MTFCA Forum

How much wheel wobble, or any, is normal or acceptable?

I re-spoked three wheels and all four have about 1/4” of wobble.

On another T I recently acquired I notice about the same. I haven’t checked my TT yet.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

I recall having read in past year's posts that 1/4 inch was within Ford's original tolerance for wood wheels.

That said, you can try to improve it by slightly loosening the hub bolts, pushing the rim as required to reduce the runout, then re-tightening the hub bolts. Be sure to use Loctite or peen over the ends of the bolts after tightening to keep the nuts from backing off over time.

I've seen brand new modern steel wheels with close to 1/4" lateral and/or radial runout !! Tires not any better...on brand new cars !!

Thanks.

Loctite is a good idea!

I agree with Mark about using Loctite, especially if you are using the original style bolts and nuts that the vendors sell, no need to pein the threads and ruin the the nuts and or the bolts if they need to be taken apart later down the road. I would use the blue Loctite myself as it can be tightened/removed without heat if needed, but will still hold the nuts as needed. Red Loctite IS going to stay, unless heated, but that's doable too. As I recall,the good repro bolts and nuts look like the original ones, but are much stronger. JMHO Dave

...the good repro bolts and nuts look like the original ones, but are much stronger.

That's one place where original isn't better. Reusing the original bolts is penny wise and pound foolish. Any wheel I assemble gets the new RV Anderson bolts.

Is it the wheel that is wobbling or the rim? You failed to mention the year of your car which would help!

The rear driver side wood wheel on my 15 touring wobbles too. So much so that anybody traveling behind me on tour will be sure to make me aware of it. I have been told this could be many things from a loose spoke to a bent axle. I think the only way to figure this out definitively is to take it to Lomita and have Larry Smith check it out. I would have to do the actual labor of course and, in this particular scenario, reassemble it only with year correct parts, original if possible.

Radial runout of even less than 1/4" in NOT acceptable in any driver car. The lateral is much more tolerable because it doesn't shake the body. We need to know more which type of wheel you have.

Its not an easy task, but you can limit the run-out and wobble by playing around with the way it sits on the mounting points of the Felloe. My right rear was always a problem, after a bit of maneuvering and adjustment it was pretty manageable to the point i couldn't feel it while driving. Good luck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSDHjgIbYqI

This is a 1926 Fordor. It was all original but had no wheels. I acquired used wheels without rims and tires to get it home. Three of the four needed to be re-spoked. I bought the spokes from Lang’s, viewed a video and pressed them in. Probably too tight. All three wobbled but the left front was worse. The hub on that one is different. It has a shoulder which I assume is for a speedometer gear. I disassembled it and sanded the spokes with a jig and reassembled so as not so tight. I remounted on car with the hub bolts loose and was able to adjust all but about 1/4” of wobble out. Now all wheels are about the same. All wheel bearings and races are new. Wobble is lateral only.