Vibrating wheels

[golf]

For two years I fought what I thought was out of balance tires.I had my tires balanced at four different dealers and bought new Dayton wheels.I have read on the forum about the brake drums ,but I never suspected them because my brakes have always been smooth.Yesterday I took my drums to a local guy who turns rotors.He put my drums on a metal lathe ,and I could't believe how out of round they were.The inside was true but the outside(especially the larger fin)were out of round as much as 3\16 ins.He worked about 20-30 mins.on each drum and charged me $12 each.I would have paid $100 to get rid of that (***!!????)vibration.My car is by far the smoothest it has ever been and I am so pleased.IF anyone has a stuborn vibration ,especially in the50-60 mph range) ,you might want to check the drums.Good luck,Ben

 

[Dave Russell]

Hi Ben,
Very good advice, some drums need truing, some don't. The ones that do need it will reduce mysterious vibration quite a bit. Good move.
D

 

[Patton]

I'm sending the four drums for my 100-Six your way along with a check for $48 and an airbill to send them back!!!!

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Patton

 

[Keoke]

I think Ben just found a niche business---Keoke /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[stever]

I finally got around to having my brake drums balanced - been wanting to do it for years! Had them done at Hendrix Wire Wheel. Quite a bit more expensive than the above "quote" but they did them quickly, etc. The thing I found interesting was that although mine did not appear to be "out of round" both of them were about two ounces "off". Hendrix welded weight on both and painted them up. I just drove the car yesterday after getting it all back together - did rear wheel bearing/seals, brake lining, etc. at the same time. The car seemed really much, much smoother! I hope it is not just the placebo effect in action. My car wasn't all that bad at 55 or so - just a bit of vibration, but it seems to be all gone now! I really enjoyed the drive! I am saving my pennies for the next project (barring something going bad like the starter did) for the replacement Bilstein shocks! I have rebuilt the old Armstrongs, but I have heard rave reviews from the guys that I have heard that put on the Bilsteins. Has anyone NOT been happy with the changeover???? Happy Fourth to all of you.

 

[Frank C.]

Ok, My BJ8 has a similar problem (vibration ~60 mph) and I also when with new tires and wire wheels and multiple ballancing without success. My question is: would the drums on the back wheels cause this or could it be the rotors on the frond disk brakes?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Tullamore]

The rotors should not get out of round. If the rotors were warped you should feel a shaking sensation during braking. If you vibrations are from the brakes I would guess it would be rear drums.

 

[Dave Russell]

Hi Frank,
"Some" Healeys are noted for having out of balance drums. It certainly is a possibility, as Ben & Steve said earlier. Go here to learn a bit more about it:
https://www.hendrixwirewheel.com/drums.html

It's not that the drums are out of round with respect to the shoes. When the drums were machined, the center hole was not dead center in the casting. The center was the starting point for subsequent machining. Result, one side of the drum outer flange that contacts the shoes is thicker on the outside than the other side of the drum. Varying wall thickness causes out of balance.
D

 

[Frank C.]

Thanks for the info ... I'm thinking that it may be more wear in the steering linkage now. I'll see how much play there is (I know there is some already).

 

[tahoe healey]

Do they remove mass from the out side thicker side or add weight to the thin side? Are after market drums made better?

 

[stever]

Tahoe Healey: In my case they added weight (mass) to one spot on the drum. Also, in my case there wasn't really an obvious thick side/thin side. Hendrix told me that the problem was often in the fins themselves, not the thick/thin problem. This is evidently what I had, but it was about two ounces which Hendrix said really wasn't all that much compared to many Healey drums. In other words, you cannot always tell if you have a drum balance problem from looking at the machining. In Golf's situation the shop removed the "high spot" through machining. Regards,