[Mgs] Non Healey/MG question

[Paul Hunt]

Sounds like a combination of wheel balance and disc run-out, plus possibly
some play/wear in the steering.  I had balance issues (wheel wobble from 68 to
85) on my V8 for years, rebalancing, swapping fronts and backs, and new tyres
made no difference.  Eventually I came to the conclusion that the balancing
process was making the wheels consistently unbalanced but all places seemed to
use the same type of machine.  Then I found a place that does 'road force
measurement'.  Not only does this apply a force to the tyre from a roller
during balancing and spin it faster, but the wheel is held on the machine by
the stud holes and not the centre hole, the centre hole being totally
inadequate for cars of the MGB era at least.  Note this involved a set of
plates and pins selected for each type of wheel and hole spacing, not the
universal gadget which consists of a hub and four (or five) arms that swing
out to match up with any size wheel which has also been tried and made no
difference.

The first thing they did was test the wheels as-is and found them way out,
which was promising.  After balancing as soon as I drove out of the place it
felt smoother even at low speeds.  I discounted that as wishful thinking but
so far it seems to be the case at higher speeds as well.  There is still a
slight trembling in the wheel, but I know I have some rack wear (almost
certainly due to the long term balance problems) and play in the column.

http://www.hunter.com/pub/product/balancer/4159T/index.htm purports to locate
one of these machines in the USA, Germany or Canada.

PaulH.
  ----- Original Message -----
  I get a vibration or shimmy (left/right) through the steering wheel
starting
  about 65 mph ...