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Skydude

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
1972 Chevelle 350/350. Bad vibration starting at 55mph and gets worse at higher speeds. I think I can see the hood and fenders vibrating as well as vibration in the steering wheel. Had front wheels balanced several times, even tried a different tire and wheel. Engine seems to stay put when reving so don't think it is mounts. Going to have the drive shaft balanced and new u-joints but wonder if it could be ball joints. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated

Bob
 
Bob,
How about the rear tires ? I have seen them cause a shake like that. Also, you might want to have the tires balanced on a "road force" balancer. A tire can be pretty badly out of round, and yet still balance perfectly on a traditional balancer. A road force balancer will show it.
 
Did something just happen?
I'd check look at the Drive shaft, and for a bent axle, and a bad tire. I would throw it in neutral and let the rpms drop at a speed where it vibrates and see if it goes away. If it still shakes its not in the motor. I would say a bulge in a tire or a bad u joint if I had to guess.
 
Discussion starter · #6 ·
I tried taking it out of gear and the vibration is still there. As for tires, they are pretty new and I checked for any damage. The right front has very small play in the wheel bearing but never heard of that causing vibration. I know the front end needs rebuilt so when I do, I plan to balance the drive shaft and new U-joints.
Thanks
Bob
 
I'll second what Tom has said. Seen many "new" tires that had issues. Who's doing the balancing? Are you depending on the shop to tell you it's within specs? Have you tried a different shop?

what's the age and quality of shocks?
 
Discussion starter · #11 ·
I am going to try the roadforce balance on all 4 wheels and see what it shows. The front shocks don't look bad but I don't know how old they are, I have only had the car for a little over a year. They are Delco.
 
Have you had the drive shaft balanced yet? Although it's pretty scary, I've put my car on jack stands and had soemone bring it up to speed while watching the rear tires and shaft. You can see the culprit if it's a wheel or drive shaft.
 
Had a similar problem with a 68 Mustang. Did it all -- balanced all 4 wheels; new u-joints; balanced drive shaft; even swapped out the rear center section and checked the axles and pinion angle. Then I had the rear wheels balanced on the car and the tech advised that it must still be a driveline problem because he got the same vibration on testing each side of the rear (causing me to go even further up the line and suspect the trans or torque converter). But I ultimately determined that the problem was that both rear sides were out of balance not in the wheels, but the drums. Seems I did a rear brake job that required new drums, and both of the new drums were unbalanced. Since both sides were unbalanced, the tech checking on-car wheel balance assumed it must be originating up the driveline instead of thinking it could be an imbalance on both sides of the axle at the same time. A pair of $10 junkyard drums solved the problem -- after spending untold time and money, and just before I sold the car.......... You didn't have your drums replaced recently, did you?
 
Sometimes, tires need to be "match mounted" on the rims. Most tire balancers have a match mount feature that has the tech spin the tire and the display tells them to dismount the tire and rotate the tire on the rim a certain amount to help with cutting down vibrations like this. New tires always have a colored mark that is supposed to be lined up with the valve stem to aid in reducing vibrations and help balance out better.
 
Sometimes, tires need to be "match mounted" on the rims. Most tire balancers have a match mount feature that has the tech spin the tire and the display tells them to dismount the tire and rotate the tire on the rim a certain amount to help with cutting down vibrations like this. New tires always have a colored mark that is supposed to be lined up with the valve stem to aid in reducing vibrations and help balance out better.
Are you talking about that orange circle on some tires? I've been wondering what that is for.
 
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