Strange vibrations at 60 mph

[bird]

I've got a 99 disco II. i had a thread a while back that asked about engine resistance. well i misdiagnosed the trouble. i cleaned the MAF sensor, balanced the tires and re did all four rotors.
i brought the truck to a mechanic that refused to understand what i was explaining:
when i get to about 60mph, i begin to get a droning hum from the front end.
the drone is totally speed related, and not rpm (which is what i thought at first)
the droning hum is accompanied by a vibration. which is only best described as a buzzing massage under my feet as well as the passenger's feet.

when i get above the 65 mph mark, the buzz gets less noticable. i don't know if it because it is vibrating faster, and the frequency is higher, or if it just goes away.

my tires are wearing evenly, the tires are balanced, the rotors are brand new, the MAF sensor is in fine shape,

what Can This Be?
other than a sunroof problem, the car at 100.000 is in mint condition it is why this is driving me crazy.

 

[joey]

I will bet on the tires. Speed related noise or vibration is normally a tire issue. Even balanced, a tire can cause noise.

 

[97rover]

I agree with the Tire. What type of tire are you using? Had BFG all terrane tire on and it did almost the same. Would humm at low speeds and would go away around 30 mph until I hit hiway speed 65 mph and would return until I hit 75 and would go away again. Almost anything else would be a constant ///// wheel bearings, lugs, motor mounts, tranny mounts, and mics engine. Good luck and am curious if you find out please repost.

 

[akrockhound]

front diff?

Just a hunch but our '00 DII makes that noise from the rear end on the highway. We own two and only one makes the noise. The local drivetrain shop said everything in the drive line checks out and says it might just be normal wear noise (120,000 miles) in the rear diff.

May you have a similar issue with your front end.

 

[joey]

Mentioning Drive train... has me curious.. have you ever changed the U-Joints on the driveshaft? Remember the D2's are not greasable and when they go bad it is not pretty.

 

[bird]

i still haven't figured out the noise, it's driving me crazy. i had asked the mechanic who did my rotors and balance to check them. he said that he had, and no trouble, but this is also the guy who couldn't hear the noise in the first place. he also forgot to blow out my sunroof drains, though he didn't tell me until i got some water in and lost my motor.
anyway, i will be checking the U's this week. and there was one other possiblity:
i live in the city, and take a lot of abuse while parked. of course NYC drivers consider tapping what i consider a minor accident, and have no problem with exercising their resiliency when squeezing an suv into a spot meant for a MINI.
my front brush guard was banged and actually snapped one side off of the mounting. since the sound and vibration sounded kind of like an air flow problem, i ws thinking that it could be air blowing through the brush guard pipe.
i need to check up on all of the ideas that you all have suggested first, i can't bring myself to do a new bumper/ brush guard replacement right now.
i will keep you guys updated.
it just seems like this is a problem that i've seen on other posts, with newer Rovers. i'm trying to keep the troubleshooting to an low to higher cost. but with the time it's taking... i'm about to explode
thanks for all of the suggestions

 

[bird]

i've got some crappy tires on the truck at the moment, however they aren't wearing particularly bad. the truck, a '99, had the original rims then were upgraded to the hurricane rims which came with Falcons. i was waiting until i needed to replace them to grade up. i drove the truck from FL to NY and a couple trips to VA and DC. i'd never heard the sounds or vibrations until a couple weeks ago

 

[Brownie92]

If there is any vibration in the steering you might try replacing the stabilizer, I know it is a long shot and probably won't effect the noise. But after a year and some help from here it fixed a very bizzare noise/vibration on my 2000 DII.

 

[bird]

local mech. giving me the ride

i brought the truck in to my local guy, who hasn't really been the most knowledgeable and honest mech.
i've known but for things that i've researched i can usually keep him in line. well, this is the guy that told me that he was 90% sure that i needed new tires and that would solve the noise/ vibes etc.
i got into a pinch when i began noticing the noise at around 50 and it really got me concerned. he was the only one that could/ would let me bring the car in immediatly.
so he takes it for a short ride, again 90% tires! well i demand that he get it up on the lift and get all tires spinning. he gets it up then stops "aw no, we can't test it, the traction control won't let me get the tires moving...." and gives up.
Well, while in the garage, i call LandRover Paramus NJ and ask the service advisor how to test my hubs he says (this will help anyone with the same problem)
The traction control will shut off once the truck is above about 30mph. then you can tae a listen for bearings etc.
imediatly i hear that the passenger front bearing is screaming.
i left the car and he was to replace the bearing.
Now Need some info
i call to see how it is going (form Mexico At 1.50 a min. he tells me that they replaced the entire hub because that is the only way to do it, and he told me that he paid/ charged me $569 for the hub. I, LIVID, said that the hub is only $400 from resellers and then found that the dealer sells for $429.
I am going back to deal with this on Mon. BUT, if anyone tell me if the only way to replace the bearings on a '99 Disco II is to replace the entire hub. i am realizing that he is being dishonest about his understanding of these cars in general (obviously with pricing as well) but i want to go in as armed as possible.
So the bearing seemed to be the problem with the noise as well as i know now, i will let you know if it solved the problem for all those with the same highway vibes.

Funny the guy would have had me spend $1000 on tires and i would have pulled out with the same f-ing noise.
i hope the TC info helps anybody here... just get the tires off the ground and get it going... it will shut off.
[/I
but please let me know if the hub replacement was a ridiculous move, and if i actually could have just replaced the bearings on this truck.
also does this model have front AND rear U- joints. i've been told that i only have them in the rear. and that the front onl has CV joints.