SL1 Vibrating at 70-80 mph

My 2000 SL1 with 125k miles is making me obey the speed limit. At
about 70 mph I the car starts to have a medium to heavy vibration that
seems to be from the front end. While coasting along on a long trip I
noticed it was gone once I hit 80 mph. Any ideas on the problem/how to
fix it?

 

Could be many things, but I would guess that you need your front tires
rebalanced. I had this happen on one of my cars a while back, and didn't
think about the balance because the tires only had 8K on them. Turned out
one of the weights had come off. Anyway it's a good and inexpensive place
to start....

Scott

 

Yes check tire balance first and if it is still there check tires for
broken belts.

 

Tires (balancing)
Front end alignment
Worn bushings or ball joints
Strut and top strut bearing.
Tie rods or rack and pinion unit
Engine/ transmission mounts

Vibrations like these tend to RIP OFF anything that is at present only
loose! Git 'er done.
There's nothing that can ruin your day like tooling down the interstate at
80mph and loosing a wheel.

 

Do not overlook defective tire though because I have had that happen
twice on me over the years on a cars when the belt in the the tire
started to break down and would cause a strange shake at certain
speeds.

 

I am having this same problem with my 94 SC2 that just rolled over to
200,000 miles. It shakes the whole steering column enough that I can
hear it rattle. Two weeks ago, I had brand new outer tie rod ends and
lower control arms replaced and it didn't do anything for the shaking.

Yesterday I had to refill my power steering pump, and today had to
refill it again already. so now I guess I have to find out if its the
power steering pump or the rack that has gone bad. And I thought I was
going to get new struts on it this weekend...LOL.

Lori
Evans, Colorado
94 SC2 201,??? miles

 

I think it is going bad (the steering pump/rack) from the shaking like
the rods ends before it. Swap the front tires to the rear and see what
happens before you change anymore parts.