WHEEL WOBBLE VW TYPE 4 412 LE VARIANT

Just for 411 and 412 stuff.
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Adrian
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WHEEL WOBBLE VW TYPE 4 412 LE VARIANT

Post by Adrian » 13th June 2011 - 7:08am

Anyone able to shed any light on the following; been trying all weekend to sort the wheel wobble out, have checked absolutely everything on the front end and everything appears to be in good order yet the wobble is still there and is fairly severe. I'm now thinking its the wheels, please correct me if im wrong but im sure all the other air cooled vdubs i've had have all had a slight chamfer on the hole on the wheels were the wheel bolt fits through and then the 'thick' washer with the wheel bolt also has a chamfer which then helps to centralise the wheel when tightening up but these Ronal alloy wheels currently fitted dont have a chamfer on the wheels which in my opinion will mean that the wheels will never be centralised. Hope all that jargon makes sense, all comments welcome but i cant see anything else that could be causing such a severe wobble.

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Dubster
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Re: WHEEL WOBBLE VW TYPE 4 412 LE VARIANT

Post by Dubster » 13th June 2011 - 8:40am

Hi Adrian,

Whereabouts in Lancashire are you? I'm in Yorkshire but I'm near the 'border' regularly, you are very welcome to borrow a pair of standard rims/tyres to try on the front of your lovely 412. A least you'll be able to rule out your existing wheels or not.

Cheers

Richard
'66 Beetle 1500 - '86 T25 1.9DG Camper - ‘89 Golf GTi - ‘04 Lupo GTi

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shawn71
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Re: WHEEL WOBBLE VW TYPE 4 412 LE VARIANT

Post by shawn71 » 13th June 2011 - 5:49pm

Wheels are certainly ont he Type 4.

Mine drives perfectly on the standard rims but the old alloys that were on it when I bought the car always had a slight wobble. It improved drastically after changing the idler arm bush for a bronze one and sorting the strut top bushes.

I have spoken to other Type 4 owners who also experience the same problem with non stock wheels but there are obviously some who don't have a problem.

In short make sure the wheels are balanced perfectly, close isn't good enough. The alloys I mentioned ran on our Bug without any hint of a wobble but on the 412 it was there. Also check to make the wheels aren't buckled at all.
'70VW 411LE 2 Door Saloon, '71 Beetle and '78 Late bay

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kps70
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Re: WHEEL WOBBLE VW TYPE 4 412 LE VARIANT

Post by kps70 » 13th June 2011 - 7:01pm

Kieron

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kembiff
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Re: WHEEL WOBBLE VW TYPE 4 412 LE VARIANT

Post by kembiff » 13th June 2011 - 8:34pm

I bought new ball joints (which is more difficult than you might imagine) but changed the tyres for some new ones before I got a chance to fit them. What a massive difference it made. The wheel wobble is hardly there now and I still need to get around to fitting the ball joints.
Andy in Durham. Call round for a cuppa!

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Editor
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Re: WHEEL WOBBLE VW TYPE 4 412 LE VARIANT

Post by Editor » 14th June 2011 - 1:11am

Cars that have sat for some time get out of round tyres. My Variant had the same sot of problem when I first bought it.
Dave.

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Adrian
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Re: WHEEL WOBBLE VW TYPE 4 412 LE VARIANT

Post by Adrian » 14th June 2011 - 7:39am

Thanks for all the help and comments guys, after checking all bushes, joints etc this past weekend i am convinced the wheels are the main factor in the wheel wobble. I'm going to the local aircooled garage this week/weekend and hopefully borrowing a couple of steel wheels to put on the front just to give it a try, if it works then i shall replace all 4 wheels and put back on steels, if not, then i'll start looking deeper, will keep you all posted, cheers Adrian

so.manc loz
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Re: WHEEL WOBBLE VW TYPE 4 412 LE VARIANT

Post by so.manc loz » 18th June 2011 - 1:30pm

Adrian wrote:Thanks for all the help and comments guys, after checking all bushes, joints etc this past weekend i am convinced the wheels are the main factor in the wheel wobble. I'm going to the local aircooled garage this week/weekend and hopefully borrowing a couple of steel wheels to put on the front just to give it a try, if it works then i shall replace all 4 wheels and put back on steels, if not, then i'll start looking deeper, will keep you all posted, cheers Adrian
this is the key. I have just the same promblem with my 74 ls. There is no wobble whatsoever with stock steelies, but with my rivs there is woble from around 40-50mph. The stock wheels are hub centric, ie they locate on the raised lip on the hub and the bolts are just there to hold the wheel on, whereas aftermarket wheels are bolt centric, ie they use the hole centres to centralise the wheel. When you bolt up the wheels they wont be running completely true, hence the vibration you feel through the steering at certain speeds.

if you want to keep your wheels, look at getting some spigot rings made up. These fit between your hubs and the centre of you wheels and locate the rims properly. Just measure the O/D of the hub, and the I/D of the wheels, and have someone machine some up in nylon or similar. Im having a set made up this week for a tenner ;)

or, if you fancy stock steelies anyway, ive got a set here in manchester that could be for sale with usable stock tyres.....

