Rear brake drums

[gasman826]

axle bearings??

[hiball3985]

axle bearings??

Mine are new, did that when I did the rear end. Vibration was before this and nothing changed. I haven't been able to find anyone locally that balances brake drums but I have a friend who might have an extra laying in his pile and I'm going to try that first.. I'll put a dial indicator on the axle flange face when that time comes..
I doubt these are original drums and if some previous owner changed them to aftermarket replacements there was a period of time when it was a known issue, not just Fords.

[gasman826]

Have you jacked up one rear wheel (no limited slip or locker)?  At idle, check for run-out.  Run it up to speed and check for vibration.  Jack up the other wheel and check for the same.

[hiball3985]

Have you jacked up one rear wheel (no limited slip or locker)?  At idle, check for run-out.  Run it up to speed and check for vibration.  Jack up the other wheel and check for the same.

Good idea, I'll try that. The last time I took a quick look I had both wheels off the ground with rear axle on jack stands.. I hope I can get it sorted, I have a 400 mile trip coming up soon..

[gasman826]

At least this will confirm which end of the car or even which corner is the vibration source.  A piece of crayon or chalk against the side or the tire will help show run-out in the tire or bent rim.  The same on the tread of the tire for an out-of-round tire.  If no wobble and vibration at speed means a balance issue.  I hope one of these ideas helps.

[Tom S]

.... two different engines, two trans, two different drive shafts, two different third members, different rims/tires ...
Can't feel it in the shifter or the steering wheel and can only see it in the rear view mirror...

Hmm.  Jim, I think I've found the cause of your long term vibration problem. 

[hiball3985]

Hmm.  Jim, I think I've found the cause of your long term vibration problem. 

Well that may be the problem  I start drinking at 4am and don't stop until the pot is empty  .

I apologize to rar1947 for letting his post get off track.

[hiball3985]

At least this will confirm which end of the car or even which corner is the vibration source.  A piece of crayon or chalk against the side or the tire will help show run-out in the tire or bent rim.  The same on the tread of the tire for an out-of-round tire.  If no wobble and vibration at speed means a balance issue.  I hope one of these ideas helps.

I've had the balance checked, rotated from from to rear ect.. never a change. Hopefully today I'll have time to check it with only one wheel off the ground at a time. If I don't find anything I wonder if it could be a front rotor? The vibration is so minor I might just be driving my self crazy.

[Frankenstein57]

I posted this awhile back on a vibration thread, someone who owned my 58 burned up an axle bearing, so they swapped out the entire axle with a longer one. It butted up to the one on the other side, and vibrated  at 55-65. We cut off a half inch or so, problem went away

[rar1947]

Well that may be the problem  I start drinking at 4am and don't stop until the pot is empty  .

I apologize to rar1947 for letting his post get off track.

No apologies needed, this is good info. Plus it keeps my wanted ad near the top😁

Im out of town this weekend but I?ll try and get a picture of my chipped drum and see what you guys think.

[hiball3985]

Here is the update: I solved 90% of the problem. After taking Gary's recommendation of just jacking up one side I isolated it to the passenger side wheel I could see wobbling and bouncing around. Since I had the wheels balanced recently I was fearing the worst and started by pulling the axle and taking it to a friends house to put in his lathe to check for runout, it was fine, then added the brake drum, the inside of the drum shoe surface checked out fine but the outside casting runs out about a 1/16 and I'm not sure how much that effects anything. When I had the wheels checked for balance it was at a tire shop that wouldn't allow you inside to watch so this time I took the wheel to another tire shop that let me in to watch and low and behold the balance wasn't even close, WTF? and the rim is slightly bent with about a 1/16 runout which the other shop didn't even mention to me. Now with the new balance the minor vibration I seen before in the mirror is almost totally gone.

[Tom S]

... When I had the wheels checked for balance it was at a tire shop that wouldn't allow you inside to watch ...

Glad you found the problem after all this time.

I really hate the policy that some businesses have of not letting you in their work shops. You might never know if the work is being done by some young guy, or even an older guy, that doesn't have half of the experience or mechanical ability that you have or someone that's obviously poor at his job.
We know these businesses have these policies for fear of being sued if you should somehow get hurt but it would sure help if the owners used some common sense sometimes like many small independent shops do.

[hiball3985]

Yes thats the problem and I understand it, one small accident and a guy could lose his business   after the lawyers get done with it. We had a small local alignment shop here years ago owned by two brothers, one day one of them was changing a truck tire on a split rim and it exploded and took off his head. Image what would have happened if it was a customer.

[Tom S]

Jim, I agree that there are some places of work that many of us shouldn't be, especially if we are not all that knowledgeable about what goes on there or what the possible dangers may be.  Personally, I wouldn't want to be anywhere near where those split rim truck tires are being installed since I know what can happen & have no experience with them.
My gripe is with the places where I'm sure either one of us would feel right at home but not allowed to enter.  Places where we would be quite aware of any possible danger & know how to avoid it.

[hiball3985]

After finding the one tire out of balance I returned to the friendly shop yesterday to have the other three checked and two were quite a bit off . I didn't have enough time left to get it on the freeway so that will happen later this morning  As bad as most of our freeways are sometimes it's hard to tell if it's a road or a car problem..