Mercedes R129 steering wobble

[mclellanmac]

Help me please guys!

I've got an R129 mecedes SL, and I'm getting a rather alarming steering wobble, I've had the wheels balanced, but it's still the same, I've also replaced the steering damper, but to no avail!

It seems worse without the hard top on, it's too serious to put down to scuttle shake, has anyone got any ideas? I've been told the ball joints etc are all alright, soooo I dunno!

Any Mercedes experts out there got any idea?

Thanks very much guys!

[dubmeister]

It's probably the idler pin bushes ,if you follow the track rods in you will see it hiding there . its an unfortunate byproduct of having the steering box on on chassis leg and the car being wiiidde ,
My s class has exactly the same wobble at speeds of 50 to 60 mph when braking and makes my twitch and do a pac man impression
Cheap to fix as you can get the bushes on ebay dirt cheap

[mclellanmac]

Thank you very much, I shall investigate!

Il be honest it's really ruining the car for me, I love it, but it makes me not want to drive it, fingers crossed it is an easy enough fix

[dubmeister]

Every Merc bar my vito has had that pain in the backside wobble ,for £20 it's worth doing the idler pin bushes anyway coz it cant make it worse .

[mclellanmac]

I've read a couple of bits online does seem to cause a similar problem to the one I'm having

Can you recommend a good place to buy the bits? Can't see them on the EBay

[dubmeister]

If they aren't on ebay (surprised ) GSF and eurocarparts do them but you might be surprised how cheap they are at the merc stealership ,ones for my w140 were about £15

[mclellanmac]

I can't see idler pin bushes on GSF, do they go by a different name?

[dubmeister]

All the ones on ebay are from gsf and i searched for idler arm bushes .

[mclellanmac]

Is this the boy?

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SUSPENSION-ARM-BUSH-KIT-Mercedes-Benz-SL-Class-Convertible-SL280-R129-2-8L-204-/321340223996?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&fits=Cars+Year%3A1995%7CCar+Make%3AMercedes-Benz%7CCars+Type%3A280%7CPlat_Gen%3AR129%7CModel%3ASL&hash=item4ad15eb1fc

[dubmeister]

Nope i think that does the arm bushes rather than the steering idler arm
What age is your car ? may well have a steering rack like an e class if its a late model ,
This is what i am talking about ,sorry its listed in the states but you get the idea
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-W124-R129-400E-E420-500E-Idler-Arm-Bushing-Kit-129-460-00-19-/370782857990?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5654616b06

[mclellanmac]

It's a 1996 sl280

[dubmeister]

The one i listed above fits a 96 320sl which is a bored out version of yours i think so may be worth searching for that part no or car and see what you can turn up in the uk

[mclellanmac]

Everything has different names, I have confirmed that it has a steering box I think, are the bits I need shown in this diagram

mb.ilcats.ru/part/class/1/ccode/1/cat/44F/type/129/subtype/059/group/33

[dubmeister]

No but this is a pic of the bit you are after off my 500sel ( no 6 )

[ChasR]

I would be looking at the steering idler and balljoints.

At what speed does the wheel wobble? Are you on standard wheels?

[mclellanmac]

It starts really badly at around 60, but reduces a little at about 80

It's not it's on some 18 inch AMGs, I assume they are reps

[dubmeister]

To be honest it's almost impossible for us to diagnose your car we can only point you in the right direction then help out when you're there
It could be wheels and tyres ,dodgy made discs and hubs out of balance ,upper and lower arm bushes ,front and rear by the way ,then you have balljoints ,track rod ends ,idler arm bushes ,steering rack may need adjusted and so on
A little bit of wear on any or all of these parts could give the symptoms you have described .

Best thing you can do is get under the car and start levering stuff to look for wear that is obvious and do those bits first

[Rich]

Mar 19, 2014 23:14:19 GMT dubmeister said:

steering rack may need adjusted and so on

Steering box, but yea.

[dubmeister]

Correct ,god knows why i typed rack ,lack of sleep probably
Luckily the rack is easy to adjust ,just a 6mm allen key and suitable sized spanner (17mm i think)