Funny Shimmy

[Capt Kirk]

Recently my beloved 300D has developed a "shimmy" when I slow down to a stop, it start at about 15 mph and gets worst when I near 0. On the freeway during slow traffic the shimmy is kinda noticible (I've developed a sense for funny noices, actions etc) at around 15-20. I just had the steering box ajusted and new engine mounts put in by our Mechanic. I also replaced the front pads, got new tires all around, and switched to Mobil1 synthetic (engine just purrs now, specially on ye olde freeway ) I don't think I can attribute it to any of these things cause the shimmy would be worst the faster I go. On Saturday after a spirited drive I had to slam on the brakes at a light which locked up the tires for a split second, after that it felt kinda funny turning right, which has since gone away.

Also, at the beginning of the summer I rebuilt the whole front end, put new drive shafts in, replaced all the shocks and springs by myself but I don't think any of that can be attributed to the "shimmy" at such a low speed.

By Shimmy I mean the front of the car shakes back and forth (can be felt by my self and passenger).

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[MikeTangas]

When you "kinda locked them up" did you lock them hard enough and long enough to put flat spots on the tires? I have made many, many panic stops during my career and have easily ruined a lot of tires. Due to tires rotating at different speeds during turns, the flats spots tend to no longer hit at the same time which exagerates the wobble. The wobble from flat spots is most noticeable at low speed.

[Capt Kirk]

when the tires locked up there wasn't any smoke or tire marks like you see after a near fender bender. it was more a chirp from the tires. I slammed on the brakes, heard the chirp, let up.

When I said it felt funny through right turns I ment that it was really soft and disconnected, but that has since gone away.

I can't feel the shimmy in the steering wheel (as I'd assume you could if the tires had a flat spot on em). It's more like the whole car is shimmying with the shimmy originating up front.
Also it's more pronouced slowing down from a higher speed (45+ mph) then from a slower speed (30-35 down) when you slow down to a stop with out the brakes you don't feel the shimmy at 15-20, only when you accelerate up to it and then cruise (like in rush hour traffic).

I'll check the tires in detail tomorrow just to make sure.

EDIT: Also it's not all the time, but maybe 75-80% of the stops, I can be driving around in my neighbor hood and the shimmy will be no existant. Could this have anything to do with the torque converter not unlocking all the way or something with the transmission?

[william rogers]

Lots of tire places have big employee turn around ,hence that bright looking young man at the balancing machine may have been there but a few days.I had to take my SD back after a week on new Michliens because of shimmy,when the manager rebalanced them he said they were way off......
William Rogers.....

[Capt Kirk]

I was flipping through the MB Service CD and came across something called "Engine Stop adjustment" it says that the Engine Stop adjustment should be done in hte first 1000km, or when the Engine mounts are replaced 1000km after that. Could this "Engine Stop" cause a side to side shimmy at low speeds while braking?

[jcd]

I had a similar situation,,,,twice.

The first time, when the rotors were all greased up after I had the pads replaced. I cleaned them off with degreaser and it solved the problem.

The second time, the rotors needed to be turned. Same thing, turned the rotors, solved the problem.

Hope this helps

JCD

[ncarter]

I had a similar "shimmy" when I tried to switch to a set of those so-called "lifetime" brake pads. Those brake pads were awful! When I switched back to original Mercedes pads from the dealership, braking was back to smooth and perfect.

Always stick with Mercedes or OEM pads! They're worth the extra dust, and worth the hassle of changing them a little more often.

- Nathan
'83 240D "Steiner"
'00 New Beetle TDI

[william rogers]

You got that right about sticking with OEM brake pads! I learned the hard way.....
William Rogers.....

[Capt Kirk]

Yeah, I've been sticking with MB parts only since I got the car in Feburary. The previous owner what a cheapskate. As you could imagine MB and Cheapskates don't go together. I've had to do a lot to get my 300D up to fighting strength, I still have some stuff to do but it's not very critical now.