tires and wheels New tires! But the rumble/vibration's still there...

[Guest Anonymous]

Got the new wheels and tires mounted up yesterday. Not much chance yet to try their stick (I had a wheel and tire rolling around in the back seat for the drive home), but they seem fine. I'll try to get pics in the next couple of days (hafta borrow the digicam from work).

But the rumble's still there, so it wasn't a bent rim, and I need some more advice. This starts around 20 mph and turns into a loud throbbing hum, with a vibration, from 60-70 mph (worst at 65). It goes away if weight shifts off the right side of the car.

I poked around underneath the car over the weekend, and the driveline seems tight, with no significant play. Likewise the steering system (tie rods, etc). So I'm down to wheel bearings or control arms -- the right control arm is dented, and the bushings look pretty cracked, so I fear it's them. I replaced the right-front wheel bearing last summer, but have no idea if I did it properly. Last I checked, the wheel had little to no play top-to-bottom.

How do I know whether it's the bearing (front or rear) or control arm? Should I just get it all replaced, and how much is that apt to be (labor)? I'm not confident enough to tackle suspension work yet. How likely am I to thrash my new tires if I drive the 7 hours to Canaan Valley and back on a bad control arm?

Thanks for any of you who plowed through this LONG post, and thanks in advance for any help you might have.

-Dave

Noisy Colorado '71

[Guest Anonymous]

URL: http://www.02fanatic.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album05&op=modload&name=02gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php

(nt)

[Guest Anonymous]

having been indoctrinated at an early age, i feel strongly that high wear parts that come in pairs should be replaced in pairs. your post suggests you replaced only the right wheel bearing last summer.

as a corollary to this line of thought, my experience has been one cannot trust one's hearing in the car to pinpoint the location of a problem.

point being- it might be the left front bearing acting up on you. if the right needed replaced, the left probably did too. it's relatively easy job, and if last summer was your first time, it might be worth replacing both now.

hth, and good luck

robert

[Guest Anonymous]

My rumble was the left one. It definitely sounded like it came from the front, and a new bearing fixed it right up.

[Guest Anonymous]

for front bearings, get the wheel off the ground and spin it. A bad bearing will make an easily detectable noise in a quiet environment, even unweighted and spinning slowly. The rears are a bit more difficult, because it isn't easy to spin them with all of that extra mass from the driveline, not to mention drag from the brake shoes. I suggest you pull the brake drums and turn the flanges by hand. You can sometimes feel a bad bearing as a roughness or vibration when you rotate the flange.

Not clear to me how a bad control arm component could cause the rumbling you describe.

Chris B.

'73 ex-Malaga

[Guest Anonymous]

...that I'd done TWO wheel bearings wrong last summer. I only did the right because I messed up the first time (not changing the outer race) and used the second set of bearings to re-do the right side.

I'll get someone who knows what he's doing to help me this time -- maybe bring the bearings, grease, etc., to Canaan Valley and enlist some help changing them in the parking lot! :-)

Thanks for your help. This board is great!

-Dave

Colorado '71