old55pete Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 Im just gonna toss this in here and see if it floats. When was the last time you checked/ repacked your front wheel bearings? Well, the bearings and seals were all new last year, but I did re-tighten them earlier this year. Would they cause a problem like this? Which brings to another point...the rotors on this truck are original...I suppose they could be warped?...although I don't notice any issues with pulsations while braking...at least I don't think so. Ok, a story with a moral. In 2008 I took the Bronco to Ca with my race car trailer in tow to pick up a 73 Rivera boat tail sport coupe. On the way back I got just out side Kingman Az and felt something funny in the front. Turns out, I lost a wheel bearing. I limped into Kingman to a Grand auto or some similar store and they had the bearings, races and seal. I bought everything I needed to get it going in the morning as it was around 7;30 pm and was getting dark. I put it all together the next morning and hit the road for the last fours of my trip. I noticed that I had a slight shimmie at around 45 and again at 70. I took it to have the wheels re balanced several times. Even changed the spare rim on to the road. Nothing helped. A few months later I had a guy bring a Peterbuilt into the shop with the same kind of story as my Bronco. Someone had put some brand of wheel bearings in it that I have never heard of and were made in china. You could actauly see where some of the rollers were out of round/ worn funny. I replaced them with Timptkin bearings and races and test drove it. Problem solved. I had driven the Bronco to work that day. I pulled it in the shop and pulled the left front apart and found the same thing. Replaced the wheel bearings and solved the problem. The moral, don't buy parts based on price alone. So my answer to your question is yes, the wheel bearings could be the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted December 29, 2019 Author Share Posted December 29, 2019 So my answer to your question is yes, the wheel bearings could be the problem. Ahh, OK...well that's good to know. I was thinking I'd replace the rotors in the spring of 2020 anyway, so when/if I do, I'll grab some new bearings while I'm at it, and I'll make sure they're Timkens as well. Thanks for the heads up Pete. I'll take whatever I can get in order to resolve this. I'm trying to get rid of all these little problems which will in turn make the truck much more enjoyable to drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old55pete Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 So my answer to your question is yes, the wheel bearings could be the problem. Ahh, OK...well that's good to know. I was thinking I'd replace the rotors in the spring of 2020 anyway, so when/if I do, I'll grab some new bearings while I'm at it, and I'll make sure they're Timkens as well. Thanks for the heads up Pete. I'll take whatever I can get in order to resolve this. I'm trying to get rid of all these little problems which will in turn make the truck much more enjoyable to drive. You had said that you had recently adjusted the wheel bearings. I have always found it to be a good pratcise to not adjust them if they are loose enough to require adjustment. If that is the case, I pull them, clean them, inspect them and the races. If they are good, I repack them and put them in and readjust them. If they show wear, I replace them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted December 30, 2019 Author Share Posted December 30, 2019 Also when spinning look at the tread to see if it is in line and if not then the belts broke. Ok, so I just did a little test, and I put the end of a 1" wide straight edge very close to the center tread on each tire. I left a very small gap...almost touching the tire. All four tires have low spots...or flat spots. None of them have any high spots. On the worst one...the right rear tire, the flat spot is exactly where the tire was sitting on the floor. They right rear is the worst, but the right front actually has what appears to be two low spots. It was a bit hard to measure...it wasn't as even as the other three at least. Maybe that one has a broken belt. I marked each low spot with a paint pen, and then rotated the spot to the top before sitting it back on the floor. I'll leave it for a few days, and then check it again and see how they measure. I might take the two worst offenders to the tire shop and get them to check them on a road force machine and see what they see. A fresh set of eyes on a different machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 Also when spinning look at the tread to see if it is in line and if not then the belts broke. Ok, so I just did a little test, and I put the end of a 1" wide straight edge very close to the center tread on each tire. I left a very small gap...almost touching the tire. All four tires have low spots...or flat spots. None of them have any high spots. On the worst one...the right rear tire, the flat spot is exactly where the tire was sitting on the floor. They right rear is the worst, but the right front actually has what appears to be two low spots. It was a bit hard to measure...it wasn't as even as the other three at least. Maybe that one has a broken belt. I marked each low spot with a paint pen, and then rotated the spot to the top before sitting it back on the floor. I'll leave it for a few days, and then check it again and see how they measure. I might take the two worst offenders to the tire shop and get them to check them on a road force machine and see what they see. A fresh set of eyes on a different machine. A broken belt can drive you bananas. Been there, done that, replaced both the engine and transmission trying to find it - to no avail. Had relatively new Michelins with multiple broken belts. Haven't had Michelins since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted December 30, 2019 Author Share Posted December 30, 2019 A broken belt can drive you bananas. Been there, done that, replaced both the engine and transmission trying to find it - to no avail. Had relatively new Michelins with multiple broken belts. Haven't had Michelins since. Gary, I will be investigating everything, but I'm starting to lean more towards it being a tire issue. The tires being a problem would be more probable then wheels, etc imho. Could a wheel be out of round? Sure it could, but a tire (or tires) being out of round would be more likely. I've been reading that tires developing flat spots is still a common issue, but one that should clear itself up once the tires get warmed up after a few miles. Anyway, we'll see what happens after a few days of sitting on a different spot. After that, I think I'll take the two worst ones in to a shop to be checked out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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