[95Chwagon]

I recently rebuilt nearly everything brake, steering, suspension related on my Fleetwood. It has developed a vibration that starts just above 50 and get worse the faster you go (took it up to 70MPH or so). Does the same thing in neutral or drive. Just had an alignment done yesterday and tires balanced today with no change.

It starts "rolling" vibrations every other second and then gets more persistant the faster you go.

I know that is not much to go on given I repaired so many things but what would the most obvoius things to check? Thanks for any input.

 

[PD939C1]

Does the vibration go through the steering wheel to indicate it is related to something in the front? If this didn't start immediately with the replacement part installation, I'd look at wheel bearings. Easy to check.

 

[BALLSS]

Alex, I will take lose wheel bearing nut for $100

Op, you said neutral or in drive...I assume this means while you are at the speed the vibe is?...or just revving the engine??

 

[95Chwagon]

So I always thought this was an old wives tale but I 180d the driveshaft and nearly all vibration is gone at 60MPH. I'll take it on a highway tomorrow to be sure. Aparrently I need to mark things better when I take them apart.

The front wheel bearings are a tad loose. I can grab the top and bottom of the wheel and wiggle it a tiny bit. I am always afraid to over tighten them, guess I can move the cotter pin one more notch.

I'm glad those are both easy. My mind was starting to race as to what horrible thing it could be since I took so much apart at once.

 

[BALLSS]

The stock DS was balanced with the pinon yoke and dust shield...so yeah marking and re-installing same position matters

There should be no "wiggle" rocking tire. Tighten nut till it stops (read don't go ape shiat tightening, just snug) then back off until the cotter key drops in a hole. Tire should spin freely after

 

[95Chwagon]

I keep reading snug castle nut then back off. Isn't there some service spec to define it more than that? Like 10ft/lbs then back off to next cotter pin slot.

 

[Fred Kiehl]

Driveshaft universal joints.

 

[95Chwagon]

Also that^. They aren't smooth and are original for sure.

 

[PD939C1]

Per FSM:
-Tighten nut to 12 ft.lb. while turning tire and wheel assembly forward by hand to fully seat bearing assemblies. This will remove any grease and burrs which could cause excessive wheel bearing play later.
-Back off nut to the "just loose" position.
-Hand tighten nut. Loosen to next slot in nut to fit cotter pin.
-Install new cotter pin and bend ends against nut. Cut off extra length to ensure ends do not interfere with wheel bearing lubricant cap.
-Using a dial indicator, check front brake rotor assembly. There should be .001-.005 end play when properly adjusted.
-Install wheel bearing lubricant cap on front rotor assembly.

HTH

 

[tayto]

don't forget to try the 2nd cotter pin hole before backing off to the nearest castellation

 

[95wagon]

While the manual may say .001-.005 , spend some time researching bearing preload vs clearance.
Also look at the available, for these cars , spindle preload spacers.

Loose wheel bearings don't run true and are a big contributor to the inside wheel bearing thrust surface of the spindle getting worn.
If you have any decernable movement at tge wheel , it is going to waltz around.
If you think preload ( correct preload) is going to kill the bearings , think how much load the weight of the car puts on them as they get pried apart !

Disagree? Then follow the manual

 

[Z09B4U]

The tolerance if you preload is critical. If done wrong it will burn out the bearings very fast. This is why bearing manufactures and GM aim for endplay. A fraction loose will do less bearing damage that a fraction tight.
GM may know something about heat and metal expansion as well.

If you have all the tools and can set it within 0.001-0.005inch preload will be better according to most data.
But in the "real world" a small amount of endplay may be easier to set.

