The fun never ends
I have a vibration in the Exploder. It’s been there a couple months. It’s similar to a vibration I got with a bad front wheel bearing a couple years back.
So i replace the other front wheel bearing. same noise I replace the rear wheel bearings. Same noise. I replaced the original front wheel bearing. Same noise. So tonight I went out and replaced the Ujoints. Same noise. I suspect it may be a tire, but I can’t afford new tires at present.
Gaah.
Fun never ends.
11 comments Og | Shadetree Mechanic
Two- or four-wheel drive? These 4×4 Dodges I fool with are famous for going weak-kneed in the steering linkage, which causes interesting vibrations at speed.
If not that, then I’m inclined to agree you might have slipped a belt inside a tire. Do you have a full size spare you can move around all four corners to try to isolate the problem?
Ham, that’s a good idea, and one I’ll have to try tomorrow.
I had a vibration at 65-70 mph in a 1967 Chevy Nova once so I replaced everything from the front bolts of the cooling fan to the back bolts of the differential cover.
The vibration persisted.
Dang.
Maybe it was harmonics from the dual exhausts … I should’ve tried an exhaust crossover tube.
Citizen,
TADTS.
I had same car. Mine was initially stock SS with the 327 shoehorned in. Saginaw 4 speed, 302 posi diff. I converted it to solids and bigger valves and 3/4 race cam. Redline raised to 6500 RPM from the stock 4800. Same vibration no matter what I did to it. I was convinced it was simply harmonic sympathy of the unibody construction. I avoided the speeds at which it happened. Bonus was that the rear view mirror stops vibrating at high speeds so I could more easily spot those guys who wanted to invite me to traffic court. Of course, I was much younger then too.
Tyres can do that… my toyota had a buzz at 70kph, new set of rubber and it was gone! It did help me stay inside the safe zone though… now I find myself creeping into the red zone when I do a certain commute.
Get a smokin’ hot broad in the front seat, then drive really fast and see what happens.
For a second there, I thought you said that you had an explosion in your vibrator.
I think Dick’s suggestion has more merit than mine, at least for entertainment value.
Most likely the ball joints. Not a fix, but an easy(ish) way to tell.
Get a grease gun with about a 6″ flex hose, and force what grease you can into the joint from the ball/socket interface (there’s no zerk fitting, IIRC). If that dampens the vibe for a day or three, then it’s the joints.
Replace ONLY with MOOG joints. High cost, high quality.
Jim
Sloop New Dawn
Galveston, TX
I did the savage wobbliong test on the Ujoints- and no change. Loose (yes, I took the Ujoints off) and on the vehicle, under load and without load. I’ve put on the spare and I’ll be test driving in a few seconds, hope to find that it’s the tires.
I have had excellent luck with Moog. If these need replacing, that’s what it’ll be.
[…] Thankfully, now the Exploder is much quieter. […]