SL500 R129 Wobble

[laf]

Hi Everyone,

I hope someone can help me, my car's got a nasty wobble that's driving me crazy.

Up to 55, the car is smooth. Over 55mph, the steering wheel starts to wobble. This gets worse up until about 75 and then gets less severe until about 85-90mph.

Meanwhile, once I get to about 65-70mph, there's a shake from the rear as well so the whole car is shaking/vibrating. It's to bad to put up with so I end up driving at 55.

I had my wheels balanced recently and I've just had Bilstein B4 shock absorbers fitted all round. This included the front top mounts too as one was in bad shape. I also had a new steering damper fitted.

Since this work, the shimmy is a bit better but I guess it's just being absorbed better.

The tyres were new last year - Dunlop SP Sport 01. They've got even wear and loads of tread as they've only done 8-9000 miles.

The tyre pressures are as per the sticker inside the fuel cap.

I know this is a common problem but reading other posts, I can't see any similar posts.

What could it be? Other threads mention wheels, tyres, drive shaft.

I'm getting the tracking done tomorrow and will get the wheels re-balanced. Otherwise, I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks,
Lee

 

[television]

Hello and welcome to the forum,, without doubt the firm that balanced the wheels does not know how to,, you should try someone else,, we have lots of these post on balancing,,many get it wrong

 

[Alex M Grieve]

Hi Everyone,

I hope someone can help me, my car's got a nasty wobble that's driving me crazy.

Up to 55, the car is smooth. Over 55mph, the steering wheel starts to wobble. This gets worse up until about 75 and then gets less severe until about 85-90mph.

Meanwhile, once I get to about 65-70mph, there's a shake from the rear as well so the whole car is shaking/vibrating. It's to bad to put up with so I end up driving at 55.

I had my wheels balanced recently and I've just had Bilstein B4 shock absorbers fitted all round. This included the front top mounts too as one was in bad shape. I also had a new steering damper fitted.

Since this work, the shimmy is a bit better but I guess it's just being absorbed better.

The tyres were new last year - Dunlop SP Sport 01. They've got even wear and loads of tread as they've only done 8-9000 miles.

The tyre pressures are as per the sticker inside the fuel cap.

I know this is a common problem but reading other posts, I can't see any similar posts.

What could it be? Other threads mention wheels, tyres, drive shaft.

I'm getting the tracking done tomorrow and will get the wheels re-balanced. Otherwise, I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks,
Lee

Hi Lee and welcome to the Forum. I would concentrate on having the wheels balanced correctly before embarking on any more radical engineering.

 

[laf]

Thanks guys, I'll try somewhere else tomorrow. Fingers crossed. I'll let you know how I get on.

Thanks,
Lee

 

[television]

Thanks guys, I'll try somewhere else tomorrow. Fingers crossed. I'll let you know how I get on.

Thanks,
Lee

Then right way to do it is not the kwikfit way.

The weights should be removed, the wheel spun and weights applied, it should then be spun again and any corrections made,,in the case of many weights opposite each other, you rotate the tyre ½ a turn to try and cancel that out

 

[laf]

Hi guys,

I had my wheels tracked and balanced today at Hardy's Tyres in Telford. The tracking was fine and didn't need adjusting. The car feels a lot better. The cost: £0.00 because the guy loved my car!

There's still a bit of a shake the and I'm wondering if it's the soft top. Can that affect the car that much or am I just finding faults for the sake of it now?

Thanks for everyone's input,
Lee

 

[laf]

Still wobbling



Right. The current update is this.

After I had my wheels balanced, I could still feel a wobble so I took it back to where I had my shocks fitted. After a road test, he put my car on a lift and found that the nearside rear bush had gone (there wasn't any obvious play in the wheel from 6 o'clock nor from 3:45 but there was when he pulled the control arm downwards).

Anyway, the bush is replaced but the damn wobble is still there. I starts very subtly at 40mph and gets steadily worse and I can't drive through it (at least up to 90).

After the bush was replaced, the mechanic checked the everything out and said everything was solid. He's sure the tyres aren't out of shape either because he said it's quite common on heavier Mercs.

What can it be?

HELP!

 

[S.Speed]

I suppose its feesable it could be a out of true alloy wheel..
I suppose its worthwhile to check there isnt any rubbish behing the Alloys that would make it / them sit out of true.. Its unlikely I know, but you never know.
It certainly sounds wheel related to me.

 

[television]

I have never suffered from wheel problems on the 129 cars

This must still be down to balancing, worn steering bushes can allow more shake once the wobble starts, but it cannot start it off in the first place, the same goes for out of adjustment wheel bearings, these can allow the wheels to shake more.

I have known some folk that have tried 6 tyre outlets before the correct balancing can be achieved

 

[laf]

Thanks guys. I re-read my post and noticed it wasn't very detailed.

I should have mentioned that the wobble from the steering wheel has gone since the wheel balancing. The wobble/vibration is now only felt in the seats.

It doesn't seem too bad driving up to speed. It's more noticeable when I come off the throttle, slow down a bit then accelerate again.

The chap at Autotech checked the rear wheels and tyres; there's no flat spots and the wheels look ok.

I also had someone follow me last night and check for any obvious movement from the wheels and car in general. Nothing.

I'm thinking it's got to be a bearing or bush in the transmition.

Is it worth just to just take everything off and replace what's duff rather than go at it piecemeal? Pricey, I know - eek

Thanks,
Lee

 

[S.Speed]

Is it worth just to just take everything off and replace what's duff rather than go at it piecemeal? Pricey, I know - eek

Thanks,
Lee

If you are going to keep the car then why not?
In time all these niggles wont be remembered..

"Long after the price is forgotten, the quality is remembered"

So true

 

[television]

Did they do the rear wheels as well

 

[laf]

Yes they did but I had the rear wheels re-balanced today somewhere else. One wheel was 20g out and the other was 40g out (it was actually more balanced with no weights). Why do so many Tyre places suck?

Anyway this time they're spot on. While I was there, they had it up on a lift (one you drive onto rather than a jack type of lift). We found that a bush on the driver's side front suspension had a bit of play. That was all. Everything else looked great.

I'll get that bush replaced and see if makes a difference. If not, back to the bug hunt.

 

[Mr Teddy Bear]

My W208 dates from 1998 and requires Four wheel steering alignment to be carried out. I would take it to a recommended Indy and have all the suspension bushes checked and also the propshaft for the vibration.