Wheel wobble and pulls to right...wheel bearing?
 

This is on my 300TE. It has been like this for a while and when I had it aligned the dealer said it was a radial defect in the new set of tires I bought so I didn't worry about it. 30k miles later I replace all the tires and it's still here.

The steering wheel wobbles at speed a little and I have a good pull to the right. This morning I noticed that while braking it does not pull and drives straight.

I've replaced the LCA ball joints tie rods center link and idler arm bushings.

I have 162k now and the wheel bearings are original and have never been repacked. Could the bearings be the problem based on my description?

Have you tried rotating your tires to see if that makes any difference?

Yep when the tires were replaced I moved them all around just in case it could have been a bent rim or something

If the bearings are the factory packed originals then you are asking a bit too much from the lubricant and bearing.

I would suggest replacing them or atleast repacking them after a good close inspection.

At your car's age the grease must be spent.

With the work to take them out I'll replace them. Will I need to reset the toe after?

Look for a stuck piston in the RF caliper, and a high spot in that rotor.

I guess I never considered that. I do not own a tool to measure caliper thickness. Can I just use any sort of digital caliper or is there a special tool specific for measuring brake disk wear?

I am driving the car today. When I get home I can immediately use my IR temp gun and see if that brake disk is hotter than the other. Although it might also be warmer if the bearing is bad too. Might be interesting to notate anyway.

Thanks guys.

No need normally to align after the front bearing job.

you can use a vernier calipers to measure the brake disc provided if you can find two spacers so that you are measuring the wear surface of the disc and not getting hung up on the edge of the disc.

Use the spacers on the caliper jaws and subtract the length of the spacers from the measurement.

Inspect the lower control arm bushings closely, had a w210 with a shimmy and it was a broken lca bushing causing the shimmy

ps2cho, no real need to measure the disc thickness. What you should do is measure the run-out with a dial indicator to ensure that disc runs straight and true when turned. Typically, front discs will last through 2 sets of front brake pads, then need to be replaced. If it's been a while since you last replaced front discs, simply replace the front discs. I always buy new discs from our local MB dealer. Be sure to replace the brake pads too, and seat them in properly so as not to warp the new discs from the jump.

As Frank says caliper pistons should retract easily with moderate force.

If you repack/replace the front wheel bearings there is a precise procedure for repacking them. Be sure to follow it to ensure long bearing life.

I can definitely do that since I need a dial gauge to set the bearing load. What is an acceptable run out amount? Is there an MB spec?

Just looked on my excel doc and I replaced front rotors in November 2013 with 140k on odo, so they have 22k on them -- not too old. I have a feeling this issue predates the rotor replacement, but it cant hurt to test anyway since I'll have the tool.

Bearings don't often result in wobble, they usually make a racket first.

See if you can isolate the problem. You've already replaced most of the front components and rotated the tires around, try swapping the front rotors around and see if the problem moves to the other side......Also don't forget to move the brake pads too so they are on the same rotor.

ps2cho, just read your original post again. The steering wheel wobble at speed could be the result of tires/wheels that need to be road-force balanced, or the steering damper could be shot. When was the steering damper replaced last?

Not sure about the allowable runout for a disc; however, unless you experience a vibration while braking I would conclude that the front discs are OK and not warped.

Could this be it?
I believe this means bad wheel bearing...but how bad would you say it seems based on this video? Should be safe to drive for another week until I can order the bearings and grease right?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEFQI2AtLjY&feature=youtu.be

you dont need to order and wait, you can buy the bearings, seals and grease at AZ, NAPA etc.

btw - that is a loose bearing. This much slop can also cause the wheel to scrub a bit in tighter turns at slow speed. You will also feel that your brake pedal acts different in some situations.

I'd rather not get cheap parts. Been there done that. Never again. I'd rather take the risk on worn OE parts than put Chinese garbage in that will break without notice.

I only need to drive the car once more this week so it'll be fine. Will report back Saturday with some photos!

You should also do that same exact test on the other side too. See if it gives the same feedback.

you can get SKF, National or Timken - National and timken are very good quality. The SKF is available from NAPA and are french.

both my cars have japanese NTN bearings in them - and both looked like they were spinning in extremely spent out green bearing grease, I did read that MB installed japanese bearings in the mid to late 90s.


Im not trying to advertise anything - but wheel bearings are one thing on my checklist that should always be top notch. I have had a bad experience once a long time ago.

I was unaware I could get SKF at NAPA...Either way the parts arrive tomorrow and I'm set.

Non. SKF is ultimately Swedish https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SKF

Yes I know they are swedish, the ones you buy at NAPA say made in France.

I usually order these wheel bearings on amazon just as preventive maintenance, Last I ordered set 12 and 17 timken for under 12 dollars a pair. - Made in USA items. You can buy the same from orielly auto etc. but they sell them for slightly higher price.

I usually buy the above 3 brands (good experience with them) - my car's driveshaft even uses an SKF bearing, it was a skateboard wheel size - but I bought it from a bearing sales business.

Heres with the hub off...pretty speedy. 30mins to get it off.

