I have only driven behind my '84 300D a few times before but I was following my wife (she was in the 300D) and I noticed the car appeared to be "crabbing" ever so slightly. By crabbing I mean it appeared to be going down the road sideways, just a bit. I don't remember ever seeing this before.

This was very slight, I would edge slightly left and then right, while driving behind, closely watching the way the car tracked. Maybe my eye needs calibrating but I think I saw what I saw.

I have replaced every piece of rubber in the suspension and the car has been aligned twice since then and the tires are almost bald now. I am very sure that the parts all were installed correctly. The car handles correctly, drives normally, does nothing weird to indicate it is "not right" What exactly could be going on here? Will another alignment fix this? I know for certain that the car has never been hit so the structure should be straight.

Any input appreciated, thanks, RT

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When all else fails, vote from the rooftops!
84' Mercedes Benz 300D Anthracite/black, 171K
03' Volkswagen Jetta TDI blue/black, 93K
93' Chevrolet C2500HD ExCab 6.5TD, Two-tone blue, 252K

The first thing that comes to mind is the rear subframe bushings. Also check the rear control arms for damage or rust issues. It happened to me. You can also check for straight tracking by driving through a puddle then observe your tire prints on dry pavement. Wheel obviously must be kept as straight as possible.. Paul.

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1984 300CD red/blk 290,000 partial resto
1980 240D 4 sp Brn/palomino gone
1997 Mazda Miata STO edition wife's baby
1988 Lincoln Mark VII LSC next resto
1986 Subaru GL wagon daily
1993 Isuzu pickup field beater
2008 Honda Civic EX-L 5sp wife's new car
1978 Honda XL350
1974 Honda XL70 my Calif. ride in HS

Rear subframe bushings are new 20K ago. I replaced ALL the rubber in the suspension. Every single piece. Car is RUST FREE. You can see the factory paint on the suspension, even the trailing arms. Will try the "wet tires" trick. Good idea. Thanks, RT

__________________
When all else fails, vote from the rooftops!
84' Mercedes Benz 300D Anthracite/black, 171K
03' Volkswagen Jetta TDI blue/black, 93K
93' Chevrolet C2500HD ExCab 6.5TD, Two-tone blue, 252K

any roadnoise or tire wear?

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Paul
2004 E500 4matic; 72,000mi

No abmormal tire wear. The tires are "tired" Michelins but no cupping, feathering, etc. just uniformly almost bald. No pulling under braking or acceleration. No abnormal noise. Car drives straight as long as the road is flat. It will follow the road crown but that is like every other car I have ever driven. What I am really asking is: Could the alignment cause this without any other issues? Thanks, RT

__________________
When all else fails, vote from the rooftops!
84' Mercedes Benz 300D Anthracite/black, 171K
03' Volkswagen Jetta TDI blue/black, 93K
93' Chevrolet C2500HD ExCab 6.5TD, Two-tone blue, 252K

The front track is wider than the rear. Depending on approach angle you might think its "crabbing" Like the above poster said wet the street with your garden hose, then drive STRAIGHT thru the water. Go about 3 car lengths to verify rear tires follow the fronts. If the wet marks cross over, Houston we have a problem!

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81 300CD (sold) 1972 280 SEL 4.5 (sold) 1966 250 S 4 spd (sold) 1974 450 SL (sold) 86 BMW 325ES (sold), 1973 280C (sold) 1988 300 SE.

Rob, I don't think front end alignment can have anything to do with the rear track.

Look at it this way.......the front end alignment sets the tires with respect to each other and with respect to the body. Then the front tires go straight down the road. If the steering is not pulling in any one direction, we can safely assume that the tires are reasonably parallel to the direction of travel.

So, if the rear of the vehicle is tracking to one side of the front track, the only possiblity is a problem on the rear. My immediate thought is trailing arm bushings but, I recall that you changed these as well. If there is any play in those bushings, it will allow the rear to go all over the place. You'd feel this in the handling, however, if the track was that bad.

I'd do the wet pavement test.........maybe it's much ado about nothing.

If you solve it, maybe you can figure out why the '86 has developed a port side list.........by about 3/4" or so. Everything in the rear of that vehicle is brand new........as well.

Take the car to a reputable tire and alignment shop. Observe when they put it on the rack from the back and make sure the car is actually straight. Alignments can go bad from the start if:

1) The guy doing the alignment is more worried if his girl is doing his roommate and not paying attention to his job.

2) Damn Dude, 4:55 on Friday. Get that thing done so we can slam some brews.

3) Friggin' George Bush and global cooling. My Mom in Buffalo has been out of power for like a week and sh**.

Jokin' holmes. We all got to have fun once in a while. Seriously though, a front end can be aligned, but not with the rest of the car.

If it's my car...fat guy driving???

It would have to be an elephant to compress one rear spring to the point of yield.

Well, you don't have to be rude!!!

......oh, sorry, I meant to say hippopotamus..........not elephant......what was I thinking?

Thank You.

I love this place....

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"spreading a trail of obnoxious where ever we go"
1981 300sd w/ 341,500 miles

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