How to Stop Wheel Wobble and Rocks in a Hubcap Sound
A lot of car and truck wheel wobbles can be stopped without the aid of a mechanic. Certain sounds and vibrations may tell you where to look for the problem. Getting tires rebalanced and paying a mechanic to put ball joints in a vehicle is often wasting time and money.
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Instructions
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Most wheel wobbles are very much more obvious at certain speeds. There may be a very obvious wobble when driving between one and five miles per hour. As speed is picked up the wobble may seem to go away until you reach a certain higher speed, that might be 20 mph or 60 mph. If it sounds like rocks are in one or more of your hubcaps, when you're driving less than 10 mph, tighten the lug nuts on all of the wheels.
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Re-tightening the lug nuts, a couple of times, after driving short distances, might get them tight enough, especially if you're using a large lug wrench and have plenty of strength. (The more sure way is to jack the vehicle up until each tire is just barely touching the ground or pavement. Then tighten the lug nuts).
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Another cause of wheel wobble is a tire that is going to blow out soon. A knot on a tire is something to look for. Also look close to see if any tread is missing from the tire. (Occasionally a tire will look good until it blows). Naturally, the fix here is to replace the tire.
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The next most likely guilty party of a wheel wobble is a worn out wheel bearing on one of the front wheels. The quick test for bad wheel bearings is to jack the vehicle at least an inch from the ground. With one hand at opposite ends of the tire, try to move the tire inwards and outwards. With a detection of for more than 1/4 inch of play, new wheel bearings for that wheel is very likely. (Test for play, vertically and horizontally. If the test only reveals horizontal play, the problem is probably lose ball joints. More than a 1/4 inch of play horizontally only is probably okay unless extreme high speed driving is anticipated.
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Tips & Warnings
When buying brand X tires made by a popular name brand, but the name brand is not placed on the tire, buy them for rear wheels only.
