1964 Dodge 880 shakes/wobble at low speeds and first gear (0-30 mph) and when car attemps to stop. Smooth at high speeds

[64custom880]

My 1964 dodge custom 880 steering wheel and car (feels like back tires) shake when I take off. Once I go into next gear and over 30 mph, the steering wheel and back body wobble/shake stops. When I am cruising on the highway, the car drives very smooth. However, when I begin to stop, the car vibrates really bad. The car's front suspension has been done (tie rods, ball joints, bushings, etc). However, I have the original ball and trunion drive shaft and the boot is missing but I have a new u joint. I dont know the condition of my motor or transmission mounts. Lastly, I have drum brakes with one line all around. Right side rear back drum brakes gets really hot than the other drums and I can't get them off?? Should i consider a driveshaft conversion or can bad rear drum brakes cause this problem?

 

[66 Monaco 500 365]

My thoughts go to loose lug nuts
My $.02

 

[413]

Steering wheel shake generally comes from the front tires or suspension. Check the basics. Are the tires round and not separating? All bolts tight? Wheels straight Amd not bent or loose?

when was the front end done, recently or 5000 miles ago?

usually driveshaft vibrations get worse at higher speeds.

 

[bronze turbine]

Sounds a bit like I remember from the old days driving on tires with shifted or broken belts. Could also be warped brake drums, maybe?

 

[64custom880]

Steering wheel shake generally comes from the front tires or suspension. Check the basics. Are the tires round and not separating? All bolts tight? Wheels straight Amd not bent or loose?

when was the front end done, recently or 5000 miles ago?

usually driveshaft vibrations get worse at higher speeds.

The front end was done a year ago and I have not driven the car more than 200 miles. Could it be that tie rods were installed incorrectly? If I am parking the car and turn the wheels all the way, the front wheel starts to jerk?? This didn't happen before suspension work was done.

 

['66 Fury I]

Previous posts are good. I would add that you could check that all front steering parts are tightened properly. How old are the tires? The hot rear brake drum is a concern. You might raise the rear wheels off the ground and check for dragging brakes. With the car on stands, try putting it in gear to see any out of round problems and feel/listen for vibration, rubbing etc.
As is said often: NEVER crawl or work under a car on a jack- use proper stands! Be extra certain of your stands if you do run the car when it is supported. Also remember that the wheels must be fully stopped before putting the transmission in park. Lindsay

 

[1970FuryConv]

My 1964 dodge custom 880 steering wheel and car (feels like back tires) shake when I take off. Once I go into next gear and over 30 mph, the steering wheel and back body wobble/shake stops. When I am cruising on the highway, the car drives very smooth. However, when I begin to stop, the car vibrates really bad. The car's front suspension has been done (tie rods, ball joints, bushings, etc). However, I have the original ball and trunion drive shaft and the boot is missing but I have a new u joint. I dont know the condition of my motor or transmission mounts. Lastly, I have drum brakes with one line all around. Right side rear back drum brakes gets really hot than the other drums and I can't get them off?? Should i consider a driveshaft conversion or can bad rear drum brakes cause this problem?

I agree with the check for belt shift in the tires, especially with the front tires.

With the right rear wheel, something is not allowing the brake shoes to disengage from the drum. They could be adjusted too tight. In later cars I have worked on, the culprit is often a stuck parking brake cable. PB Blaster on the cable protruding from the guard/sheath/cover will often free the cable so the shoe can move away from the drum. Recommend you clean and free up both ends of the cable. Not a hard job.

 

[rags]

With the car on stands, try putting it in gear to see any out of round problems and feel/listen for vibration, rubbing etc.

you'll find out quick if that trunion is an issue. tires, brakes are issues. if there are front end issues they're being accenuated by tire issues.

NEVER crawl or work under a car on a jack- use proper stands!

it is not possible that i could agree more with this. safety is the only thing that really matters

 

[1966newport]

front end was not rebuilt correctly

 

[Triple Pickle]

Something easy to do is to suspend each front tire off of the ground about a half inch while on the car, spin the wheel by hand and look to see if distance between the tire and ground changes. Also set an object close beside the tire to see if it wobbles back and forth.
Pull in and out on the top of the tire to check for any obvious looseness. All while SAFELY suspended.

 

[413]

all good suggestions above. The toe can be off for sure if it’s jerking.

You can measure the toe with a tape measure and a helper.
Tires on the ground. 1/8” in at front of tires. Not 1/4” not 2”

 

[1966Satellite]

Bent wheel?

 

[fury fan]

You have multiple problems, I think.
Biggest question - when did this problem start vs repairs that were done?

