Subject: [Healeys] BJ8 Front Wheel Noise

From: "Mike Garvey" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 21 Aug 2013 22:30:51 -0400

My front wheels make a clicking noise as I drive; it's reminiscent of my
childhood days when I put a playing card to flap against the spokes of my
bicycle. 

My tentative diagnosis is that it is the disk pads that get "pulsed" once
every time the wheel rotates and the fit of the pads is loose enough that
they "click".  The clicking stops when I apply the brakes.  Suspecting that
perhaps the disk was the root cause (since the rolling resistance varies a
bit as I rotate the wheel by hand), I measured the run-out of the (outside)
surface of the disk; it measures 0.005 inches, peak-to-peak.  The BMC manual
says that run-out should not exceed 0.004 inches. It's not easy to measure
the disk thickness, so I've not done that yet.

The disks appear to have been replaced during the restoration (by the former
owner) about 2 years ago.  I recently installed the shims that Moss sells to
alleviate brake squeal (which are very effective I find).

Do all/most Healeys make this noise?  Should I just have the disks turned?

Thanks in advance, Mike 

Michael Garvey

1967 BJ8/38046

Swampscott, MA
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From: Tom Felts <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 2013 8:22:06 -0400

mine does.  BJ8

---- Mike Garvey <[email-masked]> wrote: 

=============
childhood 

[email-masked]

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From: Tom Felts <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 2013 8:27:39 -0400

Not to be a doubting Thomas:), but mine have clicked for years and no damage to the pins.  Some time back, I shimmed the retained pins so they couldn't move and this helped with the click--and will protect the pins---assuming they need protection.

tom

---- Alan Seigrist <[email-masked]> wrote: 

=============
Michael -

Your pads should NOT be clicking like this with every rotation, and if they
are, you will wear out the retaining pins.

Are you sure you don't have a broken spoke possibly?  it will make that
type of noise depending on where it is broken.

alan

[email-masked]

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From: BJ8 Healeys <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 2013 8:41:10 -0400

Mike, I don't know if the source of your problem is the same as mine, but:

A few years ago I replaced both my front splined hubs.  I bought them from Gary Hemphill at Hemphill's Healey Haven.  The right front made the clicking noise you describe, and I found that the disc was picking up and dropping the pads in its rotation.  Thinking that the rotor (which was only a couple years old) was warped, I removed it and had it turned.  This had no effect on the rotor wobble or the clicking noise.  Some time later, I took the car itself to the shop that turned the disc.  They removed the rotor and skimmed it again (it didn't need it, they said).  No effect.  At this point it dawned on me that the new hub was at fault.  I reinstalled the original hub with the same bearings and the rotor wobble and noise was gone.

If your car underwent a restoration fairly recently, maybe it got a similarly bad hub.  If turning the rotor doesn't fix it, you'll know.

Hemphill accepted no responsibility for the defective hub and refused either to examine it, replace it, or refund my money.  He was on his way out of business at the time.  He did inadvertently let me know in a cc to one of his e-mails to a supplier that he had another bad hub sitting on his desk.  Good riddance!

Steve Byers
HBJ8L/36666
BJ8 Registry
Havelock, NC  USA

[email-masked]

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From: "Mike Garvey" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 2013 09:47:58 -0400

Hi Tom,
Can you describe how you "shimmed" the pins?
Mike 

-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Felts [mailto:[email-masked]] 
Sent: Thursday, August 22, 2013 8:28 AM
To: Mike Garvey; Alan Seigrist
Cc: healeys @autox.team.net
Subject: Re: [Healeys] BJ8 Front Wheel Noise

Not to be a doubting Thomas:), but mine have clicked for years and no damage
to the pins.  Some time back, I shimmed the retained pins so they couldn't
move and this helped with the click--and will protect the pins---assuming
they need protection.

tom

=============
Michael -

Are you sure you don't have a broken spoke possibly?  it will make that type
of noise depending on where it is broken.

alan

On Thu, Aug 22, 2013 at 10:30 AM, Mike Garvey <[email-masked]> wrote:

> My front wheels make a clicking noise as I drive; it's reminiscent of 
> my childhood days when I put a playing card to flap against the spokes 
> of my bicycle.

[email-masked]

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From: Tom Felts <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 2013 11:56:08 -0400

wrapped a very thin piece of aluminum around the pins such that the fit snugly in the pad holes.

=============
Hi Tom,

-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Felts [mailto:[email-masked]] 
Sent: Thursday, August 22, 2013 8:28 AM
To: Mike Garvey; Alan Seigrist
Cc: healeys @autox.team.net
Subject: Re: [Healeys] BJ8 Front Wheel Noise

tom

=============
Michael -

alan

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