For as long as iv'e owned this Dart have had a condition at speed (70mph+) where the front end will oscalite up and down producing a tramping effect, rebuilding front end and driveline-checking/replacing brakes, inspect/replace tires (175/70R13 on orginal rims, no change with a set of 14x7 borrowed from a 70 Duster) and shocks-check for balance and alignment has not reduced it one iota. At my wits end with this stock front end so am considering a disc conversion while I have the motor out, but before I do this and toss the entire front end in the scrap heap any ideas? Am baffeled as my 66 Dart never behaved like this and it had been hit hard head on early in its life whereas the 63 has never seen a accident. Also I know its not common to have to replace all upper and lower ball joints every two years as well as all tie rods....maybe that explains all the spare ball joints and tie rods in the trunk when I purchased it..Dave

I have an '88 Dodge truck that shakes at 48-55mph. I have replaced everything, every nut, bolt, washer, wheels, tires, paint, driveline component, motor, trans, rearend, seat, carpet, even installed different bugs on a different winshield, it is an entirely different truck, but it still shakes. Gremlins, my friend, gremlins....

"DW"

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If it ain't broke, fix it!

Brake drum out of balance? A lot of those drums (at least the cast iron ones on my 75-75 Vaiant) have some big heavy balance weights on them. If you lost a weight then..........
I know on my cars if I take off the front wheels, the drum is still out of balance enough to always rotate itself heavy side down.

Have never encountered weights on a drum system, don't think my Chilton or Bindex books mention it at all for my application. Brings me back to: Do I want to try to aquire a set of the crappy hard to find 4-5/ 9 drums or forget the mortage payment and pull everything from a 74-76 A body and bite the bullet? Seeing as I just aquired a set of LBP ralleys for free and the stock 7.25 is on the verge of seizing the pinnion bearing why not do it all at once?....Dave

I agree, sounds like the hubs/drums are out of balance.

If you have the time and can afford to do it, convert to disc. I drove my last project around with drums for the first two years I owned it. Changed it over and kicked myself for not doing it sooner. The improvement in drivabillity alone makes it a great performance upgrade - not to mention how much safer they are. Since that experience, brakes are first, then everything else. Lose the vibration and make successive stops to your hearts content. I am surprised you are going though front end stuff so fast though... I mean, how often are you going 70?

If your not going 70-75 MPH all the time when your on the highway around here you'll be driven off the road!
Bob D

Thinking that in light of the fact that I drive this Dart everyday (drum brakes in LA traffic-must have a death wish) extended 70 MPH runs across the desert are not uncommon,espically this time of year when I take leave time and commute the 3.5hrs between homes. BTW have you ever panic braked stock 9in drums in 110 degree weather? Off to my local yard to see whats available but perfer a complete parts car at this point. agree the vibration is something inherent in the orginal front end and brakes. BTW this Dart has always eaten ball joints and tie rods its entire life, have receipts going back 30 years that confirms this and was the primary reason it was up for sale by the orginal owner ...Dave

Dave,

Ecology Auto Wrecking in Santa Fe Springs (down 605) has had some good Darts with discs and they are a cheap pick/pull yard. Might be worth a call/trip. Pick Your Part and Pick A Part in Sun Valley are also good, but can be picked over.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Dart 270 know it well, plan of attack is as follows: k-member,upper/lower control arms/spindles/disc/rotors-master cylinder and lines. Any issues with my stock power steering? hopefully can locate some sway bars too..Have I forgotten anything? Now to find the time and money to do it as i'm right in the middle of a over the buget engine rebuild and have installed my spare motor for now...Dave

Just so you know, if you have a '63 A-body, the K-member is 2" narrower than the later ('67-up) A-bods so you cannot swap a newer K in. All the other parts will swap over though (LCAs, UCAs, tie rods...).

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

You don't really need the lower control arms either, unless yours are toast. One thing folks look for though, are LCAs with sway bar brackets. If you are planning on rebuilding all of the parts before you tear your car apart (not a bad way to go) then do grab the lowers, easier that way. Also, if switching the lowers... it's not a bad time to consider a torsion bar upgrade. V8 bars seem to be the popular choice. I went with the blue .87" dia 110# bars. These were put in some V8 a-bodys as well as a few slants with air conditioning. I'm not on the street yet so I cannot comment on the change but the small stock yellow .83" dia 92# bars were quite soft.

Thanks 270 and GTDart, going to assume LCA are toast and start fresh, and yes am after larger torsion bars and would like sway bar also. Dave

My 89 Dip has had a vibration at 65 the whole 45K and 4 years I have had it. Different tires, rotors, driveshaft, trans. output shaft bearing and bushing, its still there. Smooth at 63, there at 65, gone by 68. My 85 before it had the same thing, except it was at 60. Blew the trans on that one, (got stuck in mud in the backyard to the axle trying to move my boat... that one had a hitch) Had the tranny redone, problem gone. But I had that one 70K before that, no ill effects, I just drove above or below that speed. As far as balance on the drums, I doubt that a chilton wold mention it as to balance a drum isn't a D-I-Y type job, but yes, many do have weights on them. On the frequent front end rebuilds, are you using a quality brand of parts? Some of the stuff sold at places like auto Zone aren't worth the box they are put in. You can't go wrong with MOOG, or Spicer, I do alignments and front end repairs daily, and can't afford my customers to return for a redo every year or so on front end parts.
Anyhow, that nearly seized pinion bearing could be alot of your problem, as well as a bent or out of balance shaft. Is the vibration in the seat or the steering wheel?

Gawd, VolareDon, you just made me feel better. Of course I was being ridiculous about my truck, I HAVE checked/done all of the obvious things including all those you mentioned being some of the first. One thing I have NOT changed is the 904 lock-up trans. Suspiciously, I had an '85 Fifth Avenue that developed the exact same problem as the truck, and I did all of the obvious vibration/shake fixes on it, too... Never solved it, either (sold it to get the truck!). But I have been very aware of one major common thread: 904 lock-up trans. Now I read your post and I see you have had several similar experiences, so I'm more convinced than ever that the lock-up trans is the offending unit. I'll know for sure when I get the 518 OD unit in the truck (anybody have a stock OD crossmember for an '87-'93 truck?).

Sorry, GT63, I know none of this helps you

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If it ain't broke, fix it!

I have a 88 Dippy, bought it new. It has the same type vibration, been working on it for years. Still there, some days it is very bad, others hardly noticable. I did have a 85 5th Ave. never had a problem with that.

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Charrlie_S
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