1998 Mercedes Benz S320 shake in steering

1998 MERCEDES BENZ S320
90,000 MILES • 6 CYL • FWD • AUTOMATIC
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JOHN MEANEY
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car in perfect condition except for; shake in steering at 60mph and again at 70 ish; shake comes back in when coming down in speed ; shake worse going south on motorway than north [!} i have replaced ; most of steering; bushions etc, part in driveshaft, front and back suspension, brake discs and skimmed them...........................wheels balanced numerous times........wheel alignment and camber done at merc. main dealer....................new michelin tyres recently fitted........................tried 4 new wheels but problem exactly the same.................dont know what to do now........................neither does my garage [!]...................would appreciate any help.............................regards john
Apr 22, 2010 at 12:13 PM
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CARADIODOC
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Hi john meaney. Welcome to the forum. The most likely stuff, the wheels and tires, have already been taken care of. Have them start by running the car on a hoist and placing a dial indicator against the outside lip of the wheels as they rotate. If there is excessive runout, say in the order of .050" or more, do the same thing on the brake rotor with the wheel / tire removed. If runout exists on the rotor too, the hub is bent or there is a piece of rust or scale that has fallen between the hub and rotor. Access holes in the mounting surface of the hubs allows rust to form on the inside of the rotor's mounting surface. If that spot of rust buildup isn't cleaned off before the rotor is machined, it will result in a warp being machined into it.

If no problem is found in this area, suspect a worn spot in the inner cv joint housing. I didn't suggest this first because it usually doesn't cause a problem when cruising or slowing down, only under acceleration. A cv joint problem can sometimes be identified by shifting the position of the engine slightly, then looking for a change in the symptoms.

caradiodoc
Apr 22, 2010 at 1:39 PM