Got this lil 'ol shimmy and at first thought hmmm the steering damper. Went to Sears got my free tire rotation and rebalance. was tols the right front had slight feathering on the inside, so me says hmmm again. I call up a MB tech in Houston and he says: All C,E,S series vehicles have a fluid filled lower control bushing that was to make it ride like a Lexus......and that they go out @ about 50k or so. Hmmmm again this makes me think back on the minor shimmy it had for months until it got worse...guess the tire was starting to wear more@ this point.

Soooo, question is: any feedback from the other "C" class owners and on this and does this sound plausible as a common problem. I was given a quote of about 750.00 for the repair, parts labor and alignment, after 6 hours or so. Does this all make sense to you guys out there?

Thanks for the feedback it'll help me make a decision on what avenue to take.

best regards, Leon H

I never knew there was a fluid filled lower control bushing on C's, there are engine mounts that are either elastic or fluid.
Always good to have a Mercedes dealer do aligrnment on these cars.

He was very specific about the lower control arm bushings being filled with fluid to dampen road noise and have a Lexus ride.

Any one with this experience???

Lexus ride? my my how far the toyota has come! or how far the Mercedes has fallen. Bet you a 47 Chevy hubcap that a new set of top of the line tires and someone that really takes there time on a good balance machine will give you the proper Mercedes
"ride"...........
William Rogers...........

Installed Dunlops went up one size to 205's and had them rebalanced. First it started pulling to the right, had tires rotated and that one went to the rear left, now it pulls to the left....ever so gently but pulls non the less. Don't suspect bad tires or balance, that does not account fer the feathering on the inside of the tire would it...hmmmm , more ???'s and lil answers..! Leon

still bet it's tires ,Dunlops are not what they used to be, and I made the same mistake going up a size on my SD (tire salesmen ain't MB enginers)I would take the dunlops back and raise enough rukus in the fancy tire show room that they take them back and give you a good price on a set of top line Michliens or Yokohamas ,then have Dealer balance them for you .I have had nothing but trouble with tires on my 3 MB's till I went to to correct size found someone that took care in blance instead of a poor overworked young man at the run them out the door as quick as you can tire shop.

I am now running Yokohama Avid touring (34 psi)on my Euro 500Se and like them better than Michliens.
William Rogers......

Sounds like a suspect fer yah but what do you think is causing the feathering of the tire? Guess that si what puzzles me. Can't hep it, working in the nuclear biz this root cause analysis thingy keeps creeping into my nogging! So, he-he gotta ask, eh the feathering bit leaves me puzzled. I don't have any experience with a tire defects but have seen outside problems attribute to other tire wear issues, like shocks, balance, alignment, etc.hmmm the puzzle continues fer me.....thanks for the insight, I'm ah listening......LH

Leon,

I recommend that you don't risk losing that '47 Chevy Hub Cap!

From your statements I could not verify that the tire that was "feathering" was the one that appeared to cause the pull. I expect, though, that the tire with the feathering has "conicity." If the feathering is caused by alignment problems on the front, it is almost always caused by incorrect toe. In the case of incorrect toe, BOTH front tires would be feathered in opposite directions.

I would highly recommend following Williams advice and pitch a hissy fit in their fancy showroom and get some round, cylindrical tires from them.

Once you have round, cylindrical tires, ensure that they are balanced with weights inboard AND outboard on a computer balancer in DYNAMIC mode. This is best done by a tire store kid with an IQ above 70 and more importantly an attitude for getting it done correctly. This is a great time for them to go by the old commercial addage "the customer is always right."

Best of luck,

PS I'm not saying that "liquid filled lower control arm bushings" is a bunch of bunk, but it's the wildest thing that I've heard in a while. I'm interested to hear more about what these people tell you regarding this. Proceed carefully and with suspicion. LB

"PS I'm not saying that "liquid filled lower control arm bushings" is a bunch of bunk, but it's the wildest thing that I've heard in a while. I'm interested to hear more about what these people tell you regarding this. Proceed carefully and with suspicion. LB"

That was what I was waiting for, soneone to address the lower control arm issue. I'll chase down the local Sears tech with this long thread and politely request another pair of tires. Thanks Larry

Do pay attention to one of Mr. Rogers' posts above, recommending the DEALER do the balancing. There's two reasons for this -- MB dealers use high-speed dynamic balancing machines, and they use "official" MB 2-piece wheel weights. Most everyone else uses 1-piece weights which WILL eventually fall off. This will progressively drive you crazy since you'll get your tires balanced, they'll be fine for a few thousand miles, then that little shimmy will reappear ...

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Steve
'93 400E

I have a shimmy that seems rather subdued until you hit 70 on
up. I have replaced the rubber flex disc in the drive line which was shot, it helped a little. Now I am wondering about the mid driveline carrier ujoint/bushing. I don't know whether the next step should be replace the middle bushing or start looking at tires again. the car has 170,000. Or possibly look else where.
Has anyone changed this middleline ujoint/bushing. It makes sense to replace it .

The one piece weight will not come off if it is the correct weight. There are about a dozen different weight types. It is very typical for the tire stores to use the wrong one and see it come off. If the correct one piece weight is used, there is still a down side, it will scratch the wheel, where the two piece weight if applied correctly will not.

The two piece weight is not exclusive to the MB dealer. They are available after market, but not all tire stores have them.

Also "high speed computer balancers" are not exclusive to the MB dealer. They are EVERYWHERE. The difference is the operator and mainly the operators attitude.

Good luck,

I have yet to find a tire store in my area which even is aware of the fitment issue of conventional wheel weights, much less stocks a two-piece weight. I would agree that there are alternatives to the dealer, however, like a good independent tech with a high-speed balancer and the good sense to use the right wheel weights. For most folks, it is simply easier to go to the dealer to have this done rather than calling around on the chance of finding a tire shop which is aware of the subtle issue of these "weight problems."

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Steve
'93 400E

The balancer is the easy thing to find. There are zillions of good, accurate computer balancers in every city.

The challenge is lining everything else up as outlined by 400E.

This includes: the correct weight for the rim, someone willing to do a DYNAMIC balance with weights on 2 planes, an operator with an IQ above 70 AND the attitude and determination to see that is done correctly giving the customer what they paid for. This is a tall order.

I agree about the dealer to a point. You are more likely to get all the above conditions met at the dealer, but not guaranteed. In fact there are a few dealers that provide a poorer attitude than the kid at the tire store.

Balancing a wheel properly with the proper materials is not difficult. I could take anyone with an IQ above 70 and teach them how to do it on my Coats 1001 in a half hour. That leaves the attitude problem. Attitude is everything. I have a piece of artwork that my daughter gave me when she was in the fourth grade. It says "It's all got to do with the Attitude." This is incorrect grammar but a very meaningfull statement.

Have a great day,

Well put, Larry! Couldn't agree more. Your daughter sounds like a very perceptive person!

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Steve
'93 400E