68coupe

Hello everyone,

UPDATE - I looked at the tires and there is no evidence of rubbing

Here are my tire specs:
235/60/15
Does anyone know if these tires/wheels will rub on a stock 1968 327/350 coupe?



Original Message
Ever since I bought my 68 coupe, I have had a problem that I have been ignoring. When I turn to the right and only the right, I get a noise that sounds like something is rubbing. It is pretty loud because I can hear it over the exhaust. When I turn even slightly to towards the right it sounds almost like the wheel is rubbing or something. It sounds like it is coming from the drivers side wheel, but it is hard to tell. Even when the car is off, it still does it. For example, I shut the car off and rolled down a hill and turned to the right and it still made the noise.

Any suggestions what it might be?
Maybe a wheel bearing?
Is there any test I can do to narrow down the possibilities of this mystery noise?
All suggestions are welcome!

Thanks in advance for your help,
Joe

stingry

What size tires do you have? What size wheels?

The 68 came with 15x7 rallyes from the factory. Good chance someone stuck on some 15 x 8 and some fatter tires and it may be rubbing on the rear edge of the fender when you turn.

Put the front of the car on jackstands and get someone in the car to turn the wheel and watch/listen to what all the components of the steering and the tires do.

Good luck.

MYBAD79

Check if the tire is hitting the rocker panel - mine did that and the noise was just like you describe...

MYBAD79

Very likely that somebody installed 15x8 rims with 255-60 tires.... you won't see anything with the front end on jacks... have somebody sitting in the car and turn the wheels while you're watching where it makes contact...

68coupe

Thats funny because the person who sold me the car said that they installed larger tires on it. I did put it up on jack stands and I looked but there was nothing. Should I leave the car on the ground and look while the whell is moving. Why only when I turn right though?
Thanks,
Joe

68coupe

I thought the rocker panel was under the door?
How do I check to see if it is hitting hte rocker panel?
Thanks,
Joe

68coupe

I am not sure about hte tire or wheel size I can check tonight an post it later tonight.
What size wheel and tire should it have? 14 inch wheel and what size tire?

Thanks,
Joe

NHvette

Is it making the sound at full lock, or with the wheel only turned slightly ?
Also, what is the current fender lip height ?
Is the tire close to the lip at all ?

If you have bad wheel bearings, and they make noise, they should
be visibly bad. Pull the wheel and pop off the hub cup with a
screwdriver. Does it look like a nicely greased old bearing, or a rusty mess ?
If you pull the nut off the spindle, be prepared to set the bearings back properly.

68coupe

The fender is very close to the wheel. probably less than one inch.
It makes the noise at full lock and when I slightly turn it.
Thanks,
Joe

NHvette

I don't think it is tire rub. You should be able to see where it is rubbing, if so.

I'm betting on bearings, but maybe you have something loose
and hanging that rubs inside the rim. If you get new bearings,
make sure you get the right ones. I seem to recall the 68s had
a different spindle diameter than the 69s-up. I could be wrong.

norvalwilhelm

I would go with a wheel bearing. If anytime you turn the wheel a certain direction and the noise comes it can't be rubbing and that turning throws the weight onto the bad bearing causing the noise. It is simple to find the offending wheel bearing.

87bob

Pull the wheel and look for rub marks. Mine rub on the inside of the fender. It hasn't done any damage to the tire or the inner fender but makes a lot of noise.

desi

Mine rubs on the frame on driver side at full lock. I have 255s...

68coupe

I'l have to pull the wheel off this weekend and look for rubbing marks.

What is the correct wheel/tire size for a 1968 coupe 327/350?

Thanks,
Joe

MYBAD79

when you turn right the passenger side tire could hit the rocker panel - just have somebody turn the steering wheel while you look at the wheel/fender/rocker panel... if you don't see any contact you can exclude tire rubbing before you start tearing stuff apart...

68coupe

Hello everyone,

I had an opportunity to look at the wheel. While on the ground, I had a friend move it back and forth. I did not seem to rub on the inside of the fender at all. I felt all around, but it looked like it had plenty of room. I took a flashlight and looked on the inside of the wheel and I could not see and places where it could be rubbing.

I then took it out and pushed the car, while the engine was off, down a hill and turned back and forth. The noise was not as bad. It sounded like it could be coming from the brakes.

To narrow down the possibilities, here are my tire specs.

235/60/15

Does anyone know if these tires/wheels will rub on a stock 1968 327/350 coupe?
Does anyone have this tire/wheel combination with no problems on their car?
What else could be making this mystery noise?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Joe

MYBAD79

235-60-15 tires don't rub - I thought you had the 255s

Let's do the simple and easy things first: remove the dust cap and check if the wheel bearing nut is too loose.

68coupe

I will check that this weekend, probably tomorrow morning.
I have never check the wheel bearing before what should I do?
What should I look for?

Take the wheel off then what?
I have heard that you should shake the wheel?
Is that right?
Thanks,
Joe

rihwoods

Do this:Put chalk on areas most likely to contact tires. The poster who mentioned the rocker is a good place to start,but get chalk on leading edge. Chalk will appear on your tire if that is it,but you must drive it.
I chalked my wheel wells many years ago when I lowered my front end to check installing 255-60-15's.Got lucky.

NHvette

Well, you can jack it up first and shake the wheel at 3-9 Oclock and 6-12 Oclock.
Any detectable movement (in BOTH directions) would indicate a loose
wheel bearing.
If they are loose, then simply tightening the nut (later) is NOT the
best remedy.
If they are noticably loose, invest the $20 and replace 'em ...
or at least fully disassemble, inspect, repack, and assemble.
Bare minimum you will need a new inner seal, packing tool (cheap),
grease gun, and wheel bearing grease. I use one of the cheap mini grease guns ... does the job for me.

Remove the wheel ... remove the brake caliper and carefully tie it up so
as to not hang by the hose. You DON'T want to replace that hose, too.
Take a big screwdriver or two and pop off the small dust cap in the center of the hub.
Remove cotter pin, nut, washer, and outer bearing. Now, slide the
rotor/hub assembly off the spindle. Pry out the inner grease seal and remove the inner bearing from the hub.

Except for the bearing (cup) races in the hub, you have it all apart.
Some people leave the old races in the hub. I always replace them.
You can drive them out with a large punch and use an old race and
hammer to set the new ones in, but you might want to have a machine
shop set them in for you. If you do them yourself, just go slow and
even. You don't want to get the race "kokked" in the bore.

So, now you just have to clean up all the old bearings and inspect.
I would imagine that you will find some of the rollers or races are eaten
up ... maybe worse.

PS - tonight I will also be installing my new front bearings and rotors
in my freshly cleaned and painted hubs.

Good Luck

Oh yeah - reassembly: Put it all back together ... and torque the hub nut
to 15-20 ft-lbs while SPINNING the wheel, to seat the bearing.
Now, carefully back off the nut and hand tighten.
Here is where it gets cloudy. Some people go by the book and back off
1/8 turn from hand tight so that the bearing is slightly loose (a few mils of end play).
Others want no play and set the bearing with a light preload.
Don't quote me, but I think Norval uses 10 in-lbs of preload.
That is - seat the bearing - back it off carefully and then tighten the nut to 10 in-lbs.

Anyone else wanna comment on preload versus end play ?

here is a page that discusses it:
http://www.babcox.com/editorial/cm/cm69816.htm

OK - now repeat for other side.