Tigers List Archive

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Mail From: Anita & Jim Barrett <(email redacted)>

At 08:55 am 7/16/97 -0400, you wrote:
>I too have something funy going on in the front end of my Mark I. Mine
>appears to be tire related because when they get warm the shimmy gets less.
>Do you suppose that we have a toe in problem and the use of radial tires
>exacerbates the problem? The soft sidewall of the radial tires pernits the
>tire to "wander" a little and when it gets to the limits of its flex, it
>returns? This happens sufficiently fast that we see it as a shimmy?
>
>Another condition could be out of balance tires/wheels. If all the wheel
>weights are placed on the back side this could cause the problem, i.e. if the
>unbalance is on the outside of the tire and the balance weights are placed
>inside the wheel for cosmetic purposes, then the static balance will be
>corrected, BUT, not the DYNAMIC balance.
>
>Also, did the problem just crop up? What did you do or when did you notice
>the shimmy starting? Did you change anything? Was it satisfactory before? I
>would like to hear the final solutions...
>
>
>Lawrence Mayfield
>(email redacted) <<<<preferred
>(email redacted)
>
Lawrence,
My problem turned out to be bad rear bushings in both the upper
and lower A arms. Problem was caused by the header pipes being to
close to the bushings.
I assume that if the tire was the problem there would be shimmy
at speed, not just on braking.
My problem slowly developed over the last few months.
As a temporary check/fix of the problem, remove the nut and washer
that clamps the bushing and add a rubber washer about 1/4" thick
under the washer and tighten the nut back up till it stops. If your
shimmy decreases a bunch then you too have bushing problems.
Also examine the bolts that hold the upper and lower A arms
on. Be careful with the lower bolts as they have a tendency to rust up
inside the front cross member and it is easy to twist them off. It is
VERY difficult to get a broken bolt out from the front cross member.
I use stuff called PB Blaster to swuirt on the bolt threads up inside the
front cross member. Hard to hit them, but it can be done through the
holes for the bolts that hold the cross member to the frame. I then
wiggle the bolts back and forth for several hours before I twist them
off... %$#@&^!
Jim Barrett Tiger II 351C and others