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        General >> Problems >> Cattle grid syndrom or not???
        
(Message started by: damon on Apr 24^th, 2006, 6:48pm)

Title: Cattle grid syndrom or not???
Post by damon on Apr 24^th, 2006, 6:48pm

Hi folks,

I recently bought a scorpio ultima 2.3 auto (I have owned several granada's/scorpios in the past), I believed it to have cattle grid syndrom and this was reflected in the price. I drove round for a while and tried different scenarios such as selecting sports mode, eco, o/d on/off and locking g/box in 2nd, all to no avail, nothing i seemed to do altered this rumble in any way, in other words the rumble remained constant whatever gear I was in and got worse as the vehicle speed increased.

This confused me because i am lead to believe that cattle grid is caused by the torque converter oscillating in and out. I drove from Dorset to Sussex to pick my children up as I do every other weekend and enlist on the help of a good friend, on the way down, the rumble was quite bad, litterely like going over a cattle grid except when i took my foot off the gas (only present when gas applied). My three little girls sat in the back so my friend could sit in the front and listen; as i took him up and down the local by pass, as if by magic rumble had 99% vanished! further to this, when there is no weight in the back i.e NO children equalling 16 stone the rumble is back and is worse when cornering right and almost none existant when cornering left in fact the characteristics are almost the same as a worn wheel bearing but I have never heard a bearing sound like driving over a cattle grid, I have checked for excessive play by rocking the wheel 12-6 and 3-9 but nothing out of the ordinary.

There is bit of a clonk noise when the gas is applied and transfers to the prop (just in case this gives anyone a better clue as to what may be wrong) but as i said before, when the gas is NOT applied there is no noise and the car is as quiet as a mouse even when hard cornering left or right. There is no vibration on the steering wheel/gear lever and the gearbox works fine and changes very smoothly.

I just wondered if anyone has had similier problems/symptoms, any thoughts would be greatly appreciated

Many thanks in advance.

Damon.

Title: Re: Cattle grid syndrom or not???
Post by Matt on Apr 24^th, 2006, 7:08pm

hi

sounds like a wheel bearing to me

ive not had it on a car but at work we had a machine that when there was no load on it (in your case no passagners) the rumble was loud but when the machine was under load, it seemed to stop

im not sure but it may also be that the prop shaft has been removed in the past and then the bolts put back in in a difrent order. (the bolts are used to balance the prop)

some one with a better knowledge will post soon enought though

:D

Title: Re: Cattle grid syndrom or not???
Post by damon on Apr 24^th, 2006, 7:16pm

Thanks Matt, that is encouraging news, my mates money is on a prop shaft inbalance, but like you say, it does seem very similier to a worn wheel bearing....anything but a new auto box }{

Title: Re: Cattle grid syndrom or not???
Post by Matt on Apr 24^th, 2006, 7:18pm

as some of the guys on here will tell you, things get very expensive when you start talking about autoboxs lol

Title: Re: Cattle grid syndrom or not???
Post by damon on Apr 24^th, 2006, 7:48pm

Your not wrong there Matt, if it does turn out to be wheel bearing then the question is: which side? when the weight is transfered or lifted?

Title: Re: Cattle grid syndrom or not???
Post by Highlander on Apr 24^th, 2006, 7:50pm

If it is the wheel bearing you need to jack the wheel up off the ground to really find out

Title: Re: Cattle grid syndrom or not???
Post by damon on Apr 24^th, 2006, 8:13pm

Good evening Highlander, I have already jacked the car up and tried to investigate but nothing seems out of the ordinary on the wheel bearing side of things, I read somewhere that ford had designed these bearings not to make an audible fuss, not sure how true this is.

Title: Re: Cattle grid syndrom or not???
Post by nuttyscorp on Apr 24^th, 2006, 9:30pm

well, some scorpio owners have heard noises before bearing failure, and some dont, just a complete failure without warning.
if you suspect a wheel bearing, find out which one, and change asap, other members will tell you stories of how much damage a failed bearing can do to your scorp, and more to the point, how costs can spiral with further damage to hub e.t.c.

hth

Russ

Title: Re: Cattle grid syndrom or not???
Post by slh_reg on Apr 25^th, 2006, 1:00pm

i had exactly same proplem,changed wheel bearings .still the same. it turned out to be a exhaust bracket which eventualy fell off.the bracket is located just behind engine in the middle and is recessed.you can only see it from under the car its about 8 inches long with what looks like a juberlie clip on the end and is secured with 2nuts.new bracket cost about £15 from fords.

Title: Re: Cattle grid syndrom or not???
Post by tintin on Apr 25^th, 2006, 8:38pm

Interesting SLH, i had the box changed a few weeks ago, and have had a rumble on acceleration ever since, which was worrying me (to the point of driving a metro around until i can check it out). the garage that did the box mentioned the problems they had with the exhaust.... might check out the bracket.....

cheers !

Title: Re: Cattle grid syndrom or not???
Post by damon on Apr 25^th, 2006, 9:06pm

Thanks guys for your comments, I will definatly check out the exhaust brackets, this rumble actually shakes the back of the vehicle, did you encounter the same symptoms?

Title: Re: Cattle grid syndrom or not???
Post by slh_reg on Apr 26^th, 2006, 6:23am

yes vibrations did seem to come from back of car.thats why wheel bearings were changed.it was only the fact the bracket fell off bounced up and hit theunderneth of the car while driving that i stoped and picked it then had a look to see where it had come from that iresolved the problem after months of trying

Title: Re: Cattle grid syndrom or not???
Post by damon on Apr 26^th, 2006, 6:51pm

ok thanks for that, at least this weekend is a long one and i will be sure to check the exhaust bracket.