From the life of a journeyman mechanic - when the front axle shakes on the 190 SL
07/07/2017
Fast sports cars usually require very special experience when they come into the workshop. The Mercedes-Benz 190 SL that turned up at our workshop confirmed this once again. According to the driver - we were later able to see for ourselves that his claim was correct - the vehicle began to shake at around 120 km.
It's a simple matter, thought the repair technician: "We'll have the wheels balanced and that's that."
But that wasn't enough this time. The next step was to measure the car visually, but no significant deviations were found. The caster of the front axle was therefore increased by lowering the rear axle camber. All steering components, including the steering shock absorbers, were checked and the wheel bearings adjusted. But even this did not make the "Spritzige" responsive. Now it was time to tackle the front shock absorbers. The test on the machine showed perfect values, but Bilstein dampers were used, as was already the case on the rear axle. We also replaced the rubber mounts on the chassis frame and the struts. However, these efforts were also unsuccessful.
Now we tried using four wheels from a new car, but this didn't bring any improvement either. So we suspected an imbalance in the drive shaft, and a new one was quickly fitted. Another test drive, which was gradually getting on our nerves, could be started. To our great disappointment, however, everything remained the same.
What could one do in such a situation? The foreman, who had been informed of this case in the meantime, ordered us to try out tires of a certain make after he had contacted the relevant departments at the factory by telephone. These were procured and fitted as quickly as possible. We could hardly believe it, but this put an end to the whims of the "sweeper"!
This text was taken from issue 14 of the 1959 edition of the magazine "Krafthand".
