BAC Forum
General Boards => Technical Support => Topic started by: Michael Bartkoski on April 26, 2015, 04:07:58 PM
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We have a vibration on our 2005 Monterey 38 but only at 55mph +/- it seems to be coming from the rear of the coach. Any troubleshooting suggestions are appreciated. What has been done...rear tires are 15 months old with ~5K miles, using sand balance inside, checked the drive shaft and u-joint no obvious signs of damage or out of balance, tire pressures at 105 psi.
Thanks
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Vibration can be hard to nail down for the source. If it were indeed a wheel balance problem, in my experience anything above 50 mph is usually a front tire unlike lower speeds.
Are the front tires sand balanced as well?
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Thanks for the reply. Yes the fronts are sand balanced as well. I get no vibration through the steering at all. Am thinking of trying the Centramatic big rig wheel balancers. Anyone have experience with those?
Thanks in advance for your help, suggestions
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Just a thought... You could have a tire with a break in the belting under the tread. In my pickup I had a tremor ongoing for a couple years. Finally it got bad enough I stopped by a Firestone shop in Billings. They found nothing. A few weeks later I went into a Les Schwab's North of Sandpoint, ID. The experienced fellow on duty found a worn-down-flat spot, a "bald" spot, on the tread about 4" to 5" in diameter. There was a break under the tread that allowed the tire to bulge un-noticeably, but the bulge in the tread caused a tremor and caused excessive road wear over the bulge to make a bald spot. Since I purchased these 6-ply tires new at Schwab's, the tire was replaced with a used, traded-in tire at no cost. Within a month the tremor returned and Schwab's in Reedsport, OR replaced another tire at no charge - same problem, a break under the tread causing a bald spot. After returning home to Hermiston, OR I had yet another tire replaced with a break under the tread and a bald spot. The Hermiston Schwab's, where I originally purchased the new set of four tires, wanted to charge me for the replacement tire. When I pointed out this was the third of the set of four tires that developed a break under the tread and the other two tires were replaced by other Schwab stores, then the employee immediately capitulated to no charge.
One thing I learned is if the wheel is removed from the vehicle and placed onto a spin-balance machine at a slow speed you can plainly see that a tire with a break is out-of-round. The tire kind of wobbles while spinning. Thus the vibration we feel. I would submit even if your tires are new, one tire can still be defective. I now have a new set of 10-ply Cooper tires from Big O in Yuma, AZ.
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Mike,
Before spending money on Centramatic balancers, I would have the tires put on a spin balancer to see just how bad out of balance they are and to make sure that they are not out of round. I have seen many brand new tires that you could spend a fortune on balancing, but never cure a vibration because they were out of round.
Money spent on a proper diagnosis is a much better investment than throwing parts at a problem and hoping to fix it.
Gerald
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Mike,
I put Centramatics on my Contessa as the Goodyear tires were constantly losing balance. They worked well. I have beads in the tires on my Marquis and they've performed as well as the Centramatics.
But, I fully agree with Gerald. Find out what is causing the problem first.
Steve
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Thanks for the advice guys...I'm off to find a tire store that has the capabilty to spin these.