Posted by Dan on April 27, 03 at 14:12:49:
Okay, I've spent the day with my home built camera, duct taping and clamping it to various points on the frame and suspension.
I can confirm without question that the vibration is coming from the FRONT RIGHT suspension/wheel/tire.
The front left and rear axle do not show any vibrations other than normal suspension articulation whereas the front right, well, _clearly_ has problems as shown by the camera.
Here's the kicker: The vibration does not seem to be causing the tire to bounce.
I then aimed the camera at the tread itself and drove it. On the front left, there was some tread wiggle, mostly as I changed directions. On the front right, it was wiggling the whole time. Think of streamers on an electric fan.
So.... I've tried two things today:
#1: Swapped front left and front right tires. (The tires are not unidirection.) Vibration did not change position. Tread wiggle stayed on the front right.
#2: Swapped front left and front right shocks. Vibration did not change position. It was a long shot...
With the tire off the ground, I can't find anything loose. The loosest thing is that I can move the whole rotor/wheel in and out just a tad, enough to clunk a bit. Some is normal. I thought maybe this is too much...
...soooo.... I pulled the cotter pin and tightened down the nut holding the rotor on (2WD) and discovered that I can't tighten it down enough to even start to bind the rotor.
Can we say HMMMMMMMMMMMMM ?
Normally, one can tighten them down and bind the rotor from spinning. I can't do that. Not even close.
At this point, I think I'm going to take it to a shop in the morning and direct them to the front right suspension. I suspect that I've got a spindle or bearing problem.
If y'all have any other ideas, I'm game.
Either way, the old Sub looks like she'll soon be ready for many more miles...
See 'ya
Dan