Date:         Sun, 9 Jul 2006 15:28:41 -0700
Reply-To:     Tom Young <tomyoung1@COMCAST.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Tom Young <tomyoung1@COMCAST.NET>
Subject:      Re: REAR WHEEL WOBBLE
Comments: To: Mike Collum <collum@VERIZON.NET>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="Windows-1252";
              reply-type=response

The observation here regarding the problem the small bolts in the drum might
present to aftermarket wheels sounds like a winner.  However, since you had
the drums replaced, I'll mention another possible source of the wobble:
misshaped drums.

This happened to me when I put on new drums from CIP.  I was getting a rear
wheel wobble and rear wheel noise that I just *couldn't* figure out.  I must
have removed the rear wheels and drums half a dozen times trying to figure
out what was wrong.  Late in the afternoon, with the sun low in the sky, I
happened to glance down at a drum lying face up on the driveway and the
oblique light revealed that the hole in the center of the drum was subtly
misshaped and the face of the drum was not truly flat.  It was a
manufacturing defect that wasn't obvious, but replacing the drums solved the
problem
----------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Young
Lafayette, CA 94549
----------------------------------------------------------------
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Collum" <collum@VERIZON.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Sunday, July 09, 2006 1:20 PM
Subject: Re: REAR WHEEL WOBBLE

> The rear drums are (from the factory) secured with two small bolts going
> through the face of each drum.
>
> Some aftermarket wheels will not sit flat with these bolts in place and
> so they're removed.  Removing them poses no hazard as the lugnuts hold
> everything together with the drum as a sandwich.
>
> Maybe yours were "replaced" by the shop doing the brake job.  Jack up
> the van, remove these bolts, put the wheels back on and see if they
> still wobble.