I narrowed down the vibration issue.

"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
08/02/2016 at 09:24 • Filed to: Not that kind of cupping

Yesterday I reported that Tucker’s right front wheel is making “womp womp womp” noises and is vibrating my steering wheel.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

This morning, I checked the wheels. Turns out, there’s inner cupping on the right front tyre. It may be time to get some new shocks and struts.

That said, my car also hasn’t seen a proper alignment job in over 100,000 miles (because it wasn’t needed in all that time), so it probably got out of spec while the car was drowning in the noise and vibrations of dying bearings.

My front right wheel is also missing all of its wheel weights from a pothole impact (the same impact that probably could have messed up the MacPherson on that side), so it’s guaranteed to be out of balance.

Thankfully the rear end has an overly complex somewhat independent DeDion tube.

So uh, I guess I’ll go to a shop and see which one hits the jackpot!

DISCUSSION (25)

CalzoneGolem > Mercedes Streeter
08/02/2016 at 09:36

If you have to replace the shocks and struts you’ll need an alignment afterwards anyways.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Mercedes Streeter
08/02/2016 at 09:36

Oh. Wow. That’s a lot of things to leave broken on a car. If your car has double-wishbone suspension then a blown shock isn’t a huge deal. Macpherson struts are a different story since the shock has to locate the wheel as well as dampening up/down movement and catastrophic failure of the shock = hub basically falling off the car.

I’d have the wheels balanced and alignment done first if it’s double-wishbone, if macpherson struts I’d definitely get those fixed ASAP.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Mercedes Streeter
08/02/2016 at 09:43

There are few maintenance investments that are more satisfying than shock absorbers. I swear by the KYB brand, and studiously avoid the Monroe brand. Shop around.

Mercedes Streeter > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
08/02/2016 at 09:44

I think the wheel weights were lost in a Chicago pothole recently...the same pothole that started the suspension clicking and scratched the very edge of my front bumper. And yuppers, it has a front MacPherson setup.

As for the alignment, it’s never presented an issue outside of a crooked steering wheel. Always tracked straight and my last set of front tyres (swapped out 10k ago) wore down as designed.

It’s probably both struts and the wheel weights.

Mercedes Streeter > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/02/2016 at 09:50

I haven’t driven a new smart of my generation in a long time. I’ve grown accustomed to my car’s current bouncy hard setup. Might be worth it to invest in new front shocks.

The suspension in back is a DeDion tube, so those aren’t needed until they actually break lol

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Mercedes Streeter
08/02/2016 at 09:53

I know zero about Smarts. Though I did fan boy you yesterday, but I realize that the post was about a Fiat 500 and not a Smart... Duh.

Also, what about the timing belt? I assume your Smart must have one and they need to be replaced periodically.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Mercedes Streeter
08/02/2016 at 09:54

Not all alignment issues will result in pulling one direction or another. A crooked steering wheel is a sure sign of a problem if you’ve never had the alignment checked .

A shop can correct alignment problems without setting the steering wheel straight, but if they are doing that, I would question the quality of their work. Re-centering the steering wheel is trivial and I wouldn’t patronage a shop that doesn’t make that correction after setting the alignment.

Justin Hughes > Mercedes Streeter
08/02/2016 at 09:59

I once got an older Miata and absolutely loved the handling. Then I replaced the completely dead original shocks with Koni STR.Ts - nothing special, think Koni Sports stuck on full soft. It felt like a whole new car, and handling was twice as good as before.

Mercedes Streeter > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/02/2016 at 10:00

Muahahahaha aww!! I would totally tow one of those U-Haul trailers just to say I did. But nah, I’m not that crazy :D The Fiat 500 has a better tow capacity anyway.

As for timing belts, nope! The engine has an internal timing chain that smart claims should last the life of the vehicle. So far, our majority of engine failures over the course of the entire 451 generation have been from cooling system failures and burned valves, so those are the things I typically look for.

Mercedes Streeter > TheRealBicycleBuck
08/02/2016 at 10:12

My steering wheel has been off since I bought the car. Sadly, it’s a product of the incompetent mechanics at the Mercedes-Benz dealership I got the car from. Somehow, a steering wheel that was off by like 50 degrees made it through PDI and then three warranty visits for it never warranted a straight wheel.

