ok i finished the front end on the car tonight and it rides pretty smooth but theres a few problems. one,the front end sits higher, 2 it kinda lets you feel the bumps more,3 when i go around a corner fast it the wheels screach really bad.4 the steering wheel sits at an angle now i know it needs an alignment and im planning on doin it friday when i get payed ,but do you think that an alignment will solve all of the above? about what does the dealer charge for an alignment? i dont really trust any of the other shops that say "sure we can align a mercedes" but usually dont have the proper tools any help would be appreciated more than you can imagine

__________________
have no worries.....President Obama swears "If you like your gun, you can keep it

If you already had a thread going concerning this job you should just move your post to the end of that thread... bring that one back to the top.. so people will have an idea how you got to where you are... it affects their answers...

i'm guessing here, but i think you have toe issues... that used to happen to my R/C car, when the wheels point inwards towards the front, as viewed from above(positive/negative?), the front end lurches up when i move forward.
what happens is when the car moves forward, the wheels will try to move inwards, causing the suspension to move up, its like squeezing the front tires towards eachother

__________________

85 190E 2.3(SOLD)
86 230E (-->300D) sold
87 300D (-->300TD) sold
68 250S w/ a 615 and manual tranny (RIP)
87 300TD (SOLD)
95 S280 "The KRAKEN" (Turbo 2.9 602 transplant) traded
86 190E 2.3... current project

i dont have a thread going about it other wise i would have posted on it.

__________________
have no worries.....President Obama swears "If you like your gun, you can keep it

Then you need to tell exactly what you did to your car and how...

If you are the budget minded type you can set the toe and centre the steering wheel accurately yourself.

You need to get the car in a position where the wheels are on the ground, the weight is on the wheels and you have some access to the tie rod adjustments. Preferably have the wheels on a piece of plywood setting on gravel. You want to make sure that the wheels can move around as needed. Rubber on pavement doesn't work too well. The best possible idea would be 2 steel plates with some ball bearings between them.

The first thing to do is to set the wheel to the position it is in when you are driving straight. Bounce the car a few times to make sure everything is as it is when driving. Pick a consistent tread groove. Using the chosen tread groove and an assistant, measure the distance from one tire to the other in from of the axle and behind. make sure to use the same position on the tire. Ideally you want the front and back of the tire, but you're more likely to get about 1/2 way to the front.

Subtract the front dimension from the rear to get the toe in setting. Adjust this for the distance you are from the edges of the tires, i.e. if you are only 1/2 way from the vertical centreline of the tire to the front and rear edges, multiply the figure by 2, i.e. 1/8 becomes 1/4 etc.

Once you have the measurement you can figure out which side of the car needs the toe adjusted to bring the steering wheel back to centre. You may have to adjust both sides.

Once you make an adjustment, turn the wheel back and forth a few times to make sure everything is settled properly.

If you end up with the proper toe and the steering wheel off centre you can straighten things out by adjusting both tie rods. Using small steps, lengthen on side and shorten the other. As long as you change both sides the same amount the toe will remain constant.

__________________
Dropout

1978 240D work in progress

First you need to jack up the front wheels and be sure the Wheel Bearings are tighten to spec... on these cars that requires a dial indicator and holder.

Then while they are in the air you take a sharpened piece of chalk or tire grease pencil and mark a line on the spinning tire.. treads are not typically accurate enough for setting toe in..

I think Harbour Freight has had both the measureing stick and the ball bearing plates for setting the wheels on on sale lately...

Turning the wheel back and forth is not sufficient to take out the " set" ... the tire needs to be rolled forward or backwards a couple of turns to do that.

Sears alignment sucks

i dont wanna know how to do it,i just wanna know what i did wrong and if the dealer will fix that when i get it aligned. i replaced everything on the front end exept the lower control arms and springs.

__________________
have no worries.....President Obama swears "If you like your gun, you can keep it

You have done a complete rebuild. You MUST get the car aligned. When doing the rebuild you can get it close by reinstalling various parts as close to the part it replaced. But it will not be aligned properly. This is normal. Just bring it to whatever place you trust and they will take care of it.
Here in the DFW metropex I have been using the Firestone tire store in Grapevine. $139 for lifetime alignment. We bring the cars by every 6 months.
Make sure the place you use id familiar with Mercedes and get recommendations about the place.

You can try to align the front end as Dropout has suggested, but I doubt you can do it right. the result will be a shortened tire life and poor handling.

Dave

__________________
1970 220D, owned 1980-1990
1980 240D, owned 1990-1992
1982 300TD, owned 1992-1993
1986 300SDL, owned 1993-2004
1999 E300, owned 1999-2003
1982 300TD, 213,880mi, owned since Nov 18, 1991- Aug 4, 2010 SOLD
1988 560SL, 100,000mi, owned since 1995
1965 Mustang Fastback Mileage Unknown(My sons)
1983 240D, 176,000mi (My daughers) owned since 2004
2007 Honda Accord EX-L I4 auto, the new daily driver
1985 300D 264,000mi Son's new daily driver.(sold)
2008 Hyundai Tiberon. Daughters new car

i tried to get it as close as possible but apperantly i didnt do it right

__________________
have no worries.....President Obama swears "If you like your gun, you can keep it

Did you try a long string from the fromt to the rear along the sides on the tires to rough in the toe setting to get you to a shop.

When the string is touching but not bending the string you got it close enough for a test drive before taking it to the shop....A shop level can also get your camber in the ballpark measuring at the top of the tire...


None of this is a substitute for a proper alignment..but will be close enough to test drive and drive to a shop without major issues.

__________________
Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
---------------------
Section 609 MVAC Certified
---------------------
"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

i have an appointment set for friday at 8am. its gonna cost me about $150. the drive to the dealer is about 25miles. should i put my old front tires on to make that drive? or should i just leave the good ones on it?

__________________
have no worries.....President Obama swears "If you like your gun, you can keep it

Would be fine to use the old ones.. but take the new ones to be used for the alignment....

When you test drive the car you can feel the tire treads to see if they are getting hotter on the inside or outside. That will give an idea of whether they are wearing evenly or not.

The screeching while cornering is an indication that the tires are not wearing evenly and you could damage your new tires quickly.