Lude Generation

Sorry this may be long, but information is king.
I got a BB4 of a guy who had it 8 years and selling cheep as it my need a new gearbox? Well that's what a mechanic told him.

Symptoms. Shake through steering at around 60 mph, get past that and nothing. Yea, I know what your thinking, wheel balancing. Me to.
Took a test drive, did the deal, drove her home.
Defiantly wheel balancing.Clacton to Lincolinshire, yea, balancing. No noise, just a vibration .Had it on every car I've had. Wheel balancing.
When I first drove my silver prelude home, I felt it needed something on the wheel needs sorting. Checked the tyre pressure etc. After a while it just didn't seem right. I took it in to several garages and asked them to check the wheel bearing., all clear!
Few months later. Needed a new bearing. I can feel her, I drive her.Mechanics can only guess from the info you give.
Now I don't know much about autos (yes shes an auto). Not my choice, its what the car came with.I prefer my manual. If it is the gear box ,I've never come across it,.Had some problems with a few auto cars I've had, but never this. advice on changing to manual would be Appreciated.
I feel that its so like wheel balancing that maybe the discs are unbalance? I've never had that. Can it happen? New discs and pads won't hurt. I've ordered new ones. Shes coming of the road to get a few things done. It passes an M.O.T. What ever it is a M.O.T. Doesn't pick it up. That should eliminate the obvious
My next step is Drive shafts, half shafts, whatever people call them. Is there a way of testing them? I thought off jacking up one wheel at a time,in gear, see it one vibrates more than the other.
Shes my toy. Bills and work have to come first. I don't want to change anything I don't have to.
By biggest fear is its the gearbox. I don't want her to sit in the garage while I find the time.
Can it be the Gearbox?
Tell me what you think?
Thanks
Nosmo
I'll Sort out some photos of my BB4s

its not clear but have you had the wheels balanced as theres no mention of it in your post , another thing you say you dont wont to change anything you dont have to yet your replacing the front discs and pads , i am sure this issue has cropped up on here before just wondering if it was this car but the previous owner will have a look back threw some old posts

The wheels may be balanced, but what about wheel alignment? Tracking/toe?

The MOT should have picked up on knackered balljoints or bushes, but there's the possibility of a bent lower control arm if a previous owner has hit a kerb or the like.

Sorry, I have little experience with auto boxes, so can't comment there I'm afraid.

Nosmo, i cant see the gearbox causing this problem, maybe a driveshaft but that's doubtful. Much more likely wheel balancing, alignment or pads/disks need doing, maybe a bushes if they are very perished.

Get a good mechanic to check the wheels and that area

IMO Start with the most simple and go from there - tyres.
Just had EXACTLY the symptoms you describe on my dads new purchase. Balancing didn't sort it, though it needed doing anyway. I said I thought uneven tyre wear perhaps. He's just had four new tyres, problem solved, smooth as you like.

It could well be what the guys above have suggested, but I always think its best to start with the simple and go from there.

You can narrow stuff like this too - is the vibration through the steering wheel or the whole car? If it's the former, swap the front wheels to the back, you may well find it changes to a vibration through the car, meaning the issue IS most likely a wheel, then you can narrow that down to a buckle/tyre etc.

Hope this helps.

Oh and auto - manual swap is fairly straightforward I believe, quite a few have been done on here over the years.

Well, I had the same issue on my old BB1. It was a manual though. Rich at performance autoworks said my diff was grumbling and that it could have been that. But it also could have been driveshafts.

He said although the diff was making noise, and I therefore would eventually need a new gearbox there was no need to do anything immediately and that it could carry on like that for years, so I just left it and forgot about it........until I read this post. I don't own the car anymore so don't know if it is still an issue.

Unlikely to be discs/pads - that would be most evident under braking. Also unlikely to be the gearbox IMO.

Start with wheels - check they're properly bolted/torqued up evenly. Then take the wheels off, check the mating faces of the hubs/rear of the wheels to discs are clean/no debris. Then look over the tyres for any cuts/bulges, then check them for balancing.

Then check the driveshafts. Get under the car, grab the shaft and try to move it around (up/down etc) - you should be able to feel/see play in either the inner or outer joints, easily. (There shouldn't be any, so if there is, that's your problem).

Then check all suspension and steering joints.