I just replaced the lower control arms on my 97 C230 197k due to the right ones failure due to rusting out. Did the lower ball joints too. New tires cooper cs3 and newer rims that needed 15 and 20 mm spacer rings get them out back to where they should be. Tires balanced front end alignment done. Steering wheel starts to shake a bit at 60 gets a liittle worse higher up. I didnt take it up to 60 before I replaced the rotors with semi cheap rockauto centric. I had slotted rotors on there and didnt replace or reface the pads before noticing the shaking, I put the slotteds back on after the shaking ( down to 6 mins a side lol) and the wheel still shakes. Going to send the new rotors back and get better quality ones and pads. Any thoughts on bosch vs brembo? If it doesnt cure it replacing the calipers too. When the control arm failed it forced the tire up under the fender but the brake lines top control arm and tie rods all passed mass state inspection after. Not shaken but stirred for sure.
Just did the same thing, replaced the lower control arms after the passenger one failed and shoved the tire up into the fenderwell. New ball joints, new arms, alignment, and all is well again.
Brakes should not remotely be the issue unless the shaking occurs under braking... if the rotor is warped/bent..it will be scraping as it spins, vibrating as pressure is applied. Just rolling down the road it won't cause issues unless it is horribly bad like visibly bent/broken.
Now, the hub spacers could be out of balance, misaligned, machined with a slight cant etc.... can you remove them and drive the vehicle to see if the vibration is gone? Also double check all the bolts to ensure they are tight...and the final tightening sequence should have been done with the weight of the vehicle on the suspension. Also the unlikely possibility that something else was damaged during the failure... upper control arm, shock, drag linkage etc.
We're the spacers installed and working before the control arm failed?
Spacers were needed for the newer rims they are 8 hole but were for an e class I think and needed 10mm so I got 2 5mm in each front 1 12mm in the back. Cant drive without them unless I have shorter bolts. The holes in the rims are 14mm but the bolts are 12mm I didnt final tighten under load I impact wrench them up on the jack I could try that. The rest of the suspension is fine like I said it passed mass inspection and I inspected and check for looseness. Maybe the upper control arm bushing might be tweaky the lower bushings were toasty and they came new with the control arms.
Where is a good source foe the adapters. I thought of that but hey I try to make what I have work...thats why I'm asking you guys and fupabox on youtube for your assistance!
DO check the suspension bolts under load, it does make a difference. I like, to use a torque wrench to be certain every bolt is the same preload. Oddly I found no specs for that...
Your vibration is from the mismatched combo of parts. Wrong fastener type/size/length etc... can have a profound impact on the ride quality. (Saying nothing about performance, safety issues)
So to ensure that you are driving a safe car...your own safety and others.... please get the correct parts.
Ideally you would get the correct wheels for your application, spacers are never a good idea.
Do they work...usually. Are they the best option for optimal performance and safety...nope.
Not preaching, but you are putting tremendous shearing forces on the components, stacking tolerances with the double spacers in front, increasing the leverage on the suspension components, not to mention early failure of the bearings. And bushings. Why again are you needing the wheels spaced out from the hub? Just aesthetics, or is it a fitment issue?
Yep, that is where I bought my lug bolts, and actually Amazon offers the same bolts from the same company. And I agree, spacers are a no-no to begin with, stacked spacers are definitely what is causing the problem. If you just need the spacers because the bolts bottom out, new bolts are the solution and toss the spacers. If you toss the spacers and it still vibrates, find a shop with a Hunter Road Force Balancer, with a tech that knows how to use it. If the vibration is caused by your tire/wheel assembly, that machine will find it 100%.
I dont think that its neglect its more of the learning curve of the complexities of my vehicle. I am going to put some steel screws through the two 5mm plates and cut them off at the surface to fuse them. Still looking for 12mm 1.5 lugs with the 14mm ballshank is there a source for these?
Please don't do this... you will make potentially make it worse. Unless you have a lathe, a mill, and very good measuring tools this will result in creating an off balanced weight spinning around your wheel hub. One that you cannot balance with the tire wheel assembly.
