Front end noise

[Jims'59]

Just back from a drive in the '59, I was traveling about 40 MPH when there was a loud vibration from under the hood. Pulled over and could not visually see anything. Upon the drive home I am getting a vibration noise from the front of the vehicle (thought i smelled brake fluid but am not sure). It appears as if it may be the right front of the vehicle like maybe the wheel. The noise seems to get louder upon acceleration. Took the right front wheel and drum off but could not visually see anything. Any ideas on what this maybe?

Thanks!

 

[Tom Bryant]

Can you feel it through the steering wheel?
How are your king pins?
Did you look at your harmonic balancer?
Did you loose a wheel weight?
Is the drive shaft bent?
How are the u-joints?

I'm sure there are other things also that could cause a sudden hard vibration but these are easy to check.

Tom

 

[WayneC]

Can we assume the wheel lugs were tight, you checked to see if one wheel was hotter to the touch than the rest, and that while you had the car jacked up you tried to wiggle the wheel & tire, and you closely inspected the tire and spun the wheel to see if it spins freely...

Does the generator spin freely? Any splits in the belts? Pulleys running true?

You should try to isolate it to the engine or chassis by running the engine up while the car is sitting to see if you get the vibration/noise, and by putting the engine in neutral at speed and letting it decel to idle to see if the vibration abates.

A bad motor mount is another possibility to add to your list.

 

[Jims'59]

Found The Problem...

Actually the noise is coming from the passenger side rear wheel, looks as if it is a broken wheel bearing. There is also fluid coming out where the bearing is. How hard is it to pull the spindle off the axle to get to the bearing? Is this a hard job to do?

Thanks!

 

[studiog]

Actually the noise is coming from the passenger side rear wheel, looks as if it is a broken wheel bearing. There is also fluid coming out where the bearing is. How hard is it to pull the spindle off the axle to get to the bearing? Is this a hard job to do?

Thanks!

There is a recent thread addressing this procedure. I think you will find it very helpful. If you can't find it by searching let me know and I will try to find it for you. John McGraw had alot of great info on the subject

 

[studiog]

Here is the thread:
http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47565