Juddering starting at 60+ MPH - MBClub UK

Slipper · 26-09-2007, 03:58 PM

Hello,

My W208 CLK 320 has an annoying judder/shimmy at Motorway speeds - basically anything over 60MPH makes the car 'shimmy', this can be felt through the seats and slightly through the steering wheel..

The car has new aftermarket 18" wheels and has been lowered (with just springs at the moment) - I've only had the car 1 1/2 Months and never drove it at motorway speeds with the standard wheels and suspension...

I have had the wheels re-balanced and only 30gms was needed on the rears and slightly more on the fronts..so nothing too bad.

I then had a 4 wheel allignment done, the only setting they could not change was the very slight amount of negative caster at one front wheel, and slight amount of positive at the other front - I was told that its not adjustable on the car and would not cause any noticeable problems.

I have spoken to the wheel supplier and they have been very helpfull, offering to re-check the wheels again - but did advise that that they have had no previous problems with these make and model of wheels (and they apparently sell a lot of them) but will even go to the trouble of changing the tyres round etc.

They also advised that they have had a couple of CLK's same age as mine with similar problems - and these turned out to be bearing and or 'lower arm' related, to anyone in the know..does this sound correct? < I was under the impression that a bad bearing would manifest itself in a rumble and a problem with a lower arm would of been picked up in the allignment?? (Can you tighten the bearing/hub assembly?)

My only other thought is that I need new/uprated shocks to match the uprated springs (their on my shopping list!!

) as maybe the current shocks are not controlling/cannot cope with the movement of the new larger and heavier alloys at speed?

Any comments or advice much appreciated before the 200 mile round trip to the tire and wheel supplier next weekend!!

Dave

Dieselman · 26-09-2007, 04:20 PM

Shimmy through the seats is normally the rear wheels but have them all checked for balance and tyre roundness.

These cars have a steering damper and it's worth making sure it's not leaked as that will cause loose steering and shimmy.

television · 26-09-2007, 04:28 PM

Are the after market wheels hub centric, if they are then I think it is still a balance problem

Slipper · 26-09-2007, 04:46 PM

Cheers for the replies.

I had the rears re-balanced last weekend and has not really made a differance, I see the tyres have the Red & Yellow dots on them - so hopefully they were mounted in accordance with these (Low spot on tire mounted on high spot on rim)

Have'nt checked the steering damper yet..

The wheels I believe are made for this particular car so are "Lug Centric?"

**BlackC55** · 26-09-2007, 04:51 PM

I would be more than happy to have drive of it for you and give you my opinion.

You are not far from me.

television · 26-09-2007, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackC55

I would be more than happy to have drive of it for you and give you my opinion.

You are not far from me.

Can you really afford to take a week off work though while you are testing it

Slipper · 26-09-2007, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackC55

I would be more than happy to have drive of it for you and give you my opinion.

You are not far from me.

Thanks Olly, I may just take you up on that if its ok?

Can make a week day next week or Sat 6th? - whatever would be easiest for you..

Many thanks
Dave

dward · 02-10-2007, 09:44 PM

I assume you have good quality tyres on there... I had exactly the same thing. I had the drive shaft checked and all sorts of things checked but it turned out to be 4 crapy tyres.. replaced with Continentals and problem solved.

television · 02-10-2007, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dward

I assume you have good quality tyres on there... I had exactly the same thing. I had the drive shaft checked and all sorts of things checked but it turned out to be 4 crapy tyres.. replaced with Continentals and problem solved.

Maybe he does not want to retire early

Slipper · 09-10-2007, 11:02 AM

Thanks for the replies!

I drove back to the supplier of the wheels and tyres, they re-balanced them and told me they were "quite a bit out" - I advised that I myself had had them balanced at 2 differant locations already and they had said the same thing!!

Any-way, after balancing I left and got back onto the Motorway to find that it was actually slightly worse and annoyingly it was nearly dead on 70MPH now..

