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Had this car for 7 years and still cannot find the source of vibrations. Convertible, 1962 with 390 HiPo 4 spd 3:50 gears. At 40-45 mph in fourth gear and only in fourth at about 2200 to 2500 rpms, the right front fender jumps left and right and up and down. The left fender also but not as bad. Had 3 sets of wheels and 4 sets of tires on the car. Had balanced wheels several times off and even on the car. Had several alignments that were good with no bad components. Had drums balanced and even swapped sides with hub, drum, wheel and tire to no avail. Replaced the tail shaft bushing and seal. Had the drive shaft rebalanced. Changed to a longer u-joint yoke. Replaced front shocks. Changed sway bar bushings. removed right suspension and found new bushings from the previous owner. No loose idler arm. Swapped steering column. had steering box inspected and adjusted for play. The RAG joint replaced. Inspected everything in the suspension for worn out parts and/or too much slop. Ran car with rear on jack stands and no vibration. Current tires are NOT out of round. Very slight toe out (+1/4) and positive caster at +1 degree. At no other time, gear, rpm, in or out of gear does this happen. The engine is rock steady running in neutral. Is there something odd about the Galaxie convertibles that is beyond normal reasoning?? What have I missed and has anyone else gone thru this with their convertible?? Thanks for any help given.
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If it only happens in 4th gear, then it should not be related to tires, wheels, brakes, etc. An out of balance wheel will give the same feel at the same speed no matter what gear the trans is in and it will be unrelated to RPM, just to vehicle speed. Is your sheet metal fully and completely fastened? Is it just the fender(s) moving around and not the whole car? Can you feel the car shaking and vibrating, or is just something you see when you look at the fenders. This situation sounds pretty bazaar and would seem to be you have the odd one. Hopefully your car is one of one.
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I had a 1966 F100 with a mildly built 302 and the original 4-speed (granny 1st gear) toploader. The flywheel was from the original inline 6 engine and therefore not balanced properly for a V8. The vibration was hardly noticeable though, so I drove it a few thousand miles until the flywheel bolts started getting loose. When that happened it would shake pretty bad while letting the clutch out in 2nd gear (actually 1st on a granny tranny) but smoothed out as it got going. Eventually I found the proper flywheel and also a regular 4-speed for it and it was fine.
I know this may have nothing to do with your problem, I just mentioned it because it's the only instance I can remember when I had shaking in only one specific gear. Since your issue is in 4th gear only, I would look towards the transmission first, along with the flywheel (is it the right one for the engine?), clutch, and all fasteners related to the drivetrain. Hope this helps.
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