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Adrian
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Re: WHEEL WOBBLE VW TYPE 4 412 LE VARIANT

Post by Adrian » 18th June 2011 - 2:27pm

I've just got back from the garage, have now fitted steel wheels with new tyres, and................................ YES the wheel wobble has gone, its now driving like a new car, absolutely over the moon.

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Adrian
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Re: WHEEL WOBBLE VW TYPE 4 412 LE VARIANT

Post by Adrian » 18th June 2011 - 2:30pm

so.manc loz wrote:
Adrian wrote:Thanks for all the help and comments guys, after checking all bushes, joints etc this past weekend i am convinced the wheels are the main factor in the wheel wobble. I'm going to the local aircooled garage this week/weekend and hopefully borrowing a couple of steel wheels to put on the front just to give it a try, if it works then i shall replace all 4 wheels and put back on steels, if not, then i'll start looking deeper, will keep you all posted, cheers Adrian
this is the key. I have just the same promblem with my 74 ls. There is no wobble whatsoever with stock steelies, but with my rivs there is woble from around 40-50mph. The stock wheels are hub centric, ie they locate on the raised lip on the hub and the bolts are just there to hold the wheel on, whereas aftermarket wheels are bolt centric, ie they use the hole centres to centralise the wheel. When you bolt up the wheels they wont be running completely true, hence the vibration you feel through the steering at certain speeds.

if you want to keep your wheels, look at getting some spigot rings made up. These fit between your hubs and the centre of you wheels and locate the rims properly. Just measure the O/D of the hub, and the I/D of the wheels, and have someone machine some up in nylon or similar. Im having a set made up this week for a tenner ;)

or, if you fancy stock steelies anyway, ive got a set here in manchester that could be for sale with usable stock tyres.....

Thanks for the advice, i did actually have some rings made up to try to centralise the wheels, but i found it made no difference whatsoever, the centres of the steel wheels are still a lot larger than the centres of the hubs, but locate much better with the tapers on the bolt holes on the wheels and i feel this is what has helped position the wheels correctly and stopped the wheel wobble completely.

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shawn71
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Re: WHEEL WOBBLE VW TYPE 4 412 LE VARIANT

Post by shawn71 » 18th June 2011 - 2:33pm

I know some of the aftermarket may look as cool **** but there is no replacement for stock steel for a great drive in a Type 4.

Glad you got it sorted
'70VW 411LE 2 Door Saloon, '71 Beetle and '78 Late bay

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Adrian
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Re: WHEEL WOBBLE VW TYPE 4 412 LE VARIANT

Post by Adrian » 18th June 2011 - 2:48pm

shawn71 wrote:I know some of the aftermarket may look as cool **** but there is no replacement for stock steel for a great drive in a Type 4.

Glad you got it sorted
Cheers mate, hopefully get to some shows over the summer now, cant wait!!!!!

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shawn71
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Re: WHEEL WOBBLE VW TYPE 4 412 LE VARIANT

Post by shawn71 » 18th June 2011 - 8:23pm

Hope to catch up with you at one then :)
'70VW 411LE 2 Door Saloon, '71 Beetle and '78 Late bay

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kps70
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Re: WHEEL WOBBLE VW TYPE 4 412 LE VARIANT

Post by kps70 » 19th June 2011 - 2:42pm

going to bvf at malvern?
just got back from the busstopover. It was pretty rubbish and a long drive.
BVF is good and last year I think we managed 3 type 4's!
K
Kieron

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kembiff
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Re: WHEEL WOBBLE VW TYPE 4 412 LE VARIANT

Post by kembiff » 19th June 2011 - 8:30pm

Well done - glad to hear that its cured.
Andy in Durham. Call round for a cuppa!

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Adrian
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Re: WHEEL WOBBLE VW TYPE 4 412 LE VARIANT

Post by Adrian » 19th June 2011 - 8:48pm

Image

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Editor
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Re: WHEEL WOBBLE VW TYPE 4 412 LE VARIANT

Post by Editor » 19th June 2011 - 11:36pm

I'll book a display plot for the club then! I don't want to be all on my own, and I doubt Anne will come as she's coming to Wolfsburg and we're only back a few days before Malvern.
Dave.

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