[Mk2] [NA] Really scary Rocking from Side to Side at high speed

[robincoombe]

A few weeks ago while driving home on the motorway on a fairly windy day, all of a sudden as I passed a break in the trees, a gust of wind caught the car and it started Rocking / Rolling from Side to Side.
It scared the c&*p out of me.
I took my foot off the pedal and let the car slow down on it's own and the rocking subsided.

Since then it's done it twice more.
The most recent was yesterday.
I was again on the motorway travelling fast (I won't say how fast ....) and again it just started Rocking from side to side ...... was pretty scary.

What does everyone think ?
Anti-Roll bar(s) ?

I've had a look underneath and everything looks fine.
I can grab hold of every component (including the anti-roll bars), give them a good hard tug and it all feels fine ..... nothing out of the ordinay at all -- everything feels fine.

At normal driving speed, the car feels fine.
Can still go round corners pretty quickly and it doesn't feel any different.

Quite clearly something is seriously wrong though.
Any thoughts appreciated.


Cheers,
Robin.

[Quigonjay]

did you check the ball joints for free play?
Jay

[robincoombe]

No, not yet.
I need to find some free time and jack the car up, put it onto axle stands and take a really long good look underneath.

Ironically the car just had it's MOT on Friday -- although it failed, it didn't pass because the handbrake cable on the left had wheel has siezed .... although the (pedal) brake works fine.

I was told at the end of the MOT that there is some small amount of play in the lower ball joints but that it was only small and within tolerance.

So whatever the problem is, it's not serious enough for it to fail it's MOT, unless the person testing it just didn't spot something ? ! ? !


Robin.

[dawolf]

I once had a similar problem on my last '2'. Turned out to be a lower suspension arm which was loose. The bolt just needed tightening up.