Went straight back, they put my car on a ramp and and pointed out to me that my lower arms had more play in them than they should. I told them that I doubt this would make a pronounced 'wobbling/juddering' at certain speeds - anyway after lengthy talks and me making it obvious that I was not going to take my car back with the current wheel and tyre combination (or take it to Mercedes to have suspension components replaced) they decided to swap all 4 wheels and all 4 tyres for a brand new set!! (whick I have to admit is pretty good of them to do!)

Got back out onto the motorway...Perfect! :-)

The tyres were (and still are) Falken 452's, a pretty decent tyre IMO, although a tad noisy..

They have no idea what was wrong with the original tyre/wheel combination

BTW - anyone know if the lower arm bushes can be replaced on a W208 CLK, or do you have to buy new arms? :-)

Thanks
Dave

Mosselmann · 01-11-2007, 07:09 PM

were they replicas??

Ian_C · 01-11-2007, 07:53 PM

Sounds like the wheels were bent or out of round. More common than you may imagine and EVO mag have a new CLS which had the same problem.

The trouble with modern wheels and very low profile tyres....

Ian

**jaymanek** · 01-11-2007, 08:09 PM

yes but that should come up on the balancer? i dont trust some of the balancing machines out there and more importantly the users.. I know ours has about 6 settings that have to be set before you even press any buttons on it.. most tyre places seem to just sling the wheels on, set the size of wheel and off they go....

anything above 10g out can cause pronounced shake..

Ian_C · 01-11-2007, 08:44 PM

jaymanek,

Ummm are you saying that you have the equipment and the good operators that could take a look at my wheels, just to confirm they are true (for beer money of course) ?

Ian
P.S. Will check mercland.com doesn't have any Merc CL's before I pop in

**jaymanek** · 02-11-2007, 04:35 PM

CL's?

Yes we could check the balancing for you, now worries, but you are not close?

26-09-2007, 03:58 PM	#1
Slipper New Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Farnborough, Hampshire. Car: CLK 320 Posts: 26	Juddering starting at 60+ MPH Hello, My W208 CLK 320 has an annoying judder/shimmy at Motorway speeds - basically anything over 60MPH makes the car 'shimmy', this can be felt through the seats and slightly through the steering wheel.. The car has new aftermarket 18" wheels and has been lowered (with just springs at the moment) - I've only had the car 1 1/2 Months and never drove it at motorway speeds with the standard wheels and suspension... I have had the wheels re-balanced and only 30gms was needed on the rears and slightly more on the fronts..so nothing too bad. I then had a 4 wheel allignment done, the only setting they could not change was the very slight amount of negative caster at one front wheel, and slight amount of positive at the other front - I was told that its not adjustable on the car and would not cause any noticeable problems. I have spoken to the wheel supplier and they have been very helpfull, offering to re-check the wheels again - but did advise that that they have had no previous problems with these make and model of wheels (and they apparently sell a lot of them) but will even go to the trouble of changing the tyres round etc. They also advised that they have had a couple of CLK's same age as mine with similar problems - and these turned out to be bearing and or 'lower arm' related, to anyone in the know..does this sound correct? < I was under the impression that a bad bearing would manifest itself in a rumble and a problem with a lower arm would of been picked up in the allignment?? (Can you tighten the bearing/hub assembly?) My only other thought is that I need new/uprated shocks to match the uprated springs (their on my shopping list!! ) as maybe the current shocks are not controlling/cannot cope with the movement of the new larger and heavier alloys at speed? Any comments or advice much appreciated before the 200 mile round trip to the tire and wheel supplier next weekend!! Dave __________________ CLK 320 Elegance

26-09-2007, 04:51 PM	#5
BlackC55 Authorised Forum Sponsor Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Horndean, Portsmouth, Hampshire, Southsea Car: C43 AMG with mods, CLK55, C250TD, MK1 Caddy Posts: 14,178	I would be more than happy to have drive of it for you and give you my opinion. You are not far from me. __________________ Olly Prestige car Service: I am listed here on MBClub please click to see services and discounts available.

