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TR6 TR6 shaking at 55MPH

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R_Lyle

R_Lyle

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Any advise on what can be done to test or fix a rather bad problem with my TR6 shaking at highway speeds? I've replaced all of the front bushings and I recently replaced the steering rack boots. Now that the car is back together it shakes rather badly at fifty-five to sixty miles an hour. The tires are about seven years old but I've only driven about 5000 miles on them. When I spin the front wheels I can see a slight woble so I'm wondering if the problem could be bent wheels. Any advice on what to look for to help resolve this issue?
 
I would guess the wheels/tires - especially if the shaking is transitory - i.e. starts and then goes away as you speed up. I would take them to a tire shop with a dynamic balancer (static may not be good enough).
 
I had a similar problem, turned out to be a bent wheel. The face of the wheel was bent. I knew something was weird but I had another motorist pull up to me at a stoplight and tell me about it. If you follow your car it is pretty easy to see.
 
I had a bad front end wobble at 45-55mph (TR3). New tires (Kumhos), had them balanced but no change in the wobble.

I switched front wheels/tires with back wheels. Wobble moved to rear end.

Figured it was bent wheels. Borrowed some Minators - wobble totally disappeared.

Bought new Minators, put on the Kumhos. Drives like a dream.

Bent wheels are a total pain. If you can see a bit of "wobble" when you spin the wheel - and all the suspension is tight - try holding a screwdriver pointing horizontally to the wheel. Brace your arm, spin the wheel. You'll see how bad the wobble is by how the wheel moves toward and away from the screwdriver tip.

Tom
 
Usually when its at about those speeds the best bet is wheel and tire. Seven years is also right at about the recommended change date for tires. Regardless of mileage or how good they look. You don't want this to happen...

P1280059.jpg
 
Only 5000 miles in 7 years. My bet is the tires are flat sided from sitting. And like Shawn advises, regardless of mileage, change them out if they're that old. the rubber deteriorates over time. It's not worth your life.
Classic tire shake occours between 55-60 mph.
 
It sounds like the wheels or tires are the problem. But as another unlikely possibility, it could be a u-joint. After having u-joints replaced on my car about 4 years ago, I developed a bad thump in the rear at about 55-65 mph. It hadn't been a problem before the u-joint replacement, and the shop said it was a bent rim, so they replaced the rim and the problem persisted. They found and replaced the sticking u-joint and the probem disappeared. That's just a story for reference. It sounds like your problem is wheel related.
 
Rob,

When I purchased my TR6 it would change lanes all by itself
going around bends in the road or hitting bumps. The car
about shook me to death. It would slide all over the highway.

My car was unsafe at any speed. The ancient tires were
one of the causes. New tires fixed some of the problems.

Click on photo to enlarge:




regards,

dale
 
Well thanks for all the responses. That TR7 is in bad shape. I hope no one was hurt. Yes the tires are rather old but I don't drive the car much (sits in the garage most of the time). The tires don't look that bad but I do know dry rot can sit in after some time. I also have changed all but two of the U-joints so that might be a factor. The car was shaking some what before doing the U-joints so I really think it has to do with the tires and wheels. I'll have my wife follow me to see if she can watch the wheels turn while I'm on the highway.
 
I had a bad wheel bearing causing the front end to shake on my FHC. But it also caused the tire to wear badly. I didn't notice it until I replaced ball joints and bushings.
 
Dale,

Those were Pedro's custom trolley car tires. In case you didn't notice, they were made to fit right into the tracks.
 
Rob - you might get a quicker "feel" for the problem if you just raise each wheel, spin it, and visually check for wobble. The "screwdriver" test I mentioned earlier.

Tom
 
swift6 said:
Usually when its at about those speeds the best bet is wheel and tire. Seven years is also right at about the recommended change date for tires.
Click to expand...

Seven years, I wish! in the hot dry sunny environment here, I am happy to get five years out of a set of tires and that is pushing it. One disintegrated tire (at 50mph)was more than enough to convince me that replacing tires long before they wore out was necessary. My car looked rather better than the TR7, only a front fender and a big scrape on the drivers side, but if there had been someone in the other direction it would have been a totally different story.
 
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