Railbuggy wheel wobble

[Doombuggy2]

Hi everyone. New to this site and to the vw world. I'm sure I'll enjoy the site as much as I have my recently acquired vw Railbuggy. I was riding with a friend in one of his railbuggys and I told him I would love to have one if I could find a good deal. Well he pointed me in the right direction and 2 days later I owned my first one. It's a 4 seater bone stock 1600 dual port that had been sitting outside for 3 years in this guys yard. Thankfully he had covered the engine. I trailered it home poured fresh gas in the carb and much to my disbelief it fired right up. You can imagine how happy I was. Anyway got it on the rd. And right away started to notice the passenger front wheel is wobbling when I make right handed turns. Since then it has gotten new ball joints, tierod and ends, steering box, steering damper, new shocks, and new wheels and tires also had it aligned twice. It still wobbles in right hand turns and it's driving me crazy. I have not checked anything inside the drum and I don't know how or know anyone that can check the frame to see if it is warped. Any help with this problem would b greatly appreciated. Also if I add a passenger it gets worse!

[raygreenwood]

If it does not wobble when going straight..........which im betting it does...... but since you are riding on a different part of the tire tread when going straight versus turning......you may not notice it.........typically I would suspect a few things.

1. Is this beam type suspension or coil overs with A-arms?.....if its beam.....check the axial play on the suspension arms.

2. The most common/probable cause flat spotting of either tire, rim or both. Its extremely common. Tires that have sat still typically for more than a year or so are junk and quite unsafe in the long run. They develop a flat spot...always.....and its worse if the tires were flat or very low for a long time. Its worse because it kinks the sidewalls.....and as the rubber hardens up....the kinks are pemanent.
When you turn a corner the sidewall kinks show their effect.

Rims....especially steel ones...and more especially lighter off-road rims.....are notorious for getting a spread spot when sitting still especially without air for years. You can see this by taking the tire off the rim and spinning the rim slowly while looking at it from the front or rear.

3. If it is an A-arm set up.....look at the control arm bushings

4. Look for play in the ball joints.

Ray

[Doombuggy2]

Thanks ray for the info. This is a 74 ball joint front end. The upper and lower ball joints have been replaced on both sides. And I have put brand new wheel and tires to fix the problem. The wheels and tires I had on before did the same thing it's doing now. The only thing that I have not checked or replaced is in the drum. Maybe the spindle/knuckle is worn? Or spindle nut possibly loose? Can the drum brakes somehow cause this? Me and several friends have checked for any movement in the wheel and have not found any. Could the bearings still be bad?

[raygreenwood]

Just thinking this through......

Ok...so you have drum brakes up front.....and the nature of drums more than late model rotors.....is flex during turning. If it sat for a while as noted and you have a raised rust spot from where the pads were on the drum surface inside. ....yes.....the wobble can be from the shoes catching slightly on thrle drum swept area as the drum flexes slightly during a turn.

If you have correct wheel bearing pre-load....it should not be the issue of either a bad bearing or a bearing race not installed straight....as you would see that going in a straight line as well.

Yes...having the spindle nut too loose can cause this. There is always some runnout in older or used drums....damn even new ones. If the wheel bearing pre load....set by the spindle nut....is not correct......the drum or rotor will cock somewhat during a turn and bring high and low spots in contact with the shoes. Ray

[Doombuggy2]

That makes sense seeing how when I bought the buggy it had sat outside for approx. 3-4 years and I remember we had to beat that drum to get the buggy to roll. Ok. I will take apart this eve if I get time and post the results as soon as I find something. Thank u so much for the help!

[Doombuggy2]

After taking the front hubs apart and giving a through inspection and cleaning I found no evidence of anything that would cause my wheel wobble. So after changing everything else on the front end I'm afraid the problem lies inside the beams. So I'm on the hunt for someone that has experience in that area and when I have that checked I will post the results and let everyone know. Hopefully the problem will be solved and I don't have to change the whole front end. Wish me luck!!!!