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MG TD TF 1500 - vibration

I have a wheel vibration on my 1952 TD starting at 48 MPH and getting worse on up. I have replaced the wheels, had them static balanced to no avail. Then rebalanced on a spin balancer, no better. The wheels are true with less than 1/16" run out. I jacked the car up this morning and slowly turned the wheels ckecking for out of round tires.(Michelen radials) all okay. New rebuilt shocks, HD bushings on wishbones. wheel bearings are smooth with out any slack. It is definately a front wheel problem even after I repositioned them front front to back. It first starts as a feeling in the steering wheel and then progresses. Any and all suggestions will be gladly received.
conrad sanders

How old are the tires? Could a belt be separated? Spin balance- do you mean computer (off the car) or actually spun on the car? There are still a few shops around that can spin them on the car- this balances wheels/tires/drums (all spinning mass), but I have never found T-series that hard to balance (a 280Z is a different deal- have to spin on the car). If the shop spins them up to 60 or so perfectly smooth with no vibration, something else is up (loose/broken part, driveshaft, etc.)
George Butz

George; these were spin balanced off the car. Even though the tires are three years old they have less than 1000 mile on them.When turning the wheels there is no run out on the tread at all.This is with the car off the ground.
Sandy Sanders
conrad sanders

Had the same problem. My diagnosis is that you have run out on one or more wheels and could be on the rear.I had a number of "experts" look at my problem and most came up with the wrong conclusions.This is what I did.Coast down a long hill at 50-55 MPH and if you still have the vibration that eliminates the engine. Had the universal joints checked and the prop shaft balanced. Then found a shop where they can spin and balance the wheels on the car.You can't tell by spining them yourself because you can't get them to the needed RPM. They will quickly tell you if you run out and in my case they could straighten the rims. It was the best single repair I've ever had done, makes the car run like new. The bent rims are mostly caused by the machines used to change tyres, the place that straightened the rims said to always have the tyres changed by hand but there are new machines for mag wheels that don't touch the rims. If I had to do it again I would start with the wheel balancing.Terry
Terry O'Brien

Also check your timing and ignition circuit, the engine can vibrate quite a lot if it is missing or a bit out of tune.


Tatty ( Non-member since 2003 )
Tatty

Conrad,
Go to the archives and search for "Body Shudder" posted 18 November 2002 for more suggestions. Especially the last one,,, We have the same vibration in our TD, and as soon as the snow is gone up here, I'm going to check all of the bolts to see if this helps..
Keep your stick on the ice,
SPW
Steve

Sandy- read the link as Steve suggests. Definitely have them spun on the car. Check with car jacked up for loose wheel bearings front, and rear drum mis/displacement on the rear (really wiggle/pry on the wheels). Check pressure also. Any chance of flat-spotting after sitting? The Dunlop D-60s on my 280 are terrible about this after sitting 2 weeks- takes several miles to smooth out.
George Butz

Also go to the MGA section ,,, there is quite a long discussion on the same topic,, click on ft wheel shake
SPW
Steve

I'm the guy who asked about body shudder last year. In my case it turned out to be all those bolts holding the cowel, firewall, foot wells, radiator braces, etc. After carefully tightening everything in sight the shudder, which could be felt in the steering wheel, as well as a strange vibration in the front end were gone. The car now rolls smoothly at speeds up to 60 plus. I do not push her beyond 6000 RPM very often. Good luck.

Jim Haskins
53 TD
J. M. Haskins

Conrad and others with shaking front ends:

Got oil in your front shocks?

No oil, no damping, and the slightest little bump can start the wheel bouncing.

Had this problem when out TD was new to us. Scratched my head quite a bit and tried all of the above before I found the real problem.

Regards, Bill V.
W. J. Vatter

Thank you to all; The vibration is all gone now. I replaced the Michelin's (expensive) with economy tires from Pep Boy's. Their brand is manufactured by Cooper.The total price was $160.45 for five tires not mounted. Installed them and then roadtested up to 60mph. They had minor shake. After balancing they were flawless up to 70MPH. These Michelin tires had less that 1000 miles but were in storage for an unknown time. Even though they appeared round and balanced perfectly , they were simply awful when driving, Everything shook from 35mph on up.
Again, thank you for the help. It is greatly appreciated.
Sandy Sanders
conrad sanders

This thread was discussed between 26/03/2003 and 04/04/2003

MG TD TF 1500 index

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