VIBRATION ANALYSIS

For the past couple of years, I've been experiencing a terrible chassis vibration with the Torino.

It occured at exactly 62 MPH and got worse as I went faster.  So, that meant that as long as I stayed at 60MPH on the highway, it was smooth, but took forever to get anywhere.  So much for Zebra 3 being the hottest machine on el-road-o (see my sounds page).

I consulted with a few mechanics, and scoured the net looking for the cause.

The best advice I got was from Sam Memmolo (2 Guys Garage). I called his radio show and asked for some advice.  Sam and Dave suggested 2 things - tires and driveshaft/u-joints.

I bought new u-joints, dropped my drivehaft and changed them, putting the driveshaft back in the correct phase. No improvement.

I then put on 4 mags and tires from my 97 Mustang GT (yes they fit, but the backspace is weird). Still no change - car shakes at 62MPH.  My slot mags are all new, and the back tires are brand new, fronts are 2 years old. All balanced well.

So whats next?  A local technican told me that if the whole car shakes, its a rear end problem.  So I jacked up one back tire at a time, and ran the car at idle in Drive.  The car shook even at idle with the left tire off the ground, not so much with the right.  So I pulled off the tire, and let the brake drum spin - shake was still there. The drum was WAY OUT of round, and the weights were gone.  I had never changed them. I took off the left drum and let the hub turn at idle - NO SHAKE. I accelerated to 40MPH on the jack, and no shake.  I put the drum back on and the shake returned.  So that must have been the problem.

I bought 2 new Wagner Drums, and installed them.  Today, Good Friday, the roads were very quiet and I took the car out on the highway - vibration was gone completely. At 64MPH where it was worst, the car was smooth. Now I can feel the bumps of our crappy roads.

So now the old beast is set to cruise to the local car shows, and Carlisle in June 2004.