rajswift

Hello all, I have a 1996 E320, recently bought it with very low miles. When I am driving around 55-60 MPH the steering wheel has a slight vibration, enough to bother me. I have had the wheels balanced at numerous shops with the Hunter Load Balancer Machines but still the same problem. When I went in for a 30,000 mile service te guy at the dealer told me that this was normal, but I think he was skeptical on the problem himself. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Raj

techbike

You should feel lucky after all I went through and am going through on my CLK regarding vibration...
Anyway, with what we pay for these cars, vibration is Never normal. Any vibration felt at the steering wheel, particularly at speeds of 55-65MPH on 16" wheels and 60-70MPH on 17-18" wheels can be attributed to wheel balancing problems. It took me 2 years to get rid of a balancing problem on a 560SL and just got rid of vibration on a new CLK55 stock wheels after 4 tries.
I still have a problem with aftermarket 19"s. I think only the HUnter GSP9700 can pinpoint the problem. Oops, let me qualify...a Hunter with a KNOWLEDGEABLE tech behind it.
Now we really understand why Mercedes is now only #5 in quality, and Toyota #1.

techbike

mercedesshop.com forum. he's around you and is also now a qualified expert on balancing after what he's gone through...:p

rajswift

I had the people at the tire shop balance the car with the hunter GSP 9700, and still vibration exists. Any other suggestions?

techbike

Now would be a good time to do it. The factory actually recommends it at 50K. It's cheap (under $30)and easy to do. Also, did they do the high/low point matching on the Hunter? It makes a big difference.
My brother bought a E320 with 75000 miles and had vibration. After "harmonic" balancing(GSP9700) he still had a little, then when he changed the steering dampener, it was gone. I changed the dampener on my SL560 as well ($24) and $20 to change it. It ran smooth after that. That may be a good next step. I'm at a dead end with my CLK. They sent me new centering rings for my 19" SSR GT3s but they're exactly the same as what's already on there...

rajswift

Thanks for the input....my car has only 31780 miles on it, do you still think it could be the steering dampener? Oh well, what is fifty bucks to give it a try anyways. I also have factory 16" wheels on there, and am planning to upgrade to the 18" amg e55 wheels, but first I want to figure out the problem with this vibration, then get the wheels. I'll give it a try, and let's see what happens.

techbike

Smart.
Don't jump into larger tires/wheels before solving this. The upgrade will only amplify the problem IMHO.