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Re: MGB shimmy (was steering column rattle)

To: johnsong@is.dal.ca
Subject: Re: MGB shimmy (was steering column rattle)
From: BarneyMG@aol.com
Date: Wed, 24 Jul 1996 19:45:25 -0400
In a message dated 96-07-23 07:57:40 EDT, johnsong@is.dal.ca (G.J.) writes:

<< ...... I won't be pleased if my tires/rims are out of true somehow.  Any
way to fix alloy wheels ?

I know of at least one shop in DesPlaines, Illinois (near Chicago) that
specifically advertises wheel straightening and repair.  Will look them up if
you like.
 
<< On a related note, I think where the drive shaft connects to the rear end,
there in a looseness there. COuld that cause a problem?  Note that the shimmy
comes and goes, not with specific speeds, but with changes in the drive, like
comming out of a slight turn, or easying up on gas at the crest of a hill; it
is actually quite unpredictable in it's severity: sometimes it gets worse
when accelerating.

Worn drive shaft parts do act like this.  I had a badly worn transmission
tail bearing (drive shaft support bearing) last summer.  In 4th gear the the
vibration is syncronous with engine speed, 3600 rpm = 60 cycles per second,
about four times faster than your wheel speed.  When it's very bad it comes
in strong and steady above 30 mph.  If it's only a mild case it comes and
goes at speeds above 50 mph and is affected by torque changes, more or less
throttle may make it come or go.

<< The shimmy is translated as a side-to-side motion (I mean left and right
rotational motion) in the steering wheel. It doesn't "seem " to be speed
related, although it realy only happens at speeds above 60mph (but can be
relatively smooth at these speeds too, again, depending on the driving
conditions.  >>

Probably not the drive shaft.  If it shakes the steering wheel it's probably
tires.

Barney Gaylord -- 1958 MGA
Naperville, Illinois


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