Hi all.

I'm new to the board. Just bought my '88 240 dl wagon and the person who sold it was honest about the problems he knew about including about the front rotors being "warped" (he probably overtightened the lugs). They are getting replaced this weekend with Duralast rotors from Autozone, but I have another problem which I THINK is related but wanted to bounce off people to make sure.

The steering wheel shimmies side to side while the car is moving, in sort of a ka-thuck-ka-thuck motion. It follows the speed of the car (that is, it shimmy's faster when the car goes faster, slower when it goes slower). I am hoping it is the aforementioned rotors and not something expensive like an axle. Anyone else have any other ideas?

BTW, I will post whether changing the rotors fixes the problem.

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1988 240dl Wagon- Her name is Battlestar Gretta cause she don't take frak off anyone!

Well next week I am probably going to get all 4 tires replaced and installed by NTB, and I will probably get an alignment done at the same time. A bit expensive, but I don't have the expertise to even attempt a wheel alignment myself. I could do just the fronts and then wait two weeks to get paid and do the backs I suppose.

Sorry if my description was a bit ambiguous. I'm not a mechanic, so I'm just describing as best I can. I'm going to be learning auto repair to maintain this car, so I will be asking possibly dumb questions in the future.

Well hey I just got new tires and an aligment today! Wow, no shake at sixty, it was such a relief! I hope all turns out well for ya!
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1987 244DL Auto, new rear main seal! Back to the stock air box:(

Warped rotors will cause a shimmy when braking. If it does it all the time, it is something else. Likely culprits include:
Wheel(s) out of balance.
Wheel(s) bent.
Tire problems, such as uneven wear or separated belts.
Loose or worn wheel bearing.

Raise the front wheels off the ground. Spin them while holding your hand lightly across the tire tread to feel for any irregularities. Rotate the tires front to rear. Examine the fronts closely while they are off. You can usually spot wheel damage or tire problems. If the tires are worn in a feathered pattern, you need an alignment, and may need ball joints or suspension bushings.

The wheel bearing is less likely. To check it, while the tire is off the ground, grab it at top and bottom and try to rock it in and out. If it has any noticeable play, the wheel bearing needs to be adjusted.

Could it be out of alignment perhaps? My Car shimmys from 60 to 80, part of it is the extremly bad front tires, but it still pulls to the right quite feindishly! Just a thought! I hope you get it figured out!

Not meaning to criticize, but I really couldn't understand more than superficially what you described as, "...sort of a ka-thuck-ka-thuck motion...." No offense meant.

But, re "...steering wheel shimmies side to side while the car is moving....", you write that the effect correlates to the speed of the car.
So, aside from the possibility that this is still related to the bad rotors, consider two other possibilities:
1) a bad wheel bearing.
2) a tire tread separation.
Each of these can give a pronounced thumping feel on the steering wheel, and of course this will sync to the speed of the effected front wheel's rotation.
The distinction between these two possibilities is a subtle sound, and it's not uncommon to confuse the two.

1) Considering tread separation, jack up each front wheel only slightly, so that the car's weight is off the tire and the tire is only barely off the ground, only enough so that you can spin the tire by hand. If there's a blister on the tread, its bulge will block the free motion of the tire at one point -- the tire will freely spin over the rest of its circumference.

2) Considering a bad bearing (if you didn't find a blister on either tire by step 1), then jack each tire completely off the ground and give the tire a really strong spin. You might hear the bad bearing by it's metallic rubbing sound. Trouble is, sometimes it only occurs under the load of the weight of the car :-( , but it's worth the try to diagnose it this easy way.

And, of course, also tug on each tire at 12:00, 3:00, 6:00 and 9:00 positions to feel if there's any slop or excessive free play, another sign of a bad bearing.

Good luck.

Rotate your wheels front to back. That will determine if it is an axle problem or a wheel problem. While rotating, check the inside of the rims; one could be badly bent.
If the wobbling goes away from the steering wheel, then check for rotor warping. When you get new rotors and pads, breaking them in is a cinch: http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_bedincontents.shtml

If the tailgate bottom isn't rusted yet, coat it with some paste car wax. I used to own an 88 245, and it now lives in Columbus. I miss it! Along with my daughter who is at OWU.

Klaus
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1975 164 w/174,800mi (Sold) 1995 850T w/91,000mi, 1998 V70R w/129,000mi

Hmm I'll check both of these. The tires are a might old, and will likely get replaced within the next month (as money allows). As for wheel balancing, that will probably have to be done by a professional for money... that will be a little while unless I find a good coupon...

Check the tires. Mine had a flat spot that caused this. I put it on the back and it went away.

Are the wheels balance properly?

Could be other things but check this first!
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'92 240 wagon, 268k, '88 240 sedan 280k

I've got the shakes at around 60 mph to 80. Heres what I've figured out. I had my struts/tierods/balljoints/strut bearings all replaced and then had it alligned. I also then put new tires on the car after it was alligned. 6 months later the front tires are feathered really bad and when I had the tires rotated to the rear I started getting the shakes. I went back two more times to get the tires balanced since they thought only the front would need balancing. I then got the rear balanced and had the tires on back changed to the other side. Still having problems with the shakes. I pull out the Bentley and it said in there that you should try to have the allignment closer to -1/4 rather than the -1 degree to help from having the tires "feather". I went back and showed the guys at Big O and I got some BS about it being in spec ect... I wanted a free allignment to get it closer to 1/4. Well if its in spec and its feathering then you'd think they want to help me out. Now I'm to the point that its time to demand new tires rather than pro-rate them and pay the difference since they said the allignment is in spec and they don't really want to help with putting the allignment closer to zero so the feathering isn't happening. Always point out that you want the allignment in spec but closest to zero to keep the shakes from happening. Long but simple in the end.