Splined Wire Wheel Hubs

[gonzo]

There has been alot of helpful discussion, advise and suggestion on the topic of wire wheel preference (Dayton vs Dunlop); tire selection; correct tire and wheel balance procedure; front suspension rebuild...etc to diagnose scuttle shake at speed. My AH 3000 BJ7 has this problem and have yet to find and eliminate the cause!

Could it be that when the new front wheel splined hubs were installed, they were off center causing the lumpy ride?

Question: The front splined hubs sourced from Moss did not "look" different from the originals. The new ones have no gooves inside hole nor recesses in the hub face for the stud (studs are spined) and stud heads (so the stud heads do not interfere with the wire wheel).

Has anyone else observed these differences? Are the differences critical to the installation and centering of the splined hub, and if so, what would be some recommendations? Should the hubs be machined with recesses before the stud are pressed in? Does this make a whole lot of difference?

My current thinking is that the hub spines, although in good condition, may not be centered and cause the lumpy ride.

Thanks in advance for your reply. GONZO.

 

[bighly]

Gonzo,
Say your not far from me. I am in Morgan Hill. Anyway you might check U-joints for play and the drive shaft for alignment. Some have found rear drums to need balancing. Also check your steering box for excess play and tight mounting. Tighten all the shocks. A how-to on reinforcement of the bulkhead/tunnel surround (extreme measure) has been written also. Somebody here will know where it's at. For my BT7 eliminating scuttle shake was a combination of many things, which it sounds like you are also doing. It would be tough to get an off center hub... but I suppose it could happen. Is anything moving in the front end when you check by trying to wiggle things with the wheels off and the car jacked up? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[bighly]

Gonzo,
I somehow deleted this part from my post. I have one hub from Moss and one NOS. I "pressed" the studs in the Moss one with a hammer and did not machine out recesses. The studs are near flush and only have a small extrusion (rounded slightly from hammer). The difference doesent seem to affect the center on mine.

 

[Dave Russell]

Hi Gonzo,
You can check the hubs for runout with a dial indicator. Get a cheap 0-1" dial indicator & a magnet mount stand base for it. Attach the base to something magnetic & solid, where the indicator tip can run on the rotor. Turn the rotor & directly measure the runout. You can measure radial & side to side runout. I would guess that any runout that is more than about .006" could cause problems. If you can't borrow the indicator & base, they really don't cost very much & you will probably find other uses for it in the future.
D

 

[tahoe healey]

Sharp pencil and a block of wood? (oh,yea, and another use for the useless duct tape)A quantitive analysis is probably not necessary, just pass or fail. No?

 

[gonzo]

Thanks folks. Half the process of troubleshooting a problem is to write the problem down the add some prospective solution(s). This and your replies were helpful.

Given further consideration, the spined hub should be centered regardless; it's the brake rotor that could be effected and what will be checked for run-out with the dial indicator (quantitative - the scientific approach) or the creative qualitive approach.

Brighly, yes we're close and another draw is that we have family in Morgan Hill! To the point, the driveshaft was rebuilt and balanced (San Leandro); shocks newly remanufactured (World-Wide- Auto); ditto for kingspins; steering box (Stockton).

Recently rotated right rear tire (Michelin XZ 175 X 15s) to front to address sone developing scalopping ware pattern on the front tire. Anyway when this was done the car started pulled considerably to the left and the overall handling characteristics of the car was thrown off. So, I moved the offending tire/wheel back to the rear and the handling was normalized. Now I know I have a bad tire that may be impossible to replace. Since I'm running 12 year Dunlops wires, maybe its time to change to new Daytons (72 Spoke wires 5.5 in wide)with Vredesteins 185s rubber.

Good for grip but will it help resolve shimmy at speed? GONZO

 

[John Loftus]

[ QUOTE ]
The new ones have no gooves inside hole nor recesses in the hub face for the stud

[/ QUOTE ]

The splines on the studs create the grooves inside the hole when you press (or hammer) the studs in. I'm not sure about any recesses on the back of the hub ... can't see where that would make any difference in alignment of the hub and wheel though.

Cheers,
John

 

[Dave Russell]

[ QUOTE ]
Sharp pencil and a block of wood? (oh,yea, and another use for the useless duct tape) A quantitive analysis is probably not necessary, just pass or fail. No?

[/ QUOTE ]
Quote Gonzo:
(My current thinking is that the hub spines, although in good condition, may not be centered and cause the lumpy ride.)

Tahoe,
Not sure what you are thinking. Even a small radial runout at the hub translates to a lot of tire weight bouncing around. The equivalent of running on egg shaped tires. You can't judge quality without knowing quantity. How do you judge how much error is acceptable with a pencil & block of wood. Really sharp pencil? BTW - Tires which have been trued (shaved) sometimes result in remarkable improvements in smoothness.
D