I picked up a cherry Alemite Strobe Balancer at a swap meet last weekend. You guys know how tough it is to get a good balance with old wheels, hubs and brake drums so this should be the hot ticket. Problem is I don't have the first idea how to use this thing. Anybody out there that can school me and the rest of us in the same problem?
Do you have the balance apparatus that attaches to the inside of the wheel? Also the adapters for 14 & 15 inch wheels...
Sounds like something I used a lot in a Buick garage back in the 60s... on-car balancer. Had three parts, the magnetic pickup that detected the vertical oscillation of unbalance at the suspension, the tire spinner machine, and the strobe light which was operated by the mag pickup to show where to put the weight on the rim.
Yes. Our strobe balancer was a Hunter, but the principal is the same. Make sure lug nuts are tight and that there is no excessive runout to the tire/wheel assembly. You can balance a tire with 8 sides, but why. Out of round may be corrected by remounting the tire 180 on the wheel. Check for KP or tie rod end play. Adjust wheel bearings if needed. Replace worn parts. Check for brake drag and eliminate. Doing only one corner at a time, jack up the axle (or control arm) and place the strobe pickup as close to the wheel as possible. You may have to gently lower the jack enough to make sure that the pickup has a slight amount of weight on it. If the light flashes when you bump the tire, that is enough weight. DO NOT remove the jack! The pick up will not support the weight of the vehicle! Three tires down, one up. Pick a spot (12:00) and mark it on the tire with chalk or tape. Gradually spin up the tire while resting your hand on the fender panel, or headlight, if no fenders. It helps to extend a finger to pick up the vibration. Middle one works best, and helps strengthen muscles for other endeavors. When you feel the vibration come in, look and see where the strobe has stopped the mark. Stop the tire and place the mark in the same position, and attach the weight at the 12:00 position. Respin to check for vibration. You are dynamically balancing the tire at a specific rpm. This process will not correct any lateral imbalance, and may not show up another rpm imbalance. On the rear axle, jack up the whole axle and lock one wheel with either the brake or by lowering one side onto a bare wheel laid under the tire. MAKE SURE that there is sufficient weight on that wheel or it will spin out from under the tire and go across the shop.. Not that this ever happened to me....just sayin'. DO NOT do this with any type of locker, limited slip or posi rear. Use extreme caution, stay to the outside of the tire, and make sure that the weights are on SECURELY! One coming off at speed can do a lot of damage! Again, just sayin'......... Any questions, please contact my attorneys, Dewey, Fleesom and Howe. I am not responsible for you maiming or killing your dumb self!
hotrod A, sounds like you have it down. I guess that you place the strobe pickup as close to the tire as possible since it is mounted on the balancer directly behind the piece that turns the wheel assembly? I was trying to figure out what that strobe pickup actually was before I read your post...........
Hotrod A pretty well nailed it. when I used one in the Pontiac Dealership in Waco, Tx for about 3 years I always lifted the cars up on the single post hoist I had in that stall but one wheel at a time is fine. I was taught to put the probe under the rocker panel close to the wheel well with tension on the spring in it but not jambed down on the base. The rod has to be able to move up and down to show the imbalance. Be careful with the cables to the light and the probe. the one to the light is full of tiny wires that all have to be repaired if you chew the cable up. The light should have a gauge on the back of it to show you how much weight you need but they don't always work and aren't always all that accurate. As he said earlier you can put your hand on the fender or body and feel how much vibration you have and from experience it doesn't take that long before you can judge how much weight it will take by the vibration you are getting. I usually put half the weight on the inside and half on the outside when i did it but you can experiment with that. If you have a friend at a local tire store see if they will sell you their bucket of old weights by the pound for what ever the scrap dealer gives them. Most shops save the weights and junk parts and they get sold so it doesn't matter who they sell them to. That should give you an assortment of weights to use or experiment with. You can go out and buy new weights but you will quickly have 100 bucks tied up in weights at the price they go for now. I've worked in shops that never reused an old weight and I have worked in some that saved every usable old weight and used it again. I went in one one day where they had one of the tire changers buffing weights up on the wire brush so they would be shiny when they installed them. If it didn't come with it use something to lock the steering wheel straight ahead. They usually had a spring loaded thing that you stuck between the steering wheel and the seat but those seem to get lost quite often. I worked with both the Hunters and the strobe and like the strobe balancers a lot better because you can use them with any wheel and don't have anything attached to the wheel. You don't have to worry about the balancer hat coming off the wheel and taking off across the shop. I never had it happen but heard a lot of stories from other mechanics that had seen it happen. Use it and experiment with it and when you get good you will be able to set a half a glass of water on the hood or aircleaner and spin the tire up and not have a ripple in the water.
