Wood spoked wheels

[39deluxe]

How to balance with or without brake drums installed? Also method used to balance wheels, floor bubble type or spinning type? I don't seem to have anyone that can do them. Can brake drums be removed and balanced with floor bubble machines? I noticed one wheel had all new nuts on the inner side of the drum and the other drum had five thick washers installed in various positions. Help needed! Car shakes at about 40 mph. Checked alignment seems OK. 🤕  

[Mark Shaw]

Simply jack up the car and spin the wheel to see if it stops in the same place multiple times.  Sometimes the tire/tube location can be changed; demountable rims can also be rotated to reduce vibration.  Otherwise, install weights opposite the heavy side and repeat until the vibration is alleviated.

[Grimy]

Expanding on Mark's instruction:  Spin each wheel 10 times in direction of normal rotation and make a note of the "time" location of the valve stem (e.g., 1 o'clock, 3 o'clock) when the wheel stops.  Average those "times" / locations, and rotate the wheel to that average location and brace it there to prevent it from rotating.  The heaviest spot will be at 6 o'clock, so you want to apply weights 180 degrees opposite the heavy spot, at 12 o'clock.  Repeat to see if you need to add or subtract weight.  Time consuming, for sure....

[Oldtech]

If your car shakes at 40 it either has a wheel WAY off balance, which should show up with the above good advice. More likely (imho) is that something is out of round.  A tire, rim not mounted properly, or even a wheel ( hope not).  I would bet on a rim not sitting correctly.

[Grimy]

4 minutes ago, Oldtech said:

I would bet on a rim not sitting correctly.

Yes!  Have someone follow you and report which wheels "wobble."

 

Whenever attaching a demountable rim to a stationary wheel, place a reference point such as a piece of 4x4 lumber or a tool box longitudinally at the base of the wheel, rotate the wheel, and look for runout.  At places of runout (closer to the reference point), tighten a little more the lugnuts on each side of the high point.  Rubber mallets are virtually essential to overcome paint buildup on both the rim and the felloe.