Warranty visit 1 apparently had the tech taking off the wheel and putting it back on “straight”, which actually made it worse than how it was delivered. The other 2 visits (in which I demanded full alignments) basically had other techs trying to fix what the first guy did, and still not quite getting it right. lol Or in other words, my car experienced three alignment jobs in its first 10,000 miles.

Not long after, Mercedes-Benz of Lincolnwood got tired of me using my warranty to correct issues, so they started denying warranty requests for legitimate issues...so I had to start going to one 50 miles away (as not every MBZ dealer works on smarts). They were a problem all on their own, but that’s for another thread.

Ugh, my warranty experience with my car was the worst thing ever. Sadly, MB USA treats smart owners like third class citizens, yet charge them like Maybach owners.

Mercedes Streeter > Justin Hughes
08/02/2016 at 10:15

I wonder what I can do with mine? I was going to say I could probably just make it a full package and lower it too...but then I realized I live in Chicagoland...Ummm, maybe a lift kit then? lol

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Mercedes Streeter
08/02/2016 at 10:38

Chicagoland... High profile tires, long throw suspension.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Mercedes Streeter
08/02/2016 at 10:39

My Crossfit coach drives a 500C four-door and it’s really a nice-looking car. I’ve asked her to take me for a ride in it.

crowmolly > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/02/2016 at 10:46

I had good experiences with GR-2's. Not so much with gas-a-justs in older stuff, they were a bit too stiff.

shop-teacher > Mercedes Streeter
08/02/2016 at 10:47

Merc, this is America. They’re tires ;)

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > crowmolly
08/02/2016 at 10:48

My experience also. I use the GR-2 in everything , but in my GMC Safari van, the Gas-a-Just is the thing. In fact, I just replaced them. The rears had gone a little soft, but the fronts I probably wasted my money.

And there’s a less-expensive Excel model that has shown up in recent years. I have a set of those in my ‘91 Corolla.

Justin Hughes > Mercedes Streeter
08/02/2016 at 10:49

Solution:

Kinja'd!!!

Future next gen S2000 owner > CalzoneGolem
08/02/2016 at 10:51

Why? The shocks and struts don’t affect ride height or position. They don’t affect the steering linkages like changing a ball joint or tie rod would do.

Future next gen S2000 owner > Mercedes Streeter
08/02/2016 at 10:53

Cupping may be a sign of worn out ball joints as well. You may need more than shocks.

My bird IS the word > Mercedes Streeter
08/02/2016 at 11:21

I hope that is honest and not some marketing bs like my mini’s 10,000 mile oil changes. If they are serious it seems like Mercedes has their stuff together, timing chains are the worst.

Mercedes Streeter > Future next gen S2000 owner
08/02/2016 at 11:48

So I’m told, changing the suspension geometry at all is enough reason for an alignment. I mean, you see what losing a tiny weight can do to a balanced wheel, I can’t imagine what new struts can do to an alignment.

Mercedes Streeter > My bird IS the word
08/02/2016 at 11:51

Me too, tbh. Thankfully we’ve not had a single report of timing chain snapping...just worse things lol

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > Mercedes Streeter
08/02/2016 at 12:01

Well I’d say to get an alignment first. There’s a good chance it may not be the final fix, but if it is it’ll be cheaper than replacing suspension components. And if it’s been 100k miles your car could probably use one anyway. (I’d recommend just going for the lifetime alignment at Firestone, if you plan on keeping the Smart for awhile longer).

If you do end up needing to replace components, I suppose I’m obligated to recommend you get SACHS products. Buuut, to my knowledge Bilstein was OE on your car. So take that as you will. ;)

SACHS makes springs for it too though!

Mercedes Streeter > Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow
08/02/2016 at 12:40

Pfft I hardly ever used OE approved equipment. For smart, such means either overly expensive or poor quality. AFTERMARKET ALL THE THINGS! :)

I’ll definitely see about an alignment. Worst case scenario, it costs less than replacing all the suspension parts.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Future next gen S2000 owner
08/02/2016 at 21:55

http://oppositelock.kinja.com/oh-wow-that-s-…

See jakes comment