Does this scoring/discolor look typical for a spindle?
I ran my finger over it and it feels smooth, so I think its ok right? Want to double check since this is my first time doing this on any car.

http://w124-zone.com/downloads/photo...earing/wb1.jpg

http://w124-zone.com/downloads/photo...earing/wb2.jpg

http://w124-zone.com/downloads/photo...earing/wb3.jpg


http://w124-zone.com/downloads/photo...earing/wb4.jpg


I have not torn apart the hub yet, I tried removing the rear seal and it wouldn't come out with a screwdriver so I'm buying a seal puller tomorrow to help.

you dont need a seal puller, get a socket that sits on the inner bearing cage, and use a hammer to push the bearing and seal out together.

You can also use a punch to crush the seal and lever it out,

btw - this yellow grease is not the factory MB stuff, maybe someone packed with new grease. Doesnt matter as long as its disc brake wheel bearing grease.

When you remove the bearings, touch the grease near the rollers and then look at it in strong light, if you see glitter - then the bearing is toast.

can you run your fingernail on the scratched part of the spindle to see if the scratches catch your nail?

Finished up today. Everything went well, but the car still pulls. Obviously it needed to be done, but was not the issue.

I'm kinda out of ideas here. What diagnosis can I try to figure out what part is causing the pull?

Remove the rotor and brake pads and swap them to the other side.

ps2cho, have you confirmed that the right front caliper releases completely (is not sticking) when the brake pedal is not pressed?

Lift the front of the car, and spin the front wheels, they should spin freely. Count how many revolutions each wheel makes after you spin it the same speed.

If OK, press on brakes, release, now repeat the above test.

I don't understand what this may prove, especially if the problem may only be present while the car is actually on the ground, but I do agree with you about him testing both wheels. Testing two things that should perform identical is the best way to isolate the problem.

I replaced my idler arm bushing (which was an item I replaced 50k ago RIGHT BEFORE this issue occurred.)

After replacing the bushing, my front toe looks pretty far off. I'm wondering if this is the culprit.

Rear toe = zero toe 0" +- .05"
--- No photo self explanatory

Front toe:
--front measures 69 1/4 +- 0.5"
--rear measures 69 3/4 +- 0.5"

Looks to me like ~0.25" toe could be too much. I'll get it aligned before I say the idler arm was not the problem.

http://w124-zone.com/downloads/photo...ering/toe1.jpg

http://w124-zone.com/downloads/photo...ering/toe2.jpg

http://w124-zone.com/downloads/photo...ering/toe3.jpg

That spindle looks terrible.

???

I think he doesn't realize that it was repacked before with an orange color grease instead of Mercedes green grease and it makes it look like the spindle is rusted out. I thought the same thing when I saw the photos, then I read the post.

by the picture the spindle looks scored - if the scratches have worn it down to the point of the bearing not fully seating on the spindle the bearing will walk on the spindle and cause more wear. Usually the spindle is not damaged on MB due to the large amount of grease and also the bearing adjustment being precise rather than a fordchevy feel and lock. overtight bearings will burn the grease and cause the rollers to drag the inner race with it causing such scoring.

The shade tree way in oldschool times was to take a punch to the side of the spindle to deform it or a chisel to make some teeth to give the bearing some bite after dressing the spindle.

correct repair was to change the spindle.

The spindle was smooth..in hindsight I dont think it was an issue after googling more spindle images.

Heres a video of my bad subframe mounts. I got a quote from a local shop to do it for $575 including differential mounts. This is one of the few jobs I don't want to undertake myself so I am probably going to hand it off this one time.

As you can see from the video, pretty sure they are TOAST!! It could definitely be my pull..or either way they are so far gone it needs to be done regardless.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu5MPG47T2E&feature=youtu.be

I don't mean to be a wet blanket but you can not measure toe-in in the manner you show. Between the deflection of the tire's bulge, rim straightness variation, lack of level ground causing improper suspension height and several other factors this won't even give you a SWAG.

The closest you can come manually is to:
Mark the center of the tires by either using chalk or a scribe while rotating the wheel.
Getting the car on a level surface.
Center the steering box.
Measure the difference between the front line and the rear line at the same height.
Do the math.

The straightness of the steering wheel only serves as a guide and not as an absolute.

Wear lines on the spindle are normal. If there are no ridges or "blueing" due to heat then there is no problem. I usually "lap" the spindle with some emery cloth to check for scoring.

1/4" toe-in is not excessive. Maybe not perfect but not enough to cause any problem.
What your tape is showing is apx. 1/2" but for some reason you use a "+" or "-" value which completely negates any accuracy.

I used the +- to account for any wheel bulge.

Also the tape shows 1/2", but thats obviously for both wheels together, so that means each wheel is 1/4" toe in unless that's not how you measure it...

Either way I will get the subframe mounts done and get it aligned after that and see if the pulling issue is gone.

It's unusual for toe to cause a steady "pull" unless combined with a different factor such as road gradient. Here in AZ we have pretty flat roads (with the exception of the chuckholes:() so we don't usually have too much pitch to the road surface.

If the toe is "in" too much you would get a "skittish" feel to the steering and the tires would show an unusual "feathering" on the outside edge of the tires. By "skittish" I mean a hyper sensitive sensation where the car seems to overreact to mild changes in direction. "Twitchy" I guess you could call it.

Too much toe out would give you a "dead" feeling to the steering. There would be a tendency for the car to "swoop" and "dive" along wear tracks or uneven patches of the road surface. You know, like anywhere in the Phoenix Metropolitan area:D. Wear will show on the inside edges.

Use the palm of your hand to compare the front and rear edges of the tires to see if you can feel any differences. You can use the rear tires as a guide.

There is no "left" or "right" toe. It is the measurement of the total deviation.