Thread: 23 T front suspension wobble/shake

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Our T has the kind of steering where the one rod is turned from the steering column on the driver side out to the front (I don't know the nick names of these parts yet).

You can't drive the car much over 50 mph as the front wobbles and shakes at that speed.

Front rims were check, new front tires were added.

What would be the common problem here, and what upgrades or replacement parts (rack maybe?) are available?

Thanks

Welcome aboard 69, looks like you'll need a big can of brass polish too.

That rod from the steering box forward to the steering arm on the spindle is called a drag link. The one that spans the front, from spindle to spindle, is the tie rod. As for your shimmy, start with the basics. Your comment about the wheels wasn't quite clear to me. You should have the wheel and tire combination checked for balance, truness (does it wobble side to side), and for round (does it "move" up and down in rotation). This can all be done on a computer balancer by a qualified tire person. If those all check out, including checking the tire carcass for broken belts, or other defects, then move on to the hardware. Often on these types of axles, the king pins could be at fault. The king pin is the, roughly, cigar sized shaft that passes through the upper boss of the spindle, through the axle end, and then through the lower boss of the spindle. There are bushings in the bosses that can wear, as well as the king pin itself. The axle end may have a bushing in it as well, or it may have just been machined steel. If it was an "economy" grade of steel, that hole could be out of round and allow the king pin some excessive movement. When I say excessive, I'm not really talking about a large amount, which may be why it doesn't show up until higher speeds/harmonics. If the axle end is worn, it may be machined for a bushing, if there's sufficient material, or you may have to acquire a new one. Also check the tie rod and drag link ends, as well as the steering box, for excessive wear. And then have the front end aligned.

The configuration of your car looks very much like that produced by Total Performanc, www.tbuckets.com . You may want to contact them too as they've been doing this for a long time. Your comment about replacing "the rack" I don't think would apply as a steering rack is not compatible with a drag link actuated steering.

Thanks for the reply.

The wheels and tires have been checked as you stated. No defects found, and tire replaced anyway due to age of the others.

The wobble is kind up an up and down bounce of the wheels. At least that is what it looks like as you watch it happen and try to hold the steering wheel.

It causes the steering wheel to jerk back and forth.

Your suggestions of the pins sounds like a great place to look first.

I saw a T at a local cruise with a rack, but I failed to look close enough to see how he did it. I am sure his column was changed as well.

I will check out that link you provided as well.

Thanks!!!!!

Chris

A friend of mine had a similar problem with a channeled, fenderless '31 Ford coupe several years ago. It turned out to be simply an alignment problem. Follw Bob Parmenter's recommendations above first. If all your front end hardware checks out to be OK, try increasing the toe-in just a bit. If this changes the speed at which the shimmy starts (or eliminates the problem altogether) then you're on the right track. Most beam or tube front axles call for 1/16" to 1/8" toe-in, but if the caster is more than about 5 degrees and the car is light weight, it may require a bit more toe-in ( possibly up to 3/8" in extreme cases).

Great.

I was not sure what to call the steering components. I just figured they had some kind of cool street rod nick name.

So, basically if you crank the toe in, it will hold the wheels tight, but cause acclerated wear on the tires. I guess that would be fine as these kinds of cars don't get much use, and tires would still last a long time.

And now that you've added the concept of "bounce" make sure the shocks are working.

Having gone back and looked at your picture it doesn't appear you have tube shocks. Does it have the small friction shocks? If so, they may be a bit loose, or the friction material is worn out.

No shocks at all. I just realized that. The rear has shocks in the coil spring assembly.

Hmmmmm, that could have a huge impact on things.

Originally posted by Streets
My front has old time "friction shocks" on it,

I am not sure what those are???? Do you have a picture????

One other question..maybe I need to start a new thread...but where do you get DISC BRAKE kits for these machines? The front drums have got to go. Also...are the front drums worth anything to anybody? In other words, instead of throwing them away, are they worth posting on ebay..etc?

tsk, tsk, tsk........................I gave you a link previously that answers both those questions. Here's another from that same sight that is even more to the point. Since you're new I'll give you some advice. Folks here like to help, but they won't do all your research for you if they feel you're unwilling to work for yourself.

http://www.tperformance.com/street_rods/street_rod_faq/

Bob..trust me, I am not trying to waste your time. Since I don't know you guys yet, I really don't know how to respond to that tsk, tsk stuff.

Anyway, thanks for the links. I will start my homework assigment now.

Speaking of the front, here is a pic of the axle area.

There are no shocks at all, and I don't see where they would be mounted if it did have them.

The folks at Total Performance are AWESOME!

Considering this is just a play toy, the prices seem very reasonable.

Still more research to do. I am formulating my plan of attack for this machine.

Got the rod over my shop now so I can start taking a very close look. Kind of hard, as my right arm is strapped in a sling due to some extensive surgery on 11/18.

Anyway, it appears the front toe is all the way in. There are no more threads left to go any more. There is more room to adjust caster. The caster appears fairly neutral.

My guess is after a full measure that I may need to cut the front drag link so the tie rods can adjust in more, IF, there is not enough toe.

I have also started pouring over other street rod pics looking at shock mounts. As said before...there are none on this car.

Here are a couple of pics.

I have the car sitting on wheel dollies, however, that does not affect the rake of the car.

Here is the front axle first.

close up on the driver side suspension