TR6 TR-6 Loose Handling

[Alabama_Hokies]

I have a ’75 TR-6 that overall is in really good shape. However, at interstate speed the car feels loose. Below 60 feels great! Loose is the best term I could use to describe the feeling. The car does not wonder, or pull or do anything unusual it is just as though the steering is not connected to the front wheels. There is not “slop” in the steering. And below 60 it handles like a dream.

New Alignment
New Tires
New Tie rod ends
New Upper Ball Joints
Cleaned, inspected and oiled trunions

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Dave

 

[Tinster]

Hey Dave!

Did you check your front wheel bearings?

If not, it is an easy task.

Jack a front wheel off the floor. Grip the tire at
12:00 and 6:00 and see if you are able to "rock"
the tire and wheel. If you get movement or noise,
you need to check further into your wheel bearings.

Maybe just tighten the castle nut a flat or two.
Maybe clean them and repack with new grease
Maybe replace them with new.

Worth looking into, in any event.

Tin

 

[Alabama_Hokies]

Tin,

Thanks for the suggestion but I forget to mention, removed, inspected, re-packed and replaced both front wheel bearings.

No Play with the test you described.

Thanks, good idea though,

Dave

 

[TR4]

Check both the front and rear bushings. I replaced mine and it made a world of difference in the ride and handling.

 

[vettedog72]

Have you checked the alignment? What are your spec's for alignment? How much tow are you running? What tires are you runing? Checked the air pressure?

 

[Alabama_Hokies]

Front and rear bushings? Are you talking about the A-Arm bushings on the front end?

Dave

 

[Alabama_Hokies]

I did have it alligned. I have the specs at home.

The tires are new and "close" to original size. They are BF Goodrich Directional radials- Don't recall the make.

Tire pressure does indeed seam to make a difference. They were inflated to 33 or 36 when installed which was down right twitchy. I have redices the preassure close to the original specs for the original tires but not quite. This helped alot but still is not quite right.

I think I am running a couple of pounds over. Original spec was 18 front and 22 rear (I think).



Thanks,

Dave

 

[DougF]

Make sure all fasteners are tight. Check your steering rack mount bushings. With car on the ground, turn the wheel. Look for any play in the bushings.

 

[Tinster]

Dave:

Hang tight for a coupla weeks

My '69TR6 is also all over the road and shakes pretty
bad at 60+ mph ( the few times it has been operational.)

I replaced the old Red Lines - it helped a bit
I replaced the entire rear suspension-it helped a
bit more.

I have just completed the front wheel bearings and
now I'm getting ready to gut the front suspension
completely and install new:.

New shocks and mounts
New coil springs and seats
New Tie rod ends
New Upper Ball Joints
All new A-A bushings top and bottom
All new bolts, nuts, washers, etc.
All torqued as per Bentley Blue
Clean, inspect and oil trunions
Then a wheel alignment

I'll let you know if the problem is corrected.

If it is not - well, it looks like I will be gutting
the steering system after that.

PS Doug- I lived in Hollidaysburg, PA for 4 years.
Near you?

 

[TR4]

Front and rear bushings? Are you talking about the A-Arm bushings on the front end?

Dave

There are bushings in the upper and lower A-Arms on the front end and also on the trailing arms in the rear end of the car. I would check both the front and rear of the car. Any idea how many miles are on the bushings?

 

[Tinster]

Hola TR4 !!

After I replaced the rear suspension and T/A bushings,
the loud crunching noises in the rear end disappeared
and the car no longer bottomed out on a bottle cap.

The side to side "looseness" was not improved .

In my car, I can see the upper A-Arms bushings are
not only history; they are the wrong bushings.
(DPO Pedro ain't heavy in the brains department.)
The tie rod ends are also gonners.

Might as well replace everything while I'm in there.

d

 

[Tomster]

True Rims and tire balance could also add to this. The tire balance is an obvious and easy answer however re truing the rims is expensive. The rims can be checked on any tire machine but the rubber should be removed first

 

[TR4]

New wheels were the last items that really got my car riding nice after a complete suspension rebuild. The old rims were really out of round. My car came from New York and through Pennsylvania where pot holes are legendary.

 

[Alabama_Hokies]

You know this could be the problem. Did not think much about it at the time but when they mounted the tires they said they could get the tires to balance but that the rims were not right. Don't remeber the words they used but it was either, warped, or out of round or something like that... forgot about that!!! Bet that's it.

Next question, where do I get a "true" set of used rims without having start selling body parts?

Dave

 

[Guest]

You didn't hit a really, really large pig lately, did you?

 

[Guest]

Next question, where do I get a "true" set of used rims without having start selling body parts?

Dave

I just sold a brand-new set of alloys. Dang.

There are other rims that fit the TR6. Try Googling to find that info. Things like Ford Granada come to mind. Finding rims that are better than yours is often a serious problem. Might be better off looking to go to mags, unless someone here on the forum has already done that and willing to part with their steel wheels.

 

[Tinster]

I saw a guy in a tire shop heating a bent rim
with a torch and beating on it with a 5# sledge
hammer. I'll bet THAT car ran real nice afterward.

tin

 

[TR3driver]

Why not ? Steel wheels are just heavy sheet metal, no reason you can't forge them back into shape if they aren't cracked, etc. I've done it myself on occasion, worked fine for me. There are even companies that provide this service.
https://www.stocktonwheel.com/widen_straighten2.htm

 

[TR3driver]

Things like Ford Granada come to mind.

Be warned though, that there is more to whether a rim will fit than just bolt circle and tire diameter. Wheels from a different car may have the wrong offset, or not clear the calipers and suspension.
I tried to use a "compact spare" wheel once, that fit fine on the rear but wouldn't clear the calipers in front.

 

[Tomster]

I live in the heart of Canadian Oil country, one of the benefits of this is that we have a great number of low and high tech oil patch service and machine shops. This results in high speed lathes with very large chucks that rims can be spun on and "trued" for a price
If your in "Bama" you probably have access to the same services.
If you did hit a pig as TR6Bill asked, was it one of those Arkansas "Razorbacks"?