C280 Vibration

[Dave Bailey]

I have a '98 C280, currently with 94k on the clock. for a while now, I've been trying to chase down a vibration that appears at certain speeds. At first I thought it might have been caused by wheels/tyres etc. However, I now have new tyres and brake discs all round and the vibration still appears. I'm now sure that the problem is a prop joint or something else in the transmission train. So the question is, can anyone offer advice on how best to check the joints and couplings? A quick visual inspection of the rubber couplings suggests that they look ok, and I can't feel any real play in the centre bearing by trying to move it by hand. The vibration does feel as though it is getting worse, but it could be that my awareness of it is heightened. Either way, it's not right & I'd like to get it fixed.

All help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Dave

 

[Vlad]

Does the vibration come in at a set speed, say 60mph and then go at say 80....I found this on my older C280 and one of things it turned out to be was the steering damper. These have a fairly short life and are a regular cause of steering vibration. They are cheap and easy to replace.

Even after getting my damper changed I still had some vibration and having had the wheels balanced again I got all four wheels re-aligned....massive difference!

Not sure where in the country you are as I didn't look before writing this post, however, I got my wheels re-aligned by Micheldever Tyres near Basingstoke who use the latest re-alignment equipment for just £30+vat.....I have seen other members having it done for considerably more. Micheldever are able to offer these low prices as they rely on very heavy throughput of customers, which helps knock the price down.

Good luck

 

[watsone91]

I would try cleaning the prop shaft a build up of dirt over the years can cause a vibration like this cheap way to start i suppose

 

[Dave Bailey]

Thanks Gents, I'll try both suggestions & see how it goes.

The vibration does come in at specific speeds, around the 70 mark is when it is at its worst. The reason I suspected a prop joint was that the vibration seems to coincide with what feels like a resonant low frequency rumbling noise. I wouldn't have expected wheels & tyres to do that, but I have heard that these cars can be sensitive to such things.

All the best,

Dave

 

[jimmy]

I recently had a similar problem, I bought a set of 17" AMG wheels from Sym with as new Goodyear F1's. Between 75-85mph there was a terrible vibration, smooth as silk below or above that, thought it cant be the wheels or Sym would have said something One day it suddenly got real bad, so bad I couldnt read the speedo!

I checked the prop, brakes etc but could not see anything. I got the wheels balanced and all were well out, one was 25g out the worst was 45g out of balance. This fixed the problem.

It may be worth getting the wheels re-balanced, evidently wheels will go out of balance as the tyres wear.

 

[Dave Bailey]

You're right about the tyre wear affecting wheel balance Jimmy, I've experienced that one before. As it happens, I have new tyres on the front & the rears were balanced again at the time they were fitted. I'm confident that the wheel balance issue has been eliminated. I'm hoping that it is the steering damper - much cheaper than drivetrain components. Fingers crossed.....

 

[Dave Bailey]

Well Gents, I changed the steering damper this morning. A quick inspection of the old damper proved that it was well and truly shot. The difference in the way the car felt after fitting the new damper was quite profound. All the refinement had returned, the steering felt a lot more precise and smooth. As per Vlad's experience, there is still a very slight vibration evident, but this is now very insignificant and doesn't cause me any great annoyance. All the same, the next step will be to get a proper four wheel alignment done as soon as time permits. Hopefully that will improve things still further. Meanwhile, I'm very happy that my car now behaves like it should & all for the sake of about thirty quid for the damper and ten minutes spent wielding spanners.