front wheel shimmy

[tomshobby]

I hit a pot hole with my TR6 on my way home the other day and ever since there is a wheel shimmy starting about 45mph and up.

I took the wheels and had them computer balanced today and they and the tires look good. In fact the new weights went in almost the exact spots and nearly the same sizes as the old ones. Still the shimmy.

I am taking it in for an alignment check in the morning. Does anyone have anything in particular I should look for?

 

[Brosky]

Check for bent wheel. May still balance with bent wheel.

Check for broken belts in tire. The tread will be distorted when you spin the wheel with the car raised off the axles.

Check for cracked or broken sway bar links and the bushings attaching them to the sway bar.

Check for broken or cracked sway bar mounting brackets or bushings on to frame.

Possible leaky or weak shock along with worn bushings can cause this also as the car reaches a certain resonance caused by reaching a certain tire revolution.

Check the steering rack mounting bushings and brackets.

How are the wheel bearings? Been repacked lately?

 

[TR674]

Tom
the last time I hit a pot hole with my TR6, the connecting plate for the front suspension tore. Check those for cracks even if the wheel alignment stops the shimmy. A re weld plus 2mm additional plate fixed this.
Regards
Craig

 

[tomshobby]

Thanks for the ideas. I am going to start checking things out. I found an alignment shop in town that has Triumph expiernce, they said I should take a better look at the tires before bringing the car in. So, I am going to place the spare on the front right and see what happens. BTW - the spare is a red line and original to the car with the rubber mold fins still across the tread.

The attachment is a picture of the GT6 the auto shop down the street races.

 

[tomshobby]

Replaced 20+ year old tires and no more wobble. They looked good and were round when checked on the balance machine. Probably broke some belts when I went over that pothole. I had hoped to get them to last through the summer and then decide which wheels and tires to run.

I put on a set of 205/70/15 Kenda tires. Never heard of them but they sure seem to drive well. Under $200 for 4 tires mounted and balanced. Real sticky and don't squeel every time I turn a corner.

 

[Guest]

Shame on you, Tom, for neglecting to tell us that you were riding around on dangerous tires . Fair warning to those of you out there that want to keep your old redlines for originality. My suggestion is keep those tires for the shows and get a good set of modern steet tires to cruise around in. A friend wiped out his TR6 by running at legal speed on the causeway over Lake Pontchartrain when one of his precious redlines blew and caused him to total his beloved TR6. Unless you are willing to part with some serious money to get new redlines, keep the old ones at home and enjoy your car with more abandon. New or reconditioned wheels aren't that expensive for a second set if you are going to stay with steel rims.


Bill

 

[Brosky]

Great point Bill. I just parted with my 19 year old redlines and replaced them with Goodyear Assurance black walls.

Last night my wife and I went cruising to play with the air pressure and the car rides and handles like a dream compared to the old redlines.

They looked good, but they were 19 years old. BTW, when the tech removed the spare from the wheel, it crumbled around the bead. Everyone in the tire shop came over to check it out. Most were young kids and didn't understand why I was taking off the "cool" redlines until they saw that mess. While the others looked good, I wonder how safe they would have been at 70 mph on the highway.