alx

hello everybody,

i have an 07 cdi320 with the 19" wheel package.

i like the truck a lot. it is exactly what my family needs.

however, i have a question to anybody that has the same truck (i imagine that the 450 would be no different too)

does your front end when going at around 35-40mph on nice smooth road seems to hum? like a bearing about to go bad? i have around 10k miles so it could be the tires making that noise, but who knows. the truck is so quiet that all those noises come forward....

also, when going over bumps i feel in the steering a sense of looseness and free play- i dont know how to explain- i understand this is no sports car, but the steering needs to be tight. instead i almost feel like there is a cluck-cluck type of sensation when going over bumps with the front tires... my ml55 amg used to have the same feel but i had worn swaybar bushings which was common for the ml class...

i am thinking about going and test-driving another gl to see if it feels the same..

any input?

thank you

alex

infamily

we have 07 320 with close to 7K miles and we do npthear any hum noise or steering loss when going over bumps.. As a matter of fact I was on a street with lots of speed bumps couple of days ago and I don't remember any abnormal behaviour from our truck. I will pay closer attention next time I am driving to see if I experience anything similar

infamily

Drove this morning.. did not notice any hum noise or any steering issues

LRRPJOE

Hey Alex I have a 450 with 18,000 miles on it and a few months ago I found that my steering seemed to had become "Loose" also. Like when you go over undulated surfaces, ruts, potholes, the front end would become loose and the jolts are transferred up through the steering column and the steering wheel will also move in your hand.

I don't remember the car feeling like that before. Infact ai had a 2000 ML prior to this that I traded and that steering was a bit like this. I remeber when I drove the GL and saying how great the steerin felt, how well planted compared to the ML. But now it doesn't seem the same.

Before these steering issues arose I had the car in gettign serviced for something else and the Dealer called me and told me they found a steering knuckle that was worn. It's the one you can see when looking in the engine compartment just near the firewall. Anyway they told me they replaced it and when I got the car back, I thought there was something wrong with the steering. It took me a day to ralize that I now had an inch of play in the wheel, you could turn it either way a half inch before anything mechanical would hit to actually turn the wheels.

I took it back and they found the tech had not tightened a bolt near the firewall near the firewall on the steering properly. And since then I feel the steering has never felt like it dig originally. I've taken it back since and they just tell me that's how it is and what basically I feel like I'm nuts. I don't live near the dealer and I can't find any bad roads around the dealer to demonstrate the motions that I fell the car doing through the steering.

Let me know how you fair?

StevethePilot

That's an excellent plan - see if you can take it around on the same roads which you've noticed this on your own GL.

At 20302 miles (that's what it was this morning before I went driving around) I have only had a vibration in the front that turned out to be a simple balancing problem (after three shop visits, which is just wrong!) I have on two or three occasions noticed "tracking" in the front end, where the front will seem to pull to one side or the other on a particular road, but coming from a 4WD I think I'm more used to that. And a couple of times I've gone over a rut in the road (on the Loop 101 Freeway) that's sent the car sideways a few inches, which (when combined with the comissurate tracking) has made me feel like I'm about to lose control of my truck (well, one time, because I didn't realize the road was messed up and was looking elsewhere at the moment).

If you're getting humming around corners, you could have a bad power steering pump. I don't know that that'd give you a sense of front-end looseness but anything's possible. Then again, maybe a loose front end has somehow affected the steering pump, or it is loose and has actually (as you think) ruined a bearing of some kind.

Take 'er in!

BJ021

No issues with mine at 2900 miles....the only sounds we hear are me whistling a happy tune cause I love driving my GL!

Svalko

The noise is coming from the tires! I don't like the Original Continental tires, because, when thay turn 10K miles, they are geting noise. I rotate it every 5K miles, and balance. On 40K I changed with Pirrelly Scorpio Ice & Snow, very happy with them so fare. Great on snow and black ice (5K miles allready, no signs of wear), no noise on dry roads, just great!

alx

update:

i brought in the truck for the cps recall and the tech informed me that there is another recall on the steering calling for certain shimming that supposedly will take care of the "loose" feeling of the front end.

alex
few cars

JAM

I have what seems to be an abnormally large dead-zone where there is a lot of play in the steering. I am at 12K miles. My tires are also very worn. Like others, I do not like the Continentals and will replace them with Michelins at some point soon.

StevethePilot

While I am happy with my Michelin Cross-Terrains (I had the OEM performance tires and they were great but wore quickly), I think if I were you I'd look into the Nettos (Nittos? What were they called now, Danno?)

As for "dead zones," after less than a year I have 25,000+ miles, no dead zones. I tend to correct with pressure more than movement (for lane control or changing a single lane), nothing more needed.

STP

JAM

Never heard of Nittos, but I will check them out.

For the Michelin's I was looking at the "Latitude Tour HP" $210/each on TireRack. Althought I have the off-road suspension package, I never use it so I am more after ride quality and decent all season handling.

For something sportier, I might consider the Bridgestone Potenza RE92A.

JAM

Maybe I'll go sledding in my GL with 2/10" on my tires today

StevethePilot

Zoinks! My Tour HPs (that was the factory originals) were down about there when I went up to the ice and snow in Flagstaff and they still did perdy okay.

One nice thing about the XTs is a slightly longer treadwear life and the off-road abilities if its needed. The only big drawback on the Nittos is the high rolling resistance. Otherwise, they wear and grip great and are very quiet. (Er, well, based on independant ratings.)