09-10-2007, 11:02 AM	#10
Slipper New Member Threadstarter Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Farnborough, Hampshire. Car: CLK 320 Posts: 26	Thanks for the replies! I drove back to the supplier of the wheels and tyres, they re-balanced them and told me they were "quite a bit out" - I advised that I myself had had them balanced at 2 differant locations already and they had said the same thing!! Any-way, after balancing I left and got back onto the Motorway to find that it was actually slightly worse and annoyingly it was nearly dead on 70MPH now.. Went straight back, they put my car on a ramp and and pointed out to me that my lower arms had more play in them than they should. I told them that I doubt this would make a pronounced 'wobbling/juddering' at certain speeds - anyway after lengthy talks and me making it obvious that I was not going to take my car back with the current wheel and tyre combination (or take it to Mercedes to have suspension components replaced) they decided to swap all 4 wheels and all 4 tyres for a brand new set!! (whick I have to admit is pretty good of them to do!) Got back out onto the motorway...Perfect! :-) The tyres were (and still are) Falken 452's, a pretty decent tyre IMO, although a tad noisy.. They have no idea what was wrong with the original tyre/wheel combination BTW - anyone know if the lower arm bushes can be replaced on a W208 CLK, or do you have to buy new arms? :-) Thanks Dave __________________ CLK 320 Elegance

26-09-2007, 04:20 PM	#2
Dieselman Hardcore MB Enthusiast Join Date: Jul 2003 Car: Peugeot 403 Convertible Posts: 28,804	Shimmy through the seats is normally the rear wheels but have them all checked for balance and tyre roundness. These cars have a steering damper and it's worth making sure it's not leaked as that will cause loose steering and shimmy.

26-09-2007, 04:28 PM	#3
television Banned Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Dorset on South Coast Car: R230 SL500 Posts: 12,271	Are the after market wheels hub centric, if they are then I think it is still a balance problem

26-09-2007, 04:46 PM	#4
Slipper New Member Threadstarter Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Farnborough, Hampshire. Car: CLK 320 Posts: 26	Cheers for the replies. I had the rears re-balanced last weekend and has not really made a differance, I see the tyres have the Red & Yellow dots on them - so hopefully they were mounted in accordance with these (Low spot on tire mounted on high spot on rim) Have'nt checked the steering damper yet.. The wheels I believe are made for this particular car so are "Lug Centric?"

02-10-2007, 09:44 PM	#8
dward Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Clevedon, North Somerset Car: W203 270CDI Avantgarde Posts: 49	I assume you have good quality tyres on there... I had exactly the same thing. I had the drive shaft checked and all sorts of things checked but it turned out to be 4 crapy tyres.. replaced with Continentals and problem solved.

01-11-2007, 07:09 PM	#11
Mosselmann Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 62	were they replicas??

01-11-2007, 07:53 PM	#12
Ian_C Hardcore MB Enthusiast Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Windsor Car: CLK320 Black Posts: 399	Sounds like the wheels were bent or out of round. More common than you may imagine and EVO mag have a new CLS which had the same problem. The trouble with modern wheels and very low profile tyres.... Ian

01-11-2007, 08:09 PM	#13
jaymanek Authorised Forum Sponsor Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Nuneaton Warwickshire Car: Lots of Mercedes! Posts: 14,492	yes but that should come up on the balancer? i dont trust some of the balancing machines out there and more importantly the users.. I know ours has about 6 settings that have to be set before you even press any buttons on it.. most tyre places seem to just sling the wheels on, set the size of wheel and off they go.... anything above 10g out can cause pronounced shake..

01-11-2007, 08:44 PM	#14
Ian_C Hardcore MB Enthusiast Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Windsor Car: CLK320 Black Posts: 399	jaymanek, Ummm are you saying that you have the equipment and the good operators that could take a look at my wheels, just to confirm they are true (for beer money of course) ? Ian P.S. Will check mercland.com doesn't have any Merc CL's before I pop in

02-11-2007, 04:35 PM	#15
jaymanek Authorised Forum Sponsor Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Nuneaton Warwickshire Car: Lots of Mercedes! Posts: 14,492	CL's? Yes we could check the balancing for you, now worries, but you are not close?

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