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Midget Handling

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MGFever

MGFever

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I need a little more help guys. I've had a front end tire hop for awhile and have fixed the most obvious suspects and still have a problem. What happens is that at about 55 to 60 MPH the front end seems to be hopping . The wheel seems fairly stable but I have had several people mention that they can see it even at a low speed, say 40 MPH. I also noticed last night that if I give the wheel a sharp turn the front end wants to take off on me and it dives the other way almost to a point that I think I could loose it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
So far, I have replaced the rebuilt shocks that were leaking with new rebuilts and I've upgraded to poly bushings. The front spindles seem fine and the previous owner had a receipt for a full kit although I can't confirm it was installed. I do have oversized tires on the beast.
When I had the front end in the air, I did notice a thump in the steering when I turned the wheel full rotation either way. Is this a possible issue with alignment or should I be concentrating on the steering linkage?
Thanks a lot for the advice.
 
MG Fever

can you give us a little bit more on this thump?

my first thoughts would be a bent rim or a tire with a broken belt. or perhaps out of balance? if the lower fulcrum pin mounts in the a-arm were extremely worn perhaps this would cause this kind of problem. also if the PO didnt shim the upper trunnion mount correctly it would allow some up down play in the spindle. More info please

mark

ps. is that thump in the steering wheel or in the wheel itself?
 
The thump in the steering wheel was when I had it on the jack stands with the wheels hanging free. With the units that extended, I wasn't sure if maybe that's why it "thumped".
The wheel hop seems to be on both sides although it's hard to know when you're driving. I almost want to have someone else drive it and I'll follow to check it out.
Would it be possible to have so much play in the steering linkage that the wheels actually wobble? Maybe that would explain the hop.
I do have a couple of dings in the wheels but I rotated those to the back to see if it made any difference. Not as I can tell.
How about camber or toe-in adjustment? Would these give me similar symptons?
 
Oh, by the way, I did get the tires at Sam's and I remember that the kid said he had a tough time getting them mounted. I suppose it's possible he didn't balance them!
 
[ QUOTE ]
Oh, by the way, I did get the tires at Sam's and I remember that the kid said he had a tough time getting them mounted. I suppose it's possible he didn't balance them!

[/ QUOTE ]

that would be the first thing i would check
second would be to take a good look at the tires themselves, a broken belt will stand out pretty well and you should be able to feel it.. keep us posted

mark
 
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