Wheel out of balance or more?

[metalmonkey47]

Hey guys, I've had this issue for a little while now that I'm trying to solve now that the car is being driven more.

 

First, it's on my 81 210.

 

I'm noticing a bumping that seems as if it's coming from my right front side of the car that is evident at low and high speeds. I'm not too sure how to diagnose it as for what it is. i don't want to spend money assuming blindly it's one thing.

 

First, the suspension is ALL stock. The rotors have been replaced and the tires have less then 100 miles on them. The car seemed to just start doing it one day. I haven't really been able to decide what it is, but I am almost %100 confident that it is an issue with the front right tire. I haven't had any other issues other then this one.

 

Advice for troubleshooting?

[nismo dr]

if you think its a tire- rotate them, if the noise moves with the tire you know its the culprit, if its still present you've ruled it out

[metalmonkey47]

if you think its a tire- rotate them, if the noise moves with the tire you know its the culprit, if its still present you've ruled it out

 

*facepalm*

 

Why didn't I think of that before? Thanks for the tip.

 

 

Any way of determining if it's an out of round vs. out of balance tire?

[HRH]

An out of balance tire will be a vibration, generally at certain speeds moreso than others. If it's not vibrating, it's probably not that. You might cycle the suspension in the front and see if you can't get it to clunk with a heavy buddy jumping up and down on it.

[datzenmike]

Are the wheel lugs on tight?

Visually check to see if a wheel weight has fallen off. You'll see where it was. Check the inside edge too.

Lift and spin the tire and visually look for any bumps in the tire tread.

While wheel is up, grasp the top and bottom of tire from the side and pull top and then bottom outward in a rocking motion. Is there any movement or clunking?

Now grasp the sides and do the same in the turning direction. Any light clunking?

Have someone lightly rock the steering wheel from side to side with their finger tip and observe any looseness in the steering tie rod end ball joints. Be sure to closely check the idler arm by pulling up and down on it..

Switch tires side to side at the front. Does problem switch sides too?

[Farmer Joe]

id prolly check the lugnuts...

 

didnt the wheel fall off this car before?

[datsunaholic]

Out of balance tire will be a vibration at certain speeds, generally not slow speeds.

 

Out of round will be felt at low speeds (under 5MPH) as a bump if really bad, and a vibration at certain higher speeds.

 

Bent wheel will also vibrate.

 

Jacking up the car and spinning the wheel then watching for lumps/warped wheel will tell the last 2. Rotating might find the first.

 

Other things that can do this are warped or unbalanced rotors or drums, bent axles, bent drivelines, dead shocks/struts (causes wheel bounce- I've seen some MAJOR cases where cars were cruising at 60 with wheel hop), loose suspension parts, worn out or failed motor mounts, uncentered wheels (particularly ones that ran with loose lugnuts that ovaled out the holes. They never center properly after that) and it goes on and on...

[Datsfrodo]

Pick the front tires off the ground. Use jack stands(jack alone not safe). Shake down the wheels, try hands at 3 and 9. This will check steering, i.e tierods centerlink, idler arm. and pitman arm. Look for play. Also put your hands at 12 and 6. then give it a shake, this will check ball joints, wheel bearings and strut mounts. Look for loose parts first. Our ratsun are old and bolts may come loose. IF you feel the wheel is bent or out of balance take it to a tire shop and have them throw it on a balancer, this will show if rim is bent and if its out of balance. This is what i would do if i was in your situation. Good luck.

[I'm BLUE]

check ball joints duder , make sure yo bearings r good too ,,, out of balance tires will be noticable at higher speeds ,,, out of round tires r more noticeable across the board ,,, check all parts , steering , suspension , (ball joints) <-- clunks over bumps at lower speeds/higher speeds (from my experience ;) ,,,

 

Wheels can be bent ,,, have you hit anything lately :lol: :P :P ? ( I have done that one before ) A tire blow out ? etc ....

 

Should be fairly simple to weed out ,,, just rule out all possibility's :D