I have a vibration between 65 and 75 mph in my 99 500sl. I had the tires ballanced and all four wheels aligned. Any ideas where to look next?
Thanks,
Randy

 

balancing is not enough is the tire/wheel is distorted.

ask them put 4 the same wheels from another car and test again.

 

Sleepwalker is correct, also have the axle hubs check to see if they are not warped. I had a problem with my car with a warped axle HUB, cause by a tech using an impace wrence to tighten the tires, I would have thought the wheel would warp first, but he hub did instead. Also, make sure both the wheel hub and axle hubs are CLEAN of rust and debris if they are not warped.

 

A warped brake rotor gives the same symptoms

 

Also get them to check the lower control arm bushes for wear. If theses are worn, it will cause vibrations.

 

Sounds like you started with the right thing by checking the wheels.

If you haven't done this yet .... I'd have a 4-wheel alignment done on the vehicle.

If that still doesn't cure it, start looking at things like the propeller shaft (ie. driveshaft) Flexible Couplings and "vibration" dampener.

See Pic


[IMG]local://upfiles/5574/3E01EE6B5E7F4738B34A86FC9E11F20C.jpg[/IMG]

 

I suppose it would be good idea to ask where do you feel the vibration.

Is it throught the steering wheel, or through the body of the car?

 

It seems to be the whole car, including the steering wheel. It is a rather sharp vibration and quite irritating.
I sure appreciate this imput.
Randy

 

Please report your findings when you find the issue. This will help all of us.

 

If your car has done over 60,000Miles, You should get the lower control arm bushes checked. If they are worn, or cracked, (which can be hard to see), they don't support the wheels in position properly at speed. One way to check them is to see if the vibration stops when you apply the brake lightly. This puts the bushes under a little bit of load and may stop them "fluttering". This is common on the W140 S Class when they have clocked up a few miles.