245 wheel vibration

After replacing ball joints is it reasonable that there would be wheel shake at highway speeds if the car hasn't been properly aligned?

Reply to
e
Loading thread data ...

Hello:

Not only would it be reasonable, but I'd be surprised if there were not issues after replacing balljoints.

This is a no-brainer. If you had a shop do the work, they should have insisted on an alignment before releasing the car to you--and would not have been trying to rip you off.

In my area a good laser alignment costs $50 and is worth every penny.

Regards,

Doc

Reply to
doc

What's the ball joint setup on a 245 like compared to the 760??

If you change the ball joints on a 760, an alignment doesn't give you anything since the balljoint doesn't affect the steering moment of axis in such a way that would alter the toe/caster.

Reply to
M.R.S.

The ball joint is upside down on a 240 relative to the 760. The ball joint bolt to the control arm, and the pin goes into a bracket that's bolted to the bottom of the strut. There's a little room for slop in the mounting on a 240, possibly affecting alignment slightly. (Toe is much more sensitive than caster or camber.)

In any case I wouldn't expect a vibration from new ball joints. My guess is either a balance weight fell off one of the wheels, or some corrosion or other foreign object has prevented one of the wheels from seating properly on the hub.

Reply to
Mike F

PO did the replacement himself. I just got the car last night and I'm going to make an appointment today to have alignment done. Just wondered if the vibration was something else.

Reply to
e

Hello:

As Mike F pointed out, it could be something as simple as a missing wheel weight. That said, I gather that youi recently acquired the car--so having at least the front tires balanced and an alignment would be a good idea unless you had documentation that it had been done recently.

And here's another possibility, although a remote one: it's possible you have internal belt separation on one or both of the front tires. I had a 240 that suddenly developed serious vibration issues--but only at speeds of 45 to 60 MPH.

Took it to an alignment shop as I knew all other suspension components were tight. The tech at the shop had recently aligned the car and said right away: "let's look at the tires." Keep in mind the tread was great and they looked good, but he knew waht he was looking for and diagnosed the issue as belt separation. I then went to the shop where I bought the tires and they agreed the tires were the problem and gave me a new pair as they were still under warranty. Nice part is that they did not even pro-rate the tires for mileage and gave me a new set and mounted and balanced free of charge.

I had NEVER heard about a belt separation issue and mentioned it to the tire tech. He told me that it was not something they saw every day--but also not a rare occurence.

I'd start with having the balance checked, as that will always cause vibration, and especially at highway speeds. The alignment shop will check that before they align--or should, but aske them to make sure it's done before the alignment.

Note: not all alignment shops are the same; some have highly skilled techs and the newest state of the art laser equipment. Others are hacks. In my area there are really only 2 shops out of the 30 or more doing alignments who really know their stuff.

Both do a lot of alignments for race cars--and at 150 mph plus an alignment had better be correct. Good part is that they don't charge more than other shops who can't do the job correctly and are cheaper than the chain shops.

A final possibility is an issue with strut bearings etc, but that seems unlikely as you did not mention any "clunking" or other noises like that.

Start with the simplest and least expensive possibilities move on from there.

Regards,

Doc

Reply to
doc

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.