Why are my wheels shaking?

OK since I got the car I have had a wobble from the front wheels, at first I thought the wheels needed a simple balance so as I was passing Kwik Fit I popped in for a quick balance...

took it for a spin and the wobble was still there but at a diferent speed. Took it back to Kwik Fit (another center) and they explained the first balance was not done well and did another free of charge...

Wheel wobble dissapeared for a day... then came back! Aaargh!!!

OK enough of Kwik Fit, take it to a reputable wheel garage and pay to get it done properly ( I know should have done this in the first place!) They say the wheels were well out of balance and said all is now OK. 2 days later wheels are shaking like crazy between 45-60mph which bizarly dissapears when brakes are applied...

Please help, it is making the whole driving experiance a pain in the butcheeks!

On a side note, the steering wheels is not in the straight position and the steering seems a little vague, is there anything else that could be damaged/worn that would be causing the wheel shake?

Thanks for any advice and sorry about the long winded question

Edited by darkspirit

Darkspirit,

Are you sure the wheels were not shaking for the first 2 days after the reputable garage re-balanced them? It is easy to perceive that it has been fixed when actually there is little difference. Sounds daft but firstly I would check that they have tightened your wheel bolts up properly.

As for the judder under braking, it sounds like you may have warped discs so that maybe a good start, whilst at it check the functioning of the calipers and the pads. The steering in the "not dead ahead" position indicates that the car may have had it's tracking done at some point and the wheel was just not centred or their was a bit of play in the steering when they tried to get it back to centre - so check your links for play.

Fear not, and good luck.

Cheers guys, have checked the nuts but not the tyre pressures DOH! will also try swapping the wheels front to back to see if that 'moves' the problem...

Will keep you informed :-)

if your wheels are after-market they might be non hub-centric.

hmmm, water in the tyres, interesting. The tyres are new and were fitted by the dealer when I picked the car up (cheap and nasty no name jobbies). I'll jack the car up in a bit and check the bearings, really hope its not these as this will no doubt be an expensive job to fix!

Thanks guys!!