Squeak from rear of BJ8

[RAC68]

Sorry for the duplication

 

[RAC68]

Hi All,

These are some observations from my first drive after packing every leaf of each spring with zinc strips.

1. NO creaking on a multitude of road surfaces...in short, Quiet suspension.
2. Tightly packed leaf springs provided a tight but comfortably compliant ride.
3. Road height was maintained with the added #2 leaf as before.
4. The added shim on the right (passenger), higher side, brought it down to the height of the Left (Driver), lower side to transversally even the rear body height. (Keep in mind that it is common for the driver's side springs to sag over time as a result of suspension torque and the side most commonly occupied. Differing from a car with differential below the frame, adding a shim on a Healey will lower the height of the body).

Since the springs ARE packed tightly and held by 6 spring-clamps, I expect there will be little movement and little chance of liner escape. As a result of little movement, I also expect, but can't predict the ware lifespan of these zinc inserts will be quite long. However, in any case, I anticipate their life span to be much longer then I will be around to care. At this point, I am very happy with the results and my total cost was $31.98+tax. and 1 1/2 days of relearning and effort when it only should have taken much less than a day (I guess getting old is becoming more and more obvious and long lasting).

For those interested, after trying a number of cutting tools, I found a scissor worked best to cut the strips and a hole-punch to create the center hole.

Ray(64BJ8P1)​

 

[Keoke]

The 'scuttle shake' issue has been beat to death, both here and elsewhere, and this is the first time I've seen rear suspension anomalies mentioned as a possible cause. Intriguing.

Well this may just be pointing dezand in the direction to balance the rear drums ?

 

[mgtf328]

I have the same problem with my BJ8. I think they fitted poly bushes when they changed my springs, they are known to be noisy. I spray mine with a Teflon based lubricant but it doesn't last for long, a month or so and the "creak" is back. Spraying with WD40 doesn't work for long as it dry's out quickly and may deteriorate the bushes.
AJ

 

[dezand]

Keoke,
I have an old style bubble balancer and have checked my rear drums.
They are significantly out of balance, requiring at least two ounces of weight each. I still need to do them but I was pleased to experience at least a 75% reduction by rebuilding the springs and shocks.

 

[RAC68]

Dezand,

A while back I tried balancing my drums but, back then, it was not easy to find anyone that had the setup to do so. In order to get a better balance, I used an old hub to lock the wheel with tire and drum together with an old knockoff with a large hole the id of the hub inside opening. This setup was placed on a spin balancer and all was balanced as one. The drawback is the wheel and drum must be maintain in the same alignment as balanced (a small painted line on the drum to align with the air stem). This has worked with no shake for the past 6 years and will continue being in use until I need new tires.

This balancing can be performed on your bubble balancer by bolting your hub on your drum and placing your wheel and tire on the hub. Since there is no spin balancing mounting issue, a good knockoff, without a hold) can be used to keep the combination secure. Yes, it is better to find someone to balance the drums separately, but, you do have a choice.

Ray(64BJ8P1)​

 

[steveg]

Before I upgraded to rear discs, used to align this logo with the valve stem:

 

[Rob Glasgow]

Steve, was there a reason to align the logo and the stem other than it looked good? What does the logo on the drum represent? The heaviest or lightest side of the drum?

 

[steveg]

Steve, was there a reason to align the logo and the stem other than it looked good? What does the logo on the drum represent? The heaviest or lightest side of the drum?

This is 15+ years ago, but I'd found a place which could do on-car wheel balancing and got them balanced that way, then was using the logo as a convenient marker to align with the valve stem.

 

[Rob Glasgow]

When I was in college in 1964, I found a guy in Santa Barbara that balanced my new Pirellis on the car. I had never seen that technique before and could see the value of balancing the tire, wheel and brake together. I could never find another tire shop that did it that way. I guess it took to long and maybe the new style spin balancers are better.

 

[RAC68]

Hi Rob,

I too used a service that would spin balance the wheel on the car. The balancer did a good job of balancing wheel, tire, and drum as a single unit but required all components be maintain in the same alignment. Tire rotation was something you could not do and many non-Healey owners, not plagued with unbalanced drums (I had never heard of then), preferred the flexibility to rotate their tires for extended longevity.

All the best,
Ray(64BJ8P1)

 

[AUSMHLY]

Last weekend, I sprayed the leaf springs with Gunk Engine degreaser/cleaner and used a brush. Jacked the car up by the pumpkin, and also by the frame so as to get the cleaner in between the leafs as much as possible. Noticed a lot of rust coming out. Cleaned with water then a high pressure air hose to remove as much water as possible. Let it set for 4 hrs then repeated both ways of raising the car, used the air hose again. Completely dry. Raising both ways, lubricated the leafs with Wurth HHS 2000 grease. Claims strong adherence for the lubricant onto metal and is water resistant. We'll see how long this brand of grease works. Leafs are quiet.

• Designed to lubricate parts exposed to strong pressure, impacts and vibration
• Ideally suited where other lubricants cannot achieve long term effectiveness
• It's penetrating power helps eliminate the need for dismantling parts for lubrication while providing long-lasting effectiveness
• Solvent evaporates for immediate strong adherence
• Test prior to use; safe on metals
• Water resistant
• Highly polymeric and silicone-free
• Withstands temperatures from -31°F to +392°F