vettepoor

How much, if any, front end play is normal or acceptable in the early vettes? I noticed a slight shimmy in the steering wheel yesterday when driving above 70. Got home and checked wheel bearings which were fine. When I raised front wheels off ground, I detected slight play when grabbing tire at 9 and 3 o’clock positions and rocking back and forth. Not a lot, maybe 1/8” or so. At 12 and 6 o’clock positions, I detected no play. Both wheels had same amount of play. I couldn’t get behind wheel to see what was moving as I had no helper. Any thoughts or advice? FWIW, I had inflated right side tires up prior to my drive, maybe to about 34 psi. Left side tires seem to hold steady at 33 psi. (Right side both seem to lose air over time). Could slight over inflation cause shimmy? I was up to about 100 a few weeks back with no shimmy at all.
Sorry for being long winded...

CaptainEgg

When was the last time you greased the front end? Where the front wheel bearings tightened per the St-12 instructions? Did you check to see if you threw a wheel weight? There should be no shimmy at any speed if front end is right. Is steering box getting loose? Have a friend move the tires as you crawl under car to see what is moving. Hopefully Tom will chime in here, he's a wealth of info on front suspension.

vettepoor

Chassis greased about 500 miles back - I’m religious about lubing every 1000 miles. Steering feels tight with no wandering, wheel weights all good. Maybe time to rebalance tires. I’m thinking the slight play is in steering box, just don’t know if it’s too much. Also wondering if over inflation of tires could throw off balance? Still fishing...

Frankie the Fink

You shouldn't have to grease all 24 Zerk fittings every 1,000 miles with modern lubes....
If everything else checks out the steering could be a bit worn - my 61 had some slop (but never a shimmy); I wrote it off to all the geometry going on in that old center link, king pin setup. But DZAuto is the guy that can provide details..

You could try adjusting the steering lash a bit, but, if you get it wrong it can cause premature wear...
The procedure is in the ST-12 or Shop Manual (I forget which)..

AZDoug

How is the alignment?

Tire failing, imbalance, wheel bearings and bad shocks can cause shimmy.

Doug

68hemi

Check your 3rd arm bearing for play.

GTOguy

You need to find your where the 1/8" or more of play is coming from in your system. Could be a loose kingpin or tie rod end. Either could cause a shimmy, but 1/8" (if it's really that minor) usually won't.

vettepoor

I’ll try to pinpoint where movement is coming from and report back. So strange it seemed shimmy seemed to come out of nowhere just recently. I would agree that slight amount of play shouldn’t be the cause.

vettepoor

UPDATE: After taking a closer look, I notice slight back and forth movement at the tie rod end where attached to the third arm. Only other slight movement appeared to be in kingpin. Looks like I get to rebuild my front end!