Steering Shake
 

Hi Guys

Newbie here (Fast H form Manchester England).:p

Anyway after a few words of advice please.

Just bought an 06 Convt in Red showing just 22K which looks near mint. (Bought from local FORD main dealer).
When I test drove the car I noticed steering shake at all different speeds and asked the shop to fix it before I picked it up (I also had the care proffesionaly inspected and they also listed "Slight Steerring Shake").
Anyway on pick up I was told that they had actually had to replace one of the front alloys as it was dented! The car came with a brand new MOT done by the garage themselves, which STILL listed it as an advisory "Slight steering shake" AFTER THEY HAD SAID THEY HAD FIXED IT! (Apparantly the front tyres which were replaced as part of the deal were also wearing quicker on the insides).
Car is GOING back to the garage! Looks like the car has beeen driven quite hard off a kerb or similar to damage an alloy on the inside of the rim!
However what are members thoughts on possible solutions or things I should ask the garage to check properley please??? God I hate cars that have steering that shakes!!:(

Re: Steering Shake
 

It doesn't take much to knock one of this wheels out of round, I did it to two on a minor pot hole. Their is no support on the inner edge of the rim.

It still sounds like a wheel/tire issue. If they won't solve your problem, take it to another independent dealer and have them check it out. Then take the bill back to the place that is suppose to make the repairs.

James

Re: Steering Shake
 

Hi. Thanks the words of comfort. Looking about at a few other things that it may be, apart from damage to arms ETC from the wheel damage, are, Steering damper?Steering Idlers? Steering drag link assembly? Tie rods?:confused:

I'm more of a bike person myself..................lot simpler. Your thoughts on the above other possible problems/cause as noted above?

There is a place near me that has a good reputation that does full 4 wheel alignment/tracking ETC. Do you think that would solve it my friend? Regards

Re: Steering Shake
 

My guess is when they repair or replace your front rims that will fix the shake also its in need of an alignment as the toe seems to be out of tilt which is probably causing the inside wear.

Re: Steering Shake
 

Thanks for that chaps..........think I'm getting a bit paranoid!! By the way I also get a bit of a vibe through the brake pedal when the car is stopped and idling (Car is auto). Idea's?

Re: Steering Shake
 

inflate tires to correct psi (bar) and change the steering damper. After that I would go for the whole tie rod assembly and of course check alignment for all 4 tires.

Re: Steering Shake
 

Well the car has now been at a Chrysler main dealer for 2 days for them to check out the whole steering system! (I bought the car off a Ford main dealer). Apparantly their report is that all the steering components are "Within tolerance"!! However the fact reamains that when the car was picked up the NEW MOT form the supplying FORD dealer it had an advisory on it "Steering shake" and before I bought the car I had it checked out by a car inspection firm firm called DEKRA and they had down as an ESSENTIAL repair "Steering shake"! So the Chrysler and supplying Ford dealer would appear to think it's OK. (Or within tolerance that is!), whilst myself, the FORD dealers own MOT station and DEKRA say it's not OK!! Has also been suggested by someone else that it could be the Steering Box??? Qusetion now is what do with it...............looks like could be a reject under the old sales of goods act, along with all the hassle that goes with that!

Re: Steering Shake
 

steering shake, can be, an "out of round" tire, bent wheel, unbalanced wheel and tire, tie rod ends, and the list goes on. I would first check them for correct balance, and always put a new steering stabilizer on....they go bad fairly quickly.... good luck...

oops, about forgot... I doubt very much it is the steering box.... but the power steering is sensitive to right amount of fluid...

Re: Steering Shake
 

Hi. Thanks for the info/advice. I have now got the car back from the Ford dealer who supplied the car. They took the car to the local Chrysler dealer in Manchester who charged THEM £120 to check and diagnose the steering fault. (No fault found............they said that it was "Within manufacturers tolerance"). They then charged them £150 to do a 4 wheel wheel alignment check/adjust (Glad I was not paying!). Ford dealer then re balanced the front wheels. After that it does seem slightly better, but only slightly. MAYBE its because I am not used to a car with this type of steering system???? Nearly all cars in the UK are rack & pinion steering and have been for years! So it possibly just me not being used to it. The shake is not BAD. It's just there if you know what I mean? Feels like a wheel out of balance.............when I now know they are all balanced fine. Thanks for the tip about the steering damper!! Anyone got a reccomended supplier for one? Regards

Re: Steering Shake
 

Well on it goes it seems! Taken the car to a place that I trust, and they gave it a VERY keen check over.............their conclusions............Slight wear to one of the ball joints, more severe wear to the universal joint!!(Which I beleive is in the so called steering box?). The chap said it had the amount of wear/play that he would expect to see on a car with 100000+ miles on it. (The car has done 22000 miles). THOUGH he did also say that due to the type of steering on the car (NON Rack & Pinion), unless he had another car to check it against it's hard to say if this is "Just the way it is" with this particular model of car. Thanks for the tip on the steering damper/stabilser I will def be trying one of those.