Your wheel hub has a center, everything spinning around it has mass and the centrifugal force is exponentially magnified by the amount of weight added...that why we balance tires, to equalize the unsprung spinning mass around the wheel hub. There is no way in hell to get 2 spacer plates screwed together and ground down balanced properly for an automotive application where the safety of everyone on the street depends on your vehicle being properly set up.
You also are putting a severe shearing load on the lugbolts...the closer to centerline they are to the wheel hub, the greater their clamping force...this is why wider offset wheels are used rather than spacers. I get that you want to use these wheels and tires...but you are so much better starting over, selling this combo and getting wheels that are designed for your application without the goofy spacers.
For the bolts....Try a fastenal store as they can get every fastener ever made. McMaster Carr is another. If you absolutely MUST use these wheels because they were carried by Jesus and have a map to the holy grail engraved on them... here is the proper way... call Stockton wheel...they will move the centerline of the mounting for you. Next option would be to tig weld the spacers to the rear of the wheel then machine them square to a perfect 90 degree to the centerline so they can be properly balanced with the tire. But this does not correct the shearing problem you will be creating especially on turns at speed. I am a hot rod make it work kinda guy, not a purist screaming about original this and that....but this will get you killed if not done properly. You will also spend MORE to set up this combo then buying a proper offset wheel..
So the reason I put the spacers in was to maintain the original depth of the wheels mainly to avoid any tire rub issues in the front when hard turning. I am using 205 60 15. Do I need the spacers or can I just get the proper bolts and eliminate the spacers which are the problem? Ty guys
Thanks for the reply I do understand all the balance concepts..I wish I had scoped the rims out better when I bought them. I am going to look for a trade deal place to get my style rims back that arent beat to shit.
I've done that, great deal and then try everything to make it work. Also not paid attention (or didn't know) and got the wrong stuff. Most of the time it isn't a critical issue, but this has a very high probability of failing on you, or at the minimum being near impossible to get right.
You have the 5x112 mm bolt pattern correct?
Do you know what the stock offset was...32mm I believe?
You can research a lot of stock specs on tire rack.com. Then go find a set in a junkyard...does not have to be a MB as long as you like the wheels...I've ran Audi wheels on VW all the time, H2 wheels on my diesel ram, dodge on jeeps etc. cheap way to get an upsize..... try to stick to RWD vehicles as they typically have the offset you are looking for.
BTW if you want some cheap rims that fit, try ecs tuning. Thats where I bought mine at. I paid about $110 a rim, but they look good and more importantly, had the proper offset. I still had to buy the correct lug bolts(very important), but once I got the right bolts sourced I've had no problem, and no spacers to deal with.
Ty for the info of course the 35 mm shank are out of stock and the 42 are too long, The original bolts have 39mm shank. I am now looking for some of the same rims...8 hole 12mm bolt hole. Probably less than $110 a piece... this have turned into more than of a pita than its worth lol
Just test drove after the install of the 12mm 1.5 26mm with 14mm ball seat lug bolts, removing the wheel spacers, and the the shaking is gone. Thank you gentlemen for saving my bacon once again! With these cars you just have to look 5 times then jump I guess. At 10 feet shes a gem LOL
It's a product of compartmentalized engineering... one "team" designs a part/system and every single aspect is developed on that. Every future "team" takes that subassembly which was already developed, tested, material sourced and builds on that.
When you change something it can have a profound impact on other parts... glad you got it sorted out, should be ready for another 20 years.
Yeh there is a possibility of another 20...rust never sleeps though. It also has been sipping coolant very slowly ever since I got it in 08. A gallon and change since then. Put some gasket seal after research into it but it hasnt stopped. Seems like I can smell coolant inside the cabin when I stop at a light after driving for a while but never any showing. Manageable so I'm not tearing into anything until the ugly issue pops not wanting to get at the heater core for kicks lol
I feel your pain with the rust...it's awful and destroys everything.
Yep heater core...fun times.
Rust issues are so bad here I'm seriously tempted to take a couple courses in auto body repair at the local college... every autobody shop has their hands full with normal collision, most won't even touch a rust repair/restoration.
SO many great cars here are rotted, but makes them cheap donors if you can find a rare recent out of state car. Most of the time I get a project car based on the body rather than if it runs..:frown
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