hpilot

My '2000 E320 has 43,000 miles, and I just noticed a slight vibration problem at seemingly random speeds. You can feel it in the steering wheel and to a lesser extent in the body. The tires have only 5,000 miles on them, and I just had them rotated and balanced by a very competent shop. This did not help. The frequency of the vibration does not seem to vary with the speed of the car. This is driving me nuts. It seems to come and go as I change speed. I recently went over a speed bump rather hard, but I don't know if this has anything to do with it. Could this be a suspension problem? Any Ideas?

RichardM98

I would suggest examining the bushings (rubber) in the front suspension components. I'm surprised the tire shop didn't inspect them if you complained about vibration when having the wheels balanced. Good luck.

hpilot

Thanks. I'll give that a shot. Most people might not notice this, but I sure do...

michakaveli

Most common issue are the front lower control arm bushings. In appearance, they may look fine, but probably are not. When I replaced my original bushings they dodn't looks bad at all, but the 55mph shimmy that was always evident disappeared after I replaced both lower control arms with Lemforder units (that have new bushings alreayd installed). Considering the age of the vehicle, it is very possible that the LCA bushings need replacement.

fosmith

Have your flex disks checked out. At your mileage they should be ok but maybe at nearly 10 years of age, they have dried out and have started to crack.

Fred

hpilot

OK, Thanks. What are Flex Disks?

fosmith

flex disks are flexible rubber couplings at each end of the drive shaft - one at the transmission and one at the differential. They allow for lateral movement in a turning shaft similar to u-joints or cv joints.
Fred

saintz

Does throttle input make a difference? Meaning are the engine mounts bad? Bad mounts will give you a vibration regardless of speed, so long as you are applying gas.