Really down about my 1995 S320.........
 

I will try to make this short. I bought a 1995 S320 in February
of this year. One owner car with 69,000 miles on it. I have
been having some problems just about have driven me crazy.

1) A squeaking sound from passenger rear suspension came
out of now where about a month ago. Getting worse
by the day. When it rains, the squeak goes away.

2) The car takes bumps really bad. It almost hurts your back.
I feel so bad because I know this car should drive a lot
smoother than what it is.


I have had some friends in the car. Between the squeaking
and the rough ride, I find myself making excuses about
the quality of the car.

Are S320's suppose to ride very firm (border line rough)?

I do not even know where to start. Shocks? Struts?
Lower and upper control arm/s? Ball joints? The
sphere thing I have heard about on this board?

Please, I am about the give it in. A flag ship car should
not drive like this.

The steering wheel will shimmy every once in a while too.

What parts should I start out with so that this car will
float down the road.

Many- many thanks for any help in this matter.
I really need it.

Tully Lee

The rough ride might be the hydraulic resevoirs ruptured. It probably is best to have a technician diagnose the problem before throwing parts at it though. As for the squeek in the rear there is alot of things that can get rust in it , and stop when water gets in it. Your best bet is to bring it to a capable technician and have the problem properly diagnosed and fixed.:D

The squeek may be directly related to the rough ride, too. As Euro suggests, I'm also thinking the hydraulic dampers (the ball-thingies). Could also be a rear sway bar link. More common to have the front links squeek or clunk though, are you sure the squeek isn't up front?
The vibration may just be out of balance tires.
Gilly

I just purchased new S class rims off a 2001 S class.
The tires are Continental's and had them high speed
balanced. I think I have seen a post on the S classes
having a problem with wheel shimmy. Is this true?
If so, what items can be the cause?

It looks like I will have to take the car in
for further looking at.

Tully

S-class do have balance problems but you can high speed balance them properly to get it smooth. We do alot of on car high speed balance. It balances up to 100 mph. You might want the balanced re-checked for any problems. :D

The main wheel balance related problems on the 140's are the rears on the V8's and V12's. Because of the weight of the vehicle and the available torque, the tires can spin on the rims, making them go out of balance on the rear. Trick is to either NOT use mounting compounds when mounting the tires, or wiping off all the compound before inflating the tires. Shouldn'y be a concern on your 6 cyl though. Maybe just a bad balance job?
Gilly

Hear hear (here here?) - you'll feel much better after this! No point driving like it is if it's not driving like it should..

Unfortunately your wallet may feel much less well.. but I guess that's running a top-of-the range saloon car for you :(


Russ