Recently stuck in the mud then strange wheel vibrations?

[MadeInJapan]

So a friend of mine got his car stuck in the mud and had to be pulled out of it. AFter cleaning everything up, we took a trip and the front end was shaking uncontrollably. He asked me what it might be- a recent alignment and new tires/balancing. I told him maybe the front end suspension got bend during his mud hole fiasco. We stopped for gas and I took a look. There was still mud and even rocks caked onto the inside of his wheels. I got a ice scraping tool with a long handle and knocked it all out. Back on the interstate there was no vibration at all. This is more an information post- if you have odd wheel vibration issues after being in mud, check for it being caked on the inside of your wheels. They put weights on wheels for a reason- to get the tire in balance. Mud and rocks caked onto a wheel, even if you don't see if from the outside of the wheel causes the balance to be disrupted. This was an easy solution and my friend was grateful it wasn't something expensive to fix.

[BEJinFbk]

Same goes for ice and heavy snow.

[c70_lindsay]

Good post! I was aware of this but it is good to let others know. I got my S70 stuck in the mud this past summer and the first thing I did was take for a blast down the highway before the mud had a chance to dry and get caked on.

[wizechatmgr]

Same goes for ice and heavy snow.

I've also experienced this...

[skloon]

vinny.gif (290.76 KiB) Viewed 2686 times

This is what came to mind for me

[98v70dad]

This may be an idea for me. Thanks! About 18 months ago my front end started vibrating similar to what you get with an unbalanced wheel. Around 65 to 70 mph I get a vibrating front end. About 18 months ago I also buried my front end in the mud in my back yard all the way up to the axles. I put a bag of landscape pebbles in front of both wheels to possibly improve traction. The pebbles did nothing for traction and the undercarriage got showered by them.

Just two weeks ago I replaced the passenger side axle and a small handful of dirt fell out when I pulled the CV axle out of the wheel hub. I was shocked by it and couldn't figure out where it came from until reading this post. I've replaced nearly everything in the suspension and I still get the vibration. So, I'm looking elsewhere for the possible source. I'm wondering if dirt or pebbles have somehow gotten stuck in a recess or pocket behind the rotor.

Is there any possibility of getting something stuck in a recess or pocket behind the brake rotor?

[MadeInJapan]

You could but that shouldn't give you vibrations- whatever spins that has mud/rocks dried and caked on it will!