Balance tires on vehicle?

[Bad Karma]

Do places still do this? I was at a Discount Tire yesterday to get a tire fixed and they told me they don't balance tires on the vehicle anymore. I would like to get this done because I have a low-speed wobble I can't pin down on my Suburban. Guess I'll have to start calling around...

[87 STEPPER]

Yeah theres a few places here in Ft. lauderdale that do it and yeah your gonna have to get the PB out and start calling around thats what i did.

I found that the small old timer shops are the ones with the OVB equipment
this is by far the best method of balancing cuz it also balances your rotors and wheel/tire as an assembly.

Just remember to mark or phase your rim if you ever remove it so you can reinstall it correctlly and keep it in balance.

Also have you checked your wheel bearings lately if there worn or not torqued correctlly you can have a low speed vibration/wobble.

Oh yeah i paid about 16 bux a wheel for this service so you have an idea of what you should pay it may be +or- a few bux in your area.

Good luck.

[bs25j]

i would check to see if you have a separated tire.. usually tires that are off balance dont cause slow speed wobble. you can only tell when your goin around 40+ mph.

[Bad Karma]

Tires are only about 3 months old... I tow a car hauler with a rockcrawler on it alot, so I think I may have a bent wheel (they're steel) or possibly an axleshaft bent out near the flange. My wheel bearings are good (front and rear). If I can find a shop to do the OVB it would probably show exactly where the problem is.

[85X3]

Tires can have broken belts within a few miles (depending on brand). For a quick check, jack vehicle up about an inch off the ground; spin the tire and watch the tread (the gap between the tire and ground). You may see the problem. If tires are fairly new, the tire store should replace the problem tire.
bs25j is right on the money.

[Bad Karma]

That's good advice. However, I forgot to mention that I had the exact same symptoms with the last set of tires that I just replaced...

My last set of tires were 32-11.50-15's, the new ones are 275/60-15's, on the same 15x8 steel wheels. The problem occurs at the exact same speeds *as shown on the speedometer* with both sets of tires. Which means to me that the problem is related to the speed of the drivetrain, not how fast the vehicle is actually travelling (because of the significantly different tire diameters). I hope that makes sense.

The wobble is subtle enough that I can't tell which wheel/wheels it's coming from. It only gets annoying sometimes, but I want to get it fixed.

[85X3]

If you feel it in the seat/floorboard, it's coming from the rear. If you feel/see it in the steering wheel, it's one of the front tires. Tire balance usually comes in to play around 60mph. You can drive out of it around 70-75mph (depending on severity and tire/wheel combo). I've balanced tires with the "Strobe", the Hunter "On Vehicle" balancer with the knobs (adds weight, and determines where to put it), and the portable "Off vehicle" units you see everywhere nowadays. Personally I like the Hunter "On Vehicle" balancer, but where to find a shop that does this is gonna be the trick. Most cars and trucks now have aluminum wheels without the rim lip needed for that system. Try a frame shop that also has a good reputation for wheel alignments. (yes I know that alignment will not cause/cure a vibration). They may have a balancer on the shelf that hasn't been trashed yet. Good luck.

[Bad Karma]

Found my problem... I ran the truck with the rear axle on jackstands and my vibration occurred at the usual speed (about 35-45 mph). Turns out the pass-side rear axleshaft is bent slightly. With the tires on, you can actually see the tire hop up and down at speed. The smoking-gun was watching how the rear caliper was hopping around when I removed the tire and ran it with just the disc bolted on. I removed the disc and caliper and reinstalled the wheel and I saw the tire hopping again.

Ordered some new shafts today, hopefully will get them before the weekend. Thanks for all the advice, everyone.

[86 GMG]

cool glad to see you figured it out atleast you didnt spend a lot of money on other thing first that is how i usually fix something