Re: Steering Shake
 

Sorry to hear about your issue and hope it can be resolved so you can fully enjoy your Crossfire. The recirculating ball steering in the Crossfire is the same, of course as the Mercedes Benz SLK's that the Crossfire is based on. While it arguably doesnt give the precise feedback as a rack and pinion steering would, they are virtually bullet proof units and well suited for 100mph stability. recirculating ball steering has been used in numerous Mercedes and BMW cars.
You wrote that the front tires were replaced, with what brand?
I had numerous vibration issues when my oem Conti's started to go and had to try a few different shops before they got the balancing right.
The low profile tires are extremely picky about proper balancing, also, the oem rims are very picky about proper lug torque. If you find the shake varies at different speeds, esp after your garage has re-mounted the tires, make certain the lug nuts are at the proper torque. There are threads here with the correct spec, I believe it's 85 ft lbs. Good luck and keep us updated!

Re: Steering Shake
 

Hi. Once again thanks for the advice. When you say lug torque is that the same as the "Wheel bolts" and their torque setting? (Surprsing the number of difference's between American and English really!).....you say trunk...we say boot ETC ETC. The tyres (Tires......there it goes again!), are made by "Event"...yes I know I've never heard of them either. Prob made in Korea or somewhere similar.

Re: Steering Shake
 

Did they do a load balance or just spin balance. Is it speed sensitive?

Loose warn parts would give you shakes after a bump.

For a problme like this I would normally swap wheels front and rear but I don't know if this is possible with 18 and 19s. I would also test after removing the steering dampener. This might make the shake much worse and perhaps easier to identify. Think this last one over carefully because I have no personal experience of the risks.

Just a side note. I don't understand all the praise on replacing the steering dampner. I have owned many cars from the 50s and 60s that had worm and sector steering gear and not one had a dampener. If the wheels and tires are true and balancced what do you need to "dampen." That said, if my CF gets a shake I am going to get load balanced and then replace the dampener. I am curious but not stupid.

Re: Steering Shake
 

Hi. The wheels were removed off the car and balanced on a tyre balance machine. Anyway I have checked the torque of the wheel nuts all now est at 83 pounds...........new steering damper is next!

Re: Steering Shake
 

Well on the advice of members I sourced a new steering damper (Stabiliser), via Flea bay for £26 including free P&P. It was listed as an Merc SLK part and was made in Brazil of all places! Fitted it today and it went straight on! Well what I can say is THAT IT HAS MADE A DIFFERENCE! It's not 100% cured the issue, but I would say it's 80% better. I consider that a right result for £26!! Also bear in mind my 06 car has only done 22000 miles from new.:) CHANGE YOURS NOW!

Still concened about the play in the Universal Joint though. And it looks a pig to get to. Chrysler UK want £175 for the part. Any thoughts folks?

Re: Steering Shake
 

Hi fasth, all i can say is dont go through a main dealer try to find a Mercedes specialist to do the work as they will be cheaper... i am not that far from you on the Wirral and use one close to me plus they do all my serviceing...does yours pull slightly to the left, mine did quite badly but i have after market wheels on mine and had the wheels laser tracked this helped alot but it still pulls slightly to the left ..hope you sort it .

Re: Steering Shake
 

No one here has mentioned that this shake could be causeed by a slipped radial belt in a front tire. This is not unusual. The tire could have been defective new or a pot hole or a curb hit can shift a radial tire belt. They will feel like a bent wheel. If they are bad enough you can jack up the front end and spin the tire and see a shift (jog) in the thread pattern when the shift in the belt comes arround.

Re: Steering Shake
 

Hi UK DAVE. Yes you are quite close to me. I see you live in the posh part of Liverpool! Anyway cheers for the advice. Regarding your wheels have you tried swopping the fronts over to see if the car still pulls one way or the other? SEMLINGER Have to say I had not though of that!! Tyres are however BRAND new and have done approx 250 miles now. They are however El cheapo ones made by "Event", never heard of them myself!