaping the front wheels with the backs. Evan thow you have had them ballance thay might be buckaled.

[mattkh]

hi, the 1.8t, i've just bought, has significant vibrations through, dash, wheel & seat when you accelerate only.Huge thanks in advance for any advice!

Hi
Is the mileage very high ?

[dangermouse]

Cheers for the responses all!

I'll check the bearings tonight, and give the engine a shake to see if there's execessive movement as well.
I'm not sure how to check the track rod ends, ball joints, wish bone cv joint, steering column - but will have a search. if you have tips - they're gratefully received!!

Mileage is 98k, with enough mots and service stamps for me to beleive it. I tried swapping the front and rear wheels before i got them balanced and vibrations were a bit better (the fronts where 90g and 55g out of balance) but not much - problem was definatly still there.

the vibration seems very much like a rotational thing, a friend at work suggested that it could be the diff, i'm gonna drop it into the garage later in the week i think.

Is there a place of choice for buying driveshafts, track rod ends, ball joints, wish bone, cv joints, etc??

Cheers

[mattkh]

.... give the engine a shake to see if there's execessive movementl. Cheers

Hi
Is this to check the engine mountings? If it is, then there is a better way.
Start the engine, bonnet open, handbarke fully ON, then put it in first gear and as you release the clutch, see how much the engine moves.

[coolio]

I would say is the engine mountings , I had the same problem on my car cof ages and just didn't quite figure out what is was . Alot of people said driveshaft track end etc bug when I done the Tt rack ,wishbones ,track ends conversion , that still didn't cure the problem til I upgrade the engine mountings the vibration had gone then and when I checked the old mountings I can fell the rubber have gone very weak ....

[dai-cymru]

I would also put money on the driveshaft sounds like classic driveshaft to me plus there quite common to fail,