Nylon Tires

[John N. Packard]

I have a set of nylon tires on my '47 Clipper with very few miles on them. When I drive the car they thump like crazy due to the set in the rubber that occurs from standing in the garage. This weekend I drove the car to our meet at the Streetcar Museum (about 50 miles round trip) and the thumping never ceased. I even lost a hub cap! The noise increased whenever I made a slight turn to the right. Do I perhaps have a bad wheel bearing as well as thumpy tires?<P>jnp

[Guest]

John<BR>If you had a wheel bearing so bad as to cause the wheel to thump, it would be easily seen by raising the front end and shaking the wheel. If it was that bad, you'd think the wheel fall off on the driveway.<BR> <BR>Those nylon tires do take a set; it's not the rubber but the nylon cord. On a car that has extensive down-time, the set can be quite hard to overcome. I believe you'd have to get the tires good and warmed up to operating temperature. Driving at moderate speed on a cool day won't do it. Even then, if the tires are pretty old and starting to crack, you may want to get some more modern tires with a current type of design and cord in them. <P>In addition, you may have a bad shock(s). That, along with one or more out-of-balance tires and you'd be in for a bumpy ride indeed. <P>You may want to think about some new tires if this is a car you intend to use frequently.

[Dave@Moon]

I'd try storing the car on jack stands a couple of times, even if you can't get the wheels to shake. The tires won't take a set, and you'll get a better picture of what your suspension is doing.<P>Also, if it's more intense in a turn that could be a tie rod wobbling as well as a bearing.<P>Finally, it may be a little too elemental, but are you <I>sure</I> you lugs are tight and have good threads?

[John N. Packard]

Dave,<BR> I'm embarrassed to admit it; but both front wheel lugs were loose. The left front wheel was very loose. I guess when I did recent brake work I failed to tighten them securely. <BR>jnp

[Dave@Moon]

John,<P>If that's the worst mistake you make with a car you're probably the luckiest/most skilled guy on the forum! <P>Be sure to recheck those lugs every so often through the coming months. It'll be best to do it before and after a run to check over a wide temperature range. You <I>may</I> have driven the car enough to widen/oblong the holes in the wheels, which will mean you'll be needing new ones. You'll know if you can't completely tighten them or if they loosen after driving on them some distance.<P>Chances are everything's probably fine now, however. <p>[ 04-11-2002: Message edited by: Dave@Moon ]

[JohnMyer]

John, you were honest enough to admit that you had failed to tighten your front wheel lug nuts, but you did not tell us if fixing that took care of the thumping that you experienced earlier. I would be interested to know if that eliminated the problem entirely.

[John N. Packard]

Well John, I actually had two problems on that run. The second was a leaky manifold gasket. So...in the process of troubleshooting the vibration I started to remove the manifold. Did someone say that it's easy to work on the older cars? The lug nuts don't want to come off the studs; but the studs want to come out of the block. Of course they are thru tapped to the water manifold! So, what I had hoped would be a quick fix has become a major production. I pushed the car back into the garage and went to work on my tax returns! The answer is that I have not run the car yet to determine if the loose lug nuts were the problem; but most assuredly they were. The holes in the wheel do not appear to be greatly enlarged by the incident; so I hope that they will remain tight when I do get the car back on the road. Taxes are now done; so that should be soon! I'll keep you posted.<P>jnp

[Guest]

In the future i would recomend useing a torque wrench on your lugs and criss cross pattern.This takes a little longer butt it prevents warpige and damage to al parts concerned.have a nice day.