I bought a set of Virgo wheels and I'm really hopping that one of them weren't bent. I put them on my car and had a bad shake at 40-55 MPH and lower or higher and it was unnoticeable. I put a new set of tires on them thinking that the old tires were the problem, but the problem still exist. Could it be the balancing? Or do you need a suspension alignment when changing wheel size?

 

I have heard the driveline support can cause a harmonic that appears around 45mph - I know my Mercedes E320 has the same driveline design and there is a noticable harmonic at 40-50mph when cold, also my 740GL the driveline center support is quite worn out - no noticeable harmonic but will be replacing soon..

 

Try to isolate it. Swap front to back and see if the problem moves.

 

First can we assume that when the new tires were mounted and balanced that the wheels were also checked to see if they were straight? I would also check to see if they are hub centric or lug centric. If the center hole is to big the wheel will not be centered on the hub and will vibrate at different speeds. Check to make sure and if it is to big for the hub you can get centering rings.

 

Thank you for all the good advice, i will begin diagnostics today. I put used tires on it at kind of a shaddy shop, just because I'm really cheap lol. They didn't balance the wheels, which is why I thought that could be the issue.

 

must balance them before any other action, especially used tires on used wheels...

 

Virgos, being o.e., are hub centric as are all o.e. Volvo rims so not an issue. This is simply, as mentioned, a balance issue. I guarantee at least one or more of the wheels are slightly bent. Mild bends will/can balance out; it's good to have a shop where the guy knows how to run the balancer.

 

Somehow I had assumed that when you put a new set of tires on that they were new tires and that the wheels were checked for straightness and that the tires were balanced. Sorry

 

Get 'em balanced...your suspension will love you for it! Out of balance tires will find every worn part in your suspension and just make stuff worse...

 

ummmm nope..never asume anything unless you paid for it If your wheel shakes all the time at all speeds then it is a bent rim....high speeds = wheel balance. Make sure you tell them to do a high speed wheel balance. Some shops automatically do this...some do not unless you ask....also make sure your lugs are only torqued to 65lbs most if not all tire shops love to over torque lugs and this WILL warp your rotors costing you more money and aggrevation Now if it was shaking prior to the swap you might want to have your ball joints checked...severely worn ball joints will cause your steering wheel to shake. Good luck and please let us know what it was

 

The tire balance helped a lot, but I think that in the time I was driving the car to the time that I got the wheels balanced, I damaged my already suffering suspension. It's really due for a total suspension job haha. I'm a little nervous jumping into though, never done any body work on cars, just engine mechanical and interior.

 

many of the suspension bushings require a seriously large hydraulic press to push the old bushes out.

back springs, shocks, swaybar kit are pretty easy to install. front struts are somewhat more work, and require a spring compressor. and of course, after dinking with the front end, you need a wheel alignment.

 

You can use an air chissel to get the bushings out and a press to get them back in. Trainling arm bushings need a special tool that Volvo sells or you can make one yourself. This is because you do them while they are on the car. Torque rod bushings are really the only bushings that need a press to get them back in.
The large control arm bushing in front can be installed with a bench vise. When purchasing new bushings make sure you do not go super cheap at least on the torque rod bushings. I have found that the cheaper bushings do not fit back in tightly. They should not just slide back in it should take some force to get them back in. If you do get loose bushings or your rods are worn out you can weld them into the torque rods but to do it properly you should either try a new bushing or replace the torque rods themselves. The small control arm bushings rarely need to be replaced. You can replace all rubber bushings with poly bushings which never need to be replaced but they are VERY noisy. But like I said if your wheel shakes you either need to have tires balanced or you have extremely worn ball joints. Also turn your steering wheel slightly frpom side to side while at a stop, do you feel play or clicking? Your inner tie rods could be worn out. Do not, I repeat do not delay if you have bad or you think you may have bad tie rods...get them check immediately! A broken tie rod on the freeway could be fatal to not only you but whomever you have in your car with you and who you run into. Inner and outer tie rods and ball joints are a cinch to do on a 240 and should not be feared. Oh also inspect your boots and if torn replace when you do inner tie rods. You will need to know if you have a ZF or CAM style rack, vented or non. If you do it properly and measure you may not even need a wheel alignment but in most cases you will...no big deal $50 at Meineke. You can get all the parts you need on Ebay...really inexpensive and do it yourself or pay a mechanic like myself but it will be much more expensive...Good luck!