fighting dreaded steering wheel wobble/shimmy
Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 506
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From: Texas
06cls
fighting dreaded steering wheel wobble/shimmy
just had new tires put on the fronts and all 4 wheels balanced by a wheel repair shop.
when i first re installed the wheels everything was fine, the more i started to drive the car 45mph to 70 mph the car would start to shimmy at the steering wheel again.
the shimmy/wobble is not all the time but is pretty frequent.
i already replaced driver lower ball joint due to sqeaking over bumps at low speeds and wheel bearing due to humming.
i have 5mm spacers up front that i will remove and see if it helps and plan on doing an alignment once i get this figured out.
thoughts on whats causing this?
update:
got the car on the lift, and noticed a little movement at the 12 and 6 position. 9 and 3 seems tight on both wheels
when i first re installed the wheels everything was fine, the more i started to drive the car 45mph to 70 mph the car would start to shimmy at the steering wheel again.
the shimmy/wobble is not all the time but is pretty frequent.
i already replaced driver lower ball joint due to sqeaking over bumps at low speeds and wheel bearing due to humming.
i have 5mm spacers up front that i will remove and see if it helps and plan on doing an alignment once i get this figured out.
thoughts on whats causing this?
update:
got the car on the lift, and noticed a little movement at the 12 and 6 position. 9 and 3 seems tight on both wheels
Super Member
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 602
Likes: 3
From: America
04 E55 AMG
12 o'clock and 9 o'clock movement normally is a sign of a bad wheel bearing.... But I'm not sure .....but you should definitely get that taken care of. It appears that you've been having a problem with wheel bearings and front end for a while (I checked your post history )...Did you buy the whole wheel bearing from Mercedes-Benz or you try to save a buck and buy just the bearings and press them in yourself yada yada yada?
Last edited by MAN55LE; Jun 11, 2014 at 01:43 PM.
Former Vendor of MBWorld
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From: Houston
2003 W211 E55, 2003 W220 S600
spacers are known to cause this issue.
Do you see the passenger seat move due to the vibration?
Do you see the passenger seat move due to the vibration?
Last edited by shardul; Jun 13, 2014 at 11:19 AM.
Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 506
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From: Texas
06cls
yes pass seat moves as well.
i loosened the 5mm allen on the lock nut on the hub and was able to tighten the locknut a 1/8" by hand so i removed the bearing repacked it, re tightened and re assembled everything. as of now the wheel is tight in all directions. when i get out of work and go for a drive ill know for sure.
i literally just found my dial indicator with magnetic base after i re installed wheel, if issue re arrises i will do it with the indicator.
i loosened the 5mm allen on the lock nut on the hub and was able to tighten the locknut a 1/8" by hand so i removed the bearing repacked it, re tightened and re assembled everything. as of now the wheel is tight in all directions. when i get out of work and go for a drive ill know for sure.
i literally just found my dial indicator with magnetic base after i re installed wheel, if issue re arrises i will do it with the indicator.
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Joined: Jan 2004
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From: Del Mar, CA
2003 CL600 2005 745Li
This fixed my issue a few times
.
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Thread Starter
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Joined: Oct 2013
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From: Texas
06cls
i will pop them out and see what happens... the wobble/shimmy is the same as before.
could a sticky caliper be causing this? i noticed when i spin the rotor by hand there is spot that catches . but when i reinstalled the wheels and spun them in the air they seemed to spinning on there own with 0 issues.
could a sticky caliper be causing this? i noticed when i spin the rotor by hand there is spot that catches . but when i reinstalled the wheels and spun them in the air they seemed to spinning on there own with 0 issues.
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Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 36
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From: AZ
2005 E55, 2010 E350
What type of balance did the wheel shop do, spin or road force? I had a vibration issue starting around 60mph, needed new front tires so had discount do a 4 wheel balance when I got the new fronts put on, vibration was still there and honestly felt a bit worse. Finally got around to getting a road force balance done at a different shop last weekend and bingo, smooth as glass...
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Joined: Jun 2012
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From: Atlanta, GA
2005- E55, 2007 GL450, 94 B3000
High road force in tires does not always show up on the initial mounting, and balancing process. After the tires have settled on the wheels it will become apparent. I would have the wheels rebalanced via road force with the current weights on. This will give you a better idea if it is your tires. Road force balancing should be performed on hot tires for best results.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Oct 2013
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From: Texas
06cls
well the shimmy was indeed the spacers, removed them and for the last 30 miles it seems to have stopped.
i measured them on my granite table and tesla height guage, saw as much as .0090" of a difference between beetween the lug holes height.
going to try to order another billet set in 10mm with a hubcentric ring.
i actually started to lap these spacers on a granite plate with sand paper and the drivers one has all sorts of high and low spots.
i measured them on my granite table and tesla height guage, saw as much as .0090" of a difference between beetween the lug holes height.
going to try to order another billet set in 10mm with a hubcentric ring.
i actually started to lap these spacers on a granite plate with sand paper and the drivers one has all sorts of high and low spots.
