Why do my front tires shake

Tiny
JOHANNAH
  • MEMBER
  • 1992 MERCEDES BENZ 190E
  • 200,000 MILES
Prior to driving to Maine from North Carolina last May I had my tires balanced. When I got on the road my tires would start shaking severely (violently) at 55 mph. I did not have this problem prior to having my tires balanced. I was told that I needed the tie rods replaced which they were within the past two weeks - still have problem. Can you help?
Tuesday, September 20th, 2011 AT 2:22 PM

2 Replies

Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 34,331 POSTS
This is pretty easy. There was no problem before they were balanced. That rules out worn parts, broken tire belts, warped brake rotors, and bent wheels. What that leaves is a new wheel weight didn't clip on properly and flew off leaving that wheel out-of-balance, the wheel balancer was out of calibration, or a piece of debris is stuck between the wheel and mounting hub. This happens real often with cast wheels that are corroded; not so common with steel wheels. A piece of the corroded wheel can break off and stick to the hub when the wheel is removed. When it's reinstalled in a different orientation, that chunk holds the wheel from sitting squarely on the hub. Your mechanic can find that by rotating each wheel by hand and watching a dial indicator placed next to the edge of it.
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Tuesday, September 20th, 2011 AT 5:17 PM
Tiny
JOHANNAH
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
Thank you soooo much for your response. Unfortunately, was unable to find out if your advice is the proper answer for my car since the mechanic doing the work was unavailable today. Your advice and even quicker response was much appreciated. Johannah
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Wednesday, September 21st, 2011 AT 9:04 PM

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