Tracking and Wobbly Speedo

[BadTasteUK]

Hi all, I have two questions, which I'm not sure are related, but would be grateful for any help offered.

The steering shakes a bit at 60 odd and she pulls to the left slightly, which I assume is tracking. So I nipped along to Kwik-Fit, and the bloke did one of those plumber type deep breaths through his teeth and said something about needing to take it to a geometry specialist because it's a Merc????

Is this guy nuts? Can anyone recommend a chain that CAN do it, or a local place in West London or Middlesex?

Also, the speedo wobbles up until around 30 or 40 mph. Is this normal, and is it linked to the tracking being out?

Cheers,
G.

 

[Richard Moakes]

This time, the sucking of air through teeth is right !

You either need someone who has a 'feel' for alignment, and can adjust the car by repeated test drives and tweaks, or preferably you need to go to a specialist like Andy Gayle, or find a friendly MB dealer.

The setup on these cars is ticklish, you really need someone who understands MB suspension.

Cheers,

Richard
1989 W124 300E

 

[Arnie]

Hi,

if the steering shakes at a certain speed, then it's likely to be wheel balancing that you need to look at. Also, associated to this, check the steering damper, which may be worn.

Your tracking may also be a little bit off, but bear in mind that a lot of cars will pull slightly to the left because of the road camber.

The jumpy speedo means that you either need to lubricate or replace your speedo cable.

 

[BadTasteUK]

Thanks guys... the wheel balancing sounds a good possibility as the place I bought it from had to change the two front tyres before I picked it up (as they were illegal) and probably didn't balance them. :x

Any ideas on how much would I be looking at for...

a) Steering Damper

b) Speedo Cable

c) Alignment/Tracking by MB dealer

On another note, I've found this site invaluable. There's great info on nearly every aspect of the car, and the BEST part is, it's unbiased! 8)

Cheers,
G.

 

[andy_k]

http://www.eurocarparts.com

is a good place to start your search for parts - if they don't list it on the web site give them a ring.

As for the tracking, as others have said you need someone who is used to setting up Merc suspension - one of our local tyre centres (very near to the main dealer) has a constant queue of cars from the dealer being set up there, so we popped in and asked him - turns out, that yes he does nearly all the cars that come into the main dealer on their behalf and he charges a fraction of the price if you go to him direct so the advice is to shop around. Taking it into the dealers for the tracking? Then don't expect to see much change from £200.

Before you get it done it may be worth checking all the rear suspension parts/bushes for wear a favourite for wearing out is the upper control arm - part number 210-350-33-06 (if my list is correct - if not I'm sure someone will correct me ) if there is any play in these replace them along with the bolts that secure them (this is an updated and heavier duty genuine part from Mercedes. A quick test to see if your's are worn is to lift the back of the car on stands and put a mole wrench or similar on the control arm - if they can be moved easily or wobble when you touch them they are in need of replacement.

At the front check your track rods/ends and replace as neccessary - it works out almost as cheap to replce the whole arm as just the track rod ends and will make the adjustment of tracking a whole lot easier. have a look also at the anti roll bar bushes and the brackets that support them - we had one of those brackets snap a couple of weeks ago on our car.

None of these are big or expensive jobs so don't panic

Andy

 

[Arnie]

The speedo-cable will be about £25 from the dealer, if you just replace the internal flexible shaft. Not all cars have the steering damper, but if it does and needs replacing, then it will be around £80 for an original (looks like a small shock-absorber or gas-strut connected between the suspension sub-frame and one of the steering arms.) Also, as mentioned, the supension bushes may warrant a check, by try and see what difference the wheel balancing makes first.

 

[squeezer99]

The dampers are about £20 from eurocarparts or GSF (non original of course)....

 

[NormanB]

You have had good advice on tracking and suspension components.
Before you replace speedo cable withdraw the inner, inspect clean lub and replace. It might work and save you some quids.
Mine wobbles at low speed from 0-20 and then as steady as a rock - it has done this as long as I have owned the car and I cannot be arsed to sort it. There always seems to be higher priority things to do either on the car, in the house/garden/pub/beach....... :wink:

 

[andy_k]

living near the beach is such a distraction - some days car jobs just fade into insignificance

Andy

 

[weere]

A word of warning - very few tyre shops have the proper gear to fix the tracking. The best I have accross is at Merit tyres - fully electronic to a PC where you get a before and after print out.

They however either could not fix the error on the camber of one front wheel or could not be bothered to do so.

In time I will have a scrubbed front wheel unless I can find a shop that can fix it but not at MB prices

weere

 

[barrie]

I got the tracking done on my 190E at a dealers for £76(extra for a seized bolt, usually£60). They did warn me that they have charged £300 to do tracking before due to "seized bolts".I've yet to come across a seized bolt on my car yet so watch out for that one


Bazza