VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 1930 SR - vibration

Hi
I recently posted about sound deadening, but I have now had the chance to do a bit more serious motoring. I am finding serious vibration at over 40 mph - really bad.
My first thought was engine mounts. I checked the car and the engine appears to be bolted steel to steel. I checked the FS catalogue and there do not appear to be any engine mounts until 1932.
Can anyone suggest how to overcome this vibration. If I go on the motorway it really is not safe to do less than 45 mph, but at this speed it is very unpleasant.
All suggestions gratefully received.

You are correct the engine is mounted steel to steel. Needs to be a tight mount. If you have vibration first check the universal joint between the transmission and propeller shaft (driveshaft). If it is worn you should replace it or at least the worn parts. Be sure to check that the torque tube is not bent or mis-aligned. A bent torque tube will produce a vibration.

Thanks Chipper, I will check it out, but where are the parts listed under in the catalogue. I have checked for universal joint, under gear box and drive shaft and cannot find anything. Is it possibly a generic part that I could get elsewhere ( also no listing for torque tube)

Check your wheels to see if they are out of balance.

Ok, good point, but surely such vibration would be felt in the steering wheel? The vibration is of the whole car, but the steering is ok. The gear lever vibrates like crazy, which makes me think that maybe it is the universal joint, but I welcome any suggestions as it makes the car unpleasant to drive at 40+

I agree it vey likely could be the universal joint. Also the rear axle alignment may be off causing the universal joint problem. I would check that before taking the universal joint apart.

Hello Peterw,
To isolate the issue further, try coasting down a hill in neutral to verify or eliminate an engine related problem. With safety in mind, lifting rear wheels off the ground and running through the gears while watching drive train may discover something also. Balancing those wheels and tires and proper air pressure should eliminate them as well.

Just so you know, my 31' is also hard mounted and I took mine up to 58mph today just to show my wife it could go that fast! LOL. No excessive vibration at all but a good amount of "sound"! My whole driveline was redone at restoration to what is should be though. The universal joint and the torque tube bushing is the first place like people have mentioned. My joint was fine but the torque tube bushing was worn pretty badly.

The '31s "talk" to you at higher speeds. They are much noisier than modern cars. 45 mph seems to be a "sweet spot" for many of them.

Hi
Thanks for all the advice. We looked at the uv Behring the gearbox and packed it with graphite grease and that seems to have helped a lot.