Centramatic wheel balancing system.

[Gene Fisher]

On Fri, Aug 9, 2019 at 11:13 AM Dave Stragand via Gmclist <

> Back in the 1980's, a customer at our Goodyear came back complaining of
> a bad vibration from one of the front tires I had replaced less than an
> hour before. I found the affected wheel, but no matter how I added
> weight it simply would not balance. I decided to completely remount the
> tire and hope for better luck. Only then did I see that I had somehow
> knocked our valve stem puller tool down inside the tire. That tool
> weighed probably 8 ounces or more, but remained remarkably quiet inside
> the tire. Once removed, it balanced without issue.
>
> These days mounting always seems include balancing, but back then we
> charged around $30-$40 for balancing a set of 4. At least half of the
> folks skipped it as that was the price of a whole average tire.
> Considering that we som you etimes used up to 5 ounces or more of weights
> to
> balance out a wheel or tire, I can only imagine how those cars must have
> felt to drive without being balanced.
>
> I wonder how many GMCs rolled on 6 unbalanced tires in those days?
>
> -Dave
> 1978 Transmode near Pittsburgh
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Gmclist [mailto:gmclist-bounces] On Behalf Of
> Bruce Hislop via Gmclist
> Sent: Friday, August 09, 2019 12:35 PM
> To: gmclist
> Cc: Bruce Hislop
> Subject: Re: [GMCnet] Centramatic wheel balancing system.
>
> Dave,
> I checked your link for a tire shop using the Hunter GSP9700 and it
> shows up that the local tire shop I used last year and again last month
> has this
> machine!
>
> Both time they put the same guy on my job. This past time I saw him
> hammering the clip-on weights onto my aluminum wheels so I walked back
> to ask him
> not to use those (my experience is they fall off too easily). He was
> having a hard time understanding me since he is a recent immigrant. I
> then
> noticed all the stones stuck in the tire. I had to drive through
> construction on their street so It was pretty well loaded with stones.
>
> I'm not sure whether to go back to this place and give them one more
> shot at it.
>
> --
> Bruce Hislop
> ON Canada
> 77PB, 455 Dick P. rebuilt, DynamicEFI EBL EFI & ESC.1 ton front end
> http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=29001
> My Staff says I never listen to them, or something like that
>
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--
Gene Fisher -- 74-23,77PB/ore/ca
“Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today --- give him a URL and
-------
http://bdub.net/gmcmotorhome.info/
Alternator Protection Cable
http://bdub.net/gmcmotorhome.info/APC.html

 

[johnny]

When I balanced wheels - as a kid in a service station and later on the Spridget racer - used a machine which spun the wheel on the car, on which you
mounted a round assembly with a shaft and four rings you could hold from spinning with your fingers. The rings moved weights around in large and
small increments. With the first one, you put your freehand on the can - suspension if it's reachable - and dangled a finger as you adjusted the
weights, looking for a non - shaking finger which indicated balance. The windows in the weight adapter told you how much weight and where to put it.
The later model had a strobe with a meter in it and a pickup which you place near the lower control arm. As the wheel came into balance the meter
would drop into the green zone and the strobe would light where the weight noted on the adapter should be placed. These balanced the entire spinning
assembly - wheel, bearings, and drive axles as appropriate.

--johnny
--
Foolish Carriage, 76 26' Eleganza(?) with beaucoup mods and add - ons.
Braselton, Ga.
I forgive them all, save those who hurt the dogs. They must answer to me in hell