Trailing arm tapered bearing setup (preload vs endplay) - CorvetteForum - Chevrolet Corvette Forum Discussion

C3 Tech/Performance - Trailing arm tapered bearing setup (preload vs endplay) - I'm in the middle of upgrading my 1969 Blue Angel vert with RideTech suspension and have a question for you guys. (Hope GTR1999 chimes in). All the how-to articles recommend setting the trailing arm wheel bearing...

www.corvetteforum.com

From page 28:

Tapered-Roller-Bearing-Catalog 28 Timken

Check out our interactive digital publication, delivered by Dirxion, the ultimate flip book platform. The user interface makes reading and searching easy.

catalog.timken.com

Searching for the right wheel bearing adjustments - Truck News

TORONTO, Ont. -- The tolerable end play for truck wheel bearings lies somewhere between the thickness of a human hair and a sheet of paper. In other words, it's perfectly acceptable to adjust wheel bearings so that they are just a little bit loose, but not too loose. How do you set your end play?

www.trucknews.com

Tapered Roller Bearing Setting Methods

Designers of gearing or wheel systems often will seek arrangements that can offer little to no movement or “play” of the components mounted on the shaft attached to the gear. Tapered roller bearings, if assembly is properly controlled, are ideally suited to these applications.

www.engineersedge.com

 

[95wagon]

Like I said " then follow the manual"


Personally , never lost a wheel bearing with the final step being ,snug with hand on nut, no back off..
If using spacers , pretty easy even with out measuring tools.
With a given nut torque shim to infinitesimal rattle or clearance , take .002 out, retorque.
If you can not feel clearance , then you know your are .000 to .002 preload.
grease the bearings , retorque to same number.

Not for everyone ,but not rocket science.

 

[Sinister]

On the big trucks/trailers I have been installing wheel ends using RP618B for over 2 decades without issue. Most everything being made today though uses the pre adjusted setups that use a bearing spacer and get torqued to hundreds of foot pounds. They are so much easier and near impossible to screw up. I say near because there are people out there that could destroy an anvil.

 

[95wagon]

More random bearing info

Adobe Acrobat

acrobat.adobe.com

 

[sonuvah]

I 180d the driveshaft and nearly all vibration is gone at 60MPH

You might want to check the Driveline angles, too. Vibrations occur when the angles aren't between .5 and 2 degrees. Here's a good video that explains it pretty well.

 

[sherlock9c1]

Your u joints may not have been perfectly centered in the yoke. They do walk. One way to tell is to use a screwdriver as a big dial indicator. Jack the car up, front stands on frame, rear stands on rear axle to get the driveline angle correct. The start the car, shift the transmission into L1, get under the car with a big flat blade screwdriver or pry bar, hold it against the floor pans perpendicular to the driveshaft to use it as a dial indicator. Check driveshaft runout at front and rear.

When you are done, turn the car off first and THEN shift it back into park. It’s safer that way.

 

[95wagon]

Well if the 180 flip fixed it the minor rear shaft imbalance and yoke imbalance are cancelling each other.
If it doesn't vibrate , case closed.
If one was to go further a dead true balanced shaft would require a " good" yoke.
Either a billet or a lucky rough forged-cast with the factory weights cut off
While weights , if on service yokes, can be to balance a crap yoke , they are often to finish balance the back end of the assembly.
This is why sometines the 180 deal works
Two wrongs making a right.

 

[deingy]

I keep reading snug castle nut then back off. Isn't there some service spec to define it more than that? Like 10ft/lbs then back off to next cotter pin slot.

No. It's always been this way. Learned it in the 50's.

 

[Curtsauer]

I recently rebuilt nearly everything brake, steering, suspension related on my Fleetwood. It has developed a vibration that starts just above 50 and get worse the faster you go (took it up to 70MPH or so). Does the same thing in neutral or drive. Just had an alignment done yesterday and tires balanced today with no change.

It starts "rolling" vibrations every other second and then gets more persistant the faster you go.

I know that is not much to go on given I repaired so many things but what would the most obvoius things to check? Thanks for any input.

I’ve had similar problems and it was u-joints going bad, drive shaft out of balance and or have you change the rear suspension or spring heights lately this can cause a pinion angle problem?