Front End Shaking 60+MPH - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

RichardLSU · #1 10-14-2008, 03:35 PM

Whenever I'm driving down the road I can feel a slight shimmy in my steering wheel. If I get up around 60mph I can feel it get slightly worse. If I steer or turn or hit a bump at speed the wheel almost always starts shaking violently until I slow down.

I had this problem before and bought a new set of tires for the car. This seemed to cure it. Now not even 9 months later its doing it again. It all was fine until I had the shocks and strut rod bushings replaced. Then a week later this shaking is back. The car does ride nicer, I suppose because of the shocks, and if I slow down to 45 or 50 it goes right away. I've never just gunned it to see if it went away above 65-70 where it usually starts. The car is just shaking so bad you don't know if you can control it.

This leads me to believe that the tires arn't the problem. Are there more bushings under there that I should be replacing? Perhaps a suspension component? Did the shop somehow not put things back together right? Please let me know what you all think. Thank you.

rrgrassi · #2 10-14-2008, 03:46 PM

Could be lots of things...wheel balance, worn out bearings, worn out ball joints, UCA bushingss, LCA bushings, guide rod bushings, tie rod and ends, pitman and idler arms, and steering damper....

You need to crawl under and inspecat and grab the wheels at 9-3 and 12-6 positions and try to wiggle them. If you find movement, you will need to what is moving. You can also use a pry bar to check things.

BoomInTheTrunk · #3 10-14-2008, 04:17 PM

make sure the wheel is tightened to the hub, dont ask me how I know this.

VegStew · #4 10-14-2008, 04:22 PM

My money is on the steering dampner.

F18 · #5 10-14-2008, 05:03 PM

Yep.....I agree...sounds like the steering damper......especially if it is the original one in there. It is about a $30 part. I had to replace it on the 84 300SD I had years ago.

RichardLSU · #6 10-14-2008, 07:43 PM

The steering damper is the the thing that looks like a shock attached to the steering rack correct?

I'll get the car jacked up tomorrow and see if anything has come loose.

I did that once before to check movement in the wheels and nothing moved at all. Like I said, then I replaced the tires and problem was solved, at least temporarily I guess.

I did get a suggestion on replacing that steering damper before, but neglected to do so since I thought it was just the tires.

VegStew · #7 10-15-2008, 02:03 PM

Quote:

The steering damper is the the thing that looks like a shock attached to the steering rack correct?

Yup, Thats it...It may not be loose, just wore out.

F18 · #8 10-15-2008, 08:00 PM

The damper is an oil filled shock. An old one that has lost its oil as the seals failed will not dampen the movement or move smoothly. Just take it off and compress it......you will know right away if it is still good.

#9 10-16-2008, 12:41 PM

The vast majority of medium to high speed vibrations are tire/wheel related. When you have improperly balanced tires, various worn parts will be brought to your attention. Parts such as a steering damper CANNOT cause a vibration, it can only transmit it or cause you to detect it more readily.

It is MANDATORY that the wheels on your MB are DYNAMIC balanced! This means a computer spin balance with weights ON THE INSIDE AS WELL AS THE OUTSIDE OF THE WHEEL.

The most common thing to happen at the tire stores is for the tire guy to put weights ONLY on the inside as a static balance. They do this because lots of customers yell at them for putting those ugly weights on the outside where they can be seen.

I fought this fight so many times that I finally just bought myself a used Coates 1001 Computer Balancer. It's the ol' "if you want a job done right, do it yourself."

redassag00 · #10 10-17-2008, 04:04 PM

How long do dampers last?