70mph shudder !!!

[reesy]

I have a '91 gti. I can boot the car to high speeds no problem, but if i am doing a steady speed such as 70 mph for a period of about 2 mins, the car starts to shudder. But as soon as i put my foot down again it stops. i thought it was the balancing but i have had that chaecked and its still there........ any ideas??

[rubjonny]

check the tyre pressures, and swap the back wheels onto the front to rule out any problems with the tyres or balancing.

[[han]]

a guy i know had a similar problem.. it was something to do with the rev counter on his... not fully sure what tho, cos i only know where to top up oil and waater.....

[bulk66]

Have you tryed having it balanced at another garage as i once had my wheels done at one place and there balancer was out of sink so the weights were put in the wrong place and made the problem worse............

[Mart8V]

Was the wheel alignment / tracking done at the same time?  Had to get mine balanced twice after Cowboys-r-us messed it all up the first time....

[Stu-1.8T]

Also, check to see if the rubber bushes on the wishbone's are o.k. My old car had bad vibrations at 75mph, but as soon as you went over 80 it was okay.

[Bazzer]

I bet I know what it is... there should be some kinda weight attached to one of the driveshafts (the long one I think IIRC), looks like a lump that goes around the shaft, at the wheel end. If it's missing, it can cause this if you settle to a speed. And it can be any speed, not just 70... I got shown it by a mechanic ages ago, and I thought he was mad at the time.......!

[Mr Blue]

I bet I know what it is... there should be some kinda weight attached to one of the driveshafts (the long one I think IIRC), looks like a lump that goes around the shaft, at the wheel end. If it's missing, it can cause this if you settle to a speed. And it can be any speed, not just 70... I got shown it by a mechanic ages ago, and I thought he was mad at the time.......!

i dont think gti's had these but worth a check.

was about to say engine mount as mine does this too

[mallydgti]

Given that the vibration is only at constant speeds I would be more inclined to say it is a fueling or electrical problem causing a slight missfire and hence a shudder, if it was wheel balancing it would generally appear at around 50mph then get progessively worse but you can usually drive through it, i.e. no vibration at 90mph. I would check your leads, plugs, dizzy cap rotor arm etc.

[Gambit]

if its only at 70mph and its a vibration and not a misfire

then either your wheels need balanced.

or your running aftermarket alloys with the original wheels studs and no spigot rings

driveshaft balancing weight will not cause it either - trust me on this one. i looked into it a while back on my old golf. cant remember the full story but it was there for another reason of some sorts!!