My 1964 dodge custom 880 steering wheel and car (feels like back tires) shake when I take off.

I would presume this to be driveline related, possibly even excessively-worn rubber mounts (or they are permitting the shake, at least).

Once I go into next gear and over 30 mph, the steering wheel and back body wobble/shake stops.

I'm thinking driveline still - you are putting less torque thru it when going to higher trans gears.

When the new U-joint was installed - done by you or a pro?
When installing a new U-joint, pressing the cups into the driveshaft, it is possible to install it OK with the C-clips but with the driveshaft ears in a little bit of a bind, causing extra friction in the needle bearings.
Hitting one or both of the ears inward/outward with a hammer/punch can release that and make a noticeable difference in how the joint pivots. This doesn't happen with the 2 cups

When pulling away from a stop, the pinion gear is trying to climb the ring gear, and the nose of the axle is moving upward, leading to increased driveline angle at the rear U-joint.
Perhaps I'm grasping at straws, but if you have a tight-spot U-joint, at the rear, with the change in angle, and the 180° accel/decel nature of a U-joint - that could give a starting-out vibration.
Which would be lessened when you have less driveling torque and less axle windup when getting into 2nd gear.

I have a car with the B&T front joint but don't know a whole lot about them.
I believe you can disassemble it somewhat, clean and re-grease, and put some type of split-boot for a CV-joint on it.
Doing so, you might find excessive wear if it's gotten a lot of dirt inside?
But I've generally not heard of folks discussing problems with the B&T.

When I am cruising on the highway, the car drives very smooth. However, when I begin to stop, the car vibrates really bad. The car's front suspension has been done (tie rods, ball joints, bushings, etc). However, I have the original ball and trunion drive shaft and the boot is missing but I have a new u joint. I dont know the condition of my motor or transmission mounts. Lastly, I have drum brakes with one line all around. Right side rear back drum brakes gets really hot than the other drums and I can't get them off?? Should i consider a driveshaft conversion or can bad rear drum brakes cause this problem?

You have a brake problem there, at first-guess it's not related to the other problems.



Others have mentioned loose lugnuts (I've experienced a really bad shake from that), bad belts in tires (definitely causes a bad shake).
I would agree with those if it weren't that the car smooths out at highway speed.
I have a hard time believing that a front-end problem would cause a shake at low speeds but be 'very smooth' at highway speeds. If someone can explain that, I'm all ears.

 

[64custom880]

Thanks for all of the advice. Since the car only shakes from 0-20 or first gear, could this be related to the transmission backing plate or gearbox? My transmission shifts well but if it's only happening at low speeds in first gear, I suspect that could be the culprit?

 

[fury fan]

Possibly, but I do not have the expertise to tell you what inside the trans that could be causing the shake, that would not also have caused the trans to fail.
Keep it simple. Look for easier to diagnose things, external to teh trans first.

How long/how many miles have you had this problem, and what repairs done prior/since?

 

[It's better in a letter]

If you have Radial tires and the sensation is a wobble rather the a vibration, then a belt of one or more of the tires has come loose and is starting to come off. As the condition worsens it will be evident at all speeds. If the wobble is at the rear, lift both rear wheels off the ground, with the engine running put the trans in gear and view the tread from the rear and the bad tire will be obvious. The same can be done at the front by spining the tire by hand.

 

[fury fan]

IIRC the FSM says not to do this if the car has a SG differential, something about wheel speeds going too high?
But that might be for pre-radial tire constructions.

With the wheels in the air you can wipe your hands around the diameter of the tire and likely feel it also.
I've never had a bad tire that couldn't be evaluated this way, but never say never...

 

[rags]

With the wheels in the air you can wipe your hands around the diameter of the tire

be careful of sharp objects or wire hanging out of the tread surface. i've free wheeled all types of rear diffs hundreds of times and never had problems. this problem is occurring at low speeds so no reason to run it faster than the speed range where the problem happens. free the one brake and it can be done safely. with the trunion in question, it's worth doing. with the brakes free, it might be better to spin the driveshaft by hand to feel if something is hanging up.

 

[fury fan]

Agreed on the cords of the tires, care is warranted.
I'm a bigger fan of removing them and eyeballing them, I've had some that felt OK but but there was a spot where the tread was noticeably thinner. Don't know how that one would've done on the spin-test.

 

[rags]

it occurred to me this morning that the ball and trunnion is the same as an inner cv joint on a fwd axle. a sliding rzeppa joint. i've seen two axles in twenty years with bad inner cv joints. the symptom is that they cause the vehicle to wobble side to side on acceleration from stop. maybe the ball and trunnion is not sliding correctly and is causing the engine and transmission to move in the vehicle.