Wobble/Vibration Not Wheel Balance..Help??

[jpspencer]

Hi, please excuse Im a new owner and new to this site.
I have purchased An E320 Cdi Estate Sport 2006 with 85k with full MBSH. I thought that the wheels needed balencing and have had it done twice now, and the wobble is still there.
The feeling of an unbalanced wheel seems to be from the nearside but does not come through the steering or through the brakes! It seems to be worse at certain speeds but it is not related to engine speed.
Am I right in assuming it could be bushes or bearings, if so which ones???

So far the car is brilliant, its just a niggle that needs sorting as something is wrong and I want to cure it before it does further damage.

Also, the car has 18" alloy wheels and the spare is a 17" space saver, is this correct? If I purchase a proper alloy wheel as a spare, will it fit in the wheel well? I tow a caravan in the summer and dont want to rely on a space saver when in Spain.

Thank everyone for a great helpful site. Im going to enjoy being part of the club.
Jon Spencer...

 

[Grahamcol]

If you can't feel it through the steering wheel, maybe it's one of the back wheels so I'd suggest you get the back balanced too, assuming you haven't done this already. Also, are your tyres Ok and not deformed in some way - I've heard of some tyres being unbalanceable ? Finally, there are some places that balance the wheels on the car so that the whole hub assembly including wheels / tyres is balanced and you may have to resort to that, although in my expeirence I've never found this to be necessary. Good luck. ps. some places don't know how to use the balance machine properly and it's better to go to a small independant tyre place, in my view

 

[davidjpowell]

Ball joints wear on MB's. I am wondering if this could be the cause. Often you can hear them 'rattle' on uneven roads. I am wondering if your problem could be related to this.

 

[SSBB]

I bought the same car as you 2 months ago, I have the same problem. Tried a set of borrowed wheels and the car still 'vibrates' at 60-80mph. Slight steering wheel wobble but mainly felt through the seats. Had my wheels balanced and tracked twice now at diffrent places...problem still there. I will look at shock absorbers next. Have checked wheel bearings...theyre OK. Very frustrating..as you say, car lovely to drive otherwise.

 

[whitenemesis]

17" space saver is correct and would suggest a full size alloy will not fit in the well. It's not the diameter but the width that's the issue (on my 203 at least!)

 

[whitenemesis]

I bought the same car as you 2 months ago, I have the same problem. Tried a set of borrowed wheels and the car still 'vibrates' at 60-80mph. Slight steering wheel wobble but mainly felt through the seats. Had my wheels balanced and tracked twice now at diffrent places...problem still there. I will look at shock absorbers next. Have checked wheel bearings...theyre OK. Very frustrating..as you say, car lovely to drive otherwise.

Could it be wear in the propshaft bearings?

 

[moonloops]

Jon, did you get the wheels balanced at the same place twice, or different places?

I have two cars, CLK and had new tyres fitted and balanced by one place that wobbled on the new setup.

I also have a Toyota MR2 with bad wheel wobble, balanced at another place but still had the wobble afterwards.

Just a thought, if your suspension checks out all OK then try a decent place to get them re-balanced. I used Tyres Northampton and highly recommend them - not *that* far from Welwyn.

There's also Wheels In Motion who are highly recommended by others. Not tried them yet.


I had to have both "rebalanced" at a place that knew what they were doing.

 

[SSBB]

Could it be wear in the propshaft bearings?

I have thought of that..not sure how to check though. Cars done 117,000 miles..dont know if that makes any difference

 

[camerafodder]

Could it be wear in the propshaft bearings?

That's where I'd be looking too.

 

[JonnyCJ]

Had exactly the same thing at the same speed. One of the front discs was .25mm out and caused a very slight shimmy. If your discs are close to the limit that could well be it.

 

[jpspencer]

All 4 wheels have been balanced by two separate company's. Discs are OK. There are NO Rattles when going over bumpy roads whatsoever. It does seem to be pointing to the rear wheels although these tyres have 6.0 -6.5mm of tread on them!
Wheels can no longer be balanced on the car, I understand that this had to be stopped because of Health and Safety issues and that they were powered by 3 phase. I tried asking that question a couple of years back, thats how I know about that one.

Thank you for your answers so far, I will keep you posted.
Jon......

 

[whitenemesis]

I have thought of that..not sure how to check though. Cars done 117,000 miles..dont know if that makes any difference

Get it on a ramp and grab the prop and try to wiggle it? I'm sure I saw a thread on here with pictures of worn prop bearings ..

 

[JonnyCJ]

You can't exclude the discs unless you get them properly checked. It shouldn't be an expensive job, but well worth doing !

 

[jpspencer]

Discs have been check for run-out using a dial gauge and for wear using a micrometer, all OK!
Jon.....

 

[Bellow]

It seems to be worse at certain speeds

Speeds? Or at one speed? Which speed(s)? There might be a clue in the speed(s) it occurs at.

 

[jpspencer]

Hi to everyone who has contributed so far. I might have found the answer to this problem.Having only just got the car I noticed that one tyre was low in pressure, upon looking for a puncture or damage I noticed a 'Crack' in the wheel rim!! Having the wheel removed revealed that there were 2 cracks and signs of the wheel being out-of-true.
I now need to find another 10 spoke wheel 18" by 9J The fronts on this car are 18" x 8.5J and the rears are 18" by 9J.
ANYONE KNOW WHERE I CAN FIND A CHEAP/SECONDHAND REPLACEMENT????

 

[moonloops]

Hi to everyone who has contributed so far. I might have found the answer to this problem.Having only just got the car I noticed that one tyre was low in pressure, upon looking for a puncture or damage I noticed a 'Crack' in the wheel rim!! Having the wheel removed revealed that there were 2 cracks and signs of the wheel being out-of-true.
I now need to find another 10 spoke wheel 18" by 9J The fronts on this car are 18" x 8.5J and the rears are 18" by 9J.
ANYONE KNOW WHERE I CAN FIND A CHEAP/SECONDHAND REPLACEMENT????

Glad you found it - can be frustrating otherwise. Have you checked on ebay for wheels? We need to know what style you have...

 

[jpspencer]

Found the wheels on E Bay but unfortunately, it not the answer!!!

Back to the drawing board and suggestions welcome

Many thanks again, Jon......

 

[Scottbo]

Hi, I have just joined the club and have exactly the same problem... It started when I had new front discs and pads fitted, a week later, all of sudden I started to get wobble between 60-80mph. I took back and the wheels have been rebalanced twice but still no improvement. the company who fitted the discs (a reputable company) are adamant the discs are fine but cannot find the prolem. Has anyone ever heard of discs being faulty and out of balance? Could it be another issue and just coincidence?

 

[ringway]

It is not inconcievable that these problems can be caused by a tyre being flat and left to stand (on the vehicle) for a long period.