IMO the absolute best way to balance a wheel/tire combo. not very many doing it now tho,at least not in my area.
Great additional points, guys. I knew that I would leave something out. One other: if you use used weights, which is just fine, close up the clip a little with a light hammer tap. You want it tight! Also, some wheel weight pliers will make life easier pulling off weights, trimming down weights, etc.
Not familiar with yours, but on the Hunter the pickup is wired to the strobe/gauge with a long cord, and the spinner is a separate motor driven piece on wheels with a brake to stop the spinning tire.
Thank you guys for all the great feedback. I am going to take a couple of pics tonight and post them (which I should have done to start with) just to make sure everyone is on the same page.
Don't try to balance any OT front wheel drive cars with it. The axles will be on to much of an angle and you can damage the CV joint. Other than that and the extra time it takes to use a strobe balancer they are great and do a good job balancing.
So I hope this picture loads. Does this look like the balancer being discussed? Now the scope goes as close to the wheel, tire or chassis as possible?
That's it. As long as you can see your reference point it doesn't matter how far away from the tire you are. Hunter also made one like it, they marketed theirs toward truck tire balancing. I have done lots of passage car tires with one.
Used that style for years... there is some touch involved. Placement of the pickup can be touchy at times. Dont just trust the gage look at the antenna wiggle for a secondary reading. You will see the vibrations come and go as the wheel speed slows down. the light will flash when the light spot comes around and you just look were your reference mark is located... stop the wheel add a weight to the light spot and recheck... probably will end up spinning it up multiple times until you get a feel for it. I actually liked working with the machine once I got good with it.
I can't thank all you guys enough. I will keep this alive and share how I do, that is if I still have my hands...........
I learned in the army that a machine like this is a "California engine balancer" probably don't exaztly get all the components matched but get the rotating assembly so that what I learned from by CA buddies in the Army
My husband has an Alemite wheel balancer with all the parts in working condition. He is selling all his garage equipment but most people don't know what this is or how to use it. Anyone interested in making an offer?
Real clean even if the photo is several months old. On the placement of the sensor I usually put it about era foot and a half away from the wheelwell under the rocker. The rod from the sensor up to the rocker is adjustable and while you want tension on the sensor rod make sure that you don't bottom it out in the sensor. I'm still hunting for one for myself.
I can't find the instructions for my old derelict Alemite, but I believe positioning the pickup to point axially on the front or rear of the backing plate etc will mostly detect "dynamic" or 2 plane imbalance. Pointing fore-and-aft will detect mostly "static" or single plane imbalance. I can imagine that it might be necessary to correct one, correct the other, and maybe touch up the first.
I found an old alemite unit (complete) in an antique shop while on vacation last week for $65.00. no time to ship it and wouldn't fit in my carry on. going to try and have a buddy pick it up for me and ship it.
You did notice that she posted that on March 22. I missed it then. I bought a Hunter but still want the strobe.
on a front wheel drive car can the tire be balanced on the rear then moved back to the front? Will the wheel be balanced moving it around the car doing rotations.
Does not work real good on disk brakes unless you back them off some how. Works good on the rears too. Just make you don't have a posi.
The assemblies can be moved around the car, but the balance will change a little, and maybe significantly.. One thing that what will possibly be lost whenever the lugs are loosened is the centering. Hub centric wheels are way better in that regard. Another is the influence of the hub and brake imbalance. Usually not a big deal, but on the car balancing is often sought when normal precedures aren't working.
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