Hi List,
I wish I could type that I have found a complete and final resolution to my new
found shimmy, but I cant. However, I can report that it is MUCH better and
most of the time you wouldnt detect it unless you knew that it was there. It
is more noticeable on smooth roads, but since I live in Maine, those are few
and far between, and sometimes the shimmy is worse. Since my post I have done
the following. Inspected the front suspension at least a half dozen times.
Here is what didnt work. I switched the new rotor with an old one that did not
have a shimmy. I switched wheels from front to back. I switched wire wheel
hub adaptors from front to back. Having recently replaced the differential
mounts and therefore reinstalled the driveshaft I thought I might solve my
problem by turning the driveshaft 180 degrees. However, I could detect no
difference after the switch.
Here are the problems I discovered and corrected. There was play in the
bearings on both sides. The tie rod lever on the right front had loosened,
possibly from the shimmy. I removed the hub, retightened and used loctite.
The link assembly on the left front was slightly loose. At one point the right
front brake caliper was loose, possible caused by the shimmy also. A major
cause of the shimmy was improperly balanced wire wheels. I finally found
someone who had and old bubble balancer and a clue about wire wheels and he
checked runout, rebalanced and cleaned the wheels. He charged me $75, but it
was worth it.(maybe worth it if he had just cleaned the wheels) When I showed
up to pick it up he showed me a plastic bowl full of wheel weights. He said
one when he finished taking off all the weights on one wheel and balanced it
that it was right on the money with no weights. The wheel runout on the wheels
was .100, .030, .040, and .050. The mechanic said that .030-.050 was
considered pretty good so the .100 wheel went on the rear. The shimmy is still
there, but only slightly and the car feels great, all the way up to 80+mph.
So, why is there still a shimmy? The short answer is that I dont know. One
last thing I discovered was that the inner tie rod on the right front side has
a little play in it. So that part will be replaced at one point in the future,
and when it is, I will report to the list the resolution. In the meantime, I
am off to Stowe, VT tomorrow to the British Invasion. Hope to see any and all
listers there. Look for a BRG 71 TR6 with Maine plates 1971 TR6, or another
lister will be in attendance with a delft blue 75 TR6 with Maine Vetran plates
TR6 and newly installed EFI.
Sorry for the length of the post and thanks for all the help, suggestions and
support from the list.
Aaron CropleyBRG 71 TR6Off to Stowe tomorrow, with or without Isabel(hopefully
without)
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