My left rear wheel tilts in like this \, what to adjust? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

dieseldan44 · #1 03-14-2007, 04:07 PM

..as viewed from the rear of the car

I tried some searching, but I dont know what this condition is called. Toe, camber?

It's tilted in enough so that when I kneel down behind the car I can make it out with my eye. Its at least a few degrees. What can I check / adjust to alleviate this in the meantime before getting an alignment?

I just replaced my rear axles and sway bar links. The car could have well done this prior and I just wasnt at that level of detail on it yet.

thanks as always,
dd

PS - I had a much more exaggerated problem when I took my car of of jackstands - everyone here told me it was normal. This tilting is what remains after drving the car ~20 miles or so.

(sorry for all the threads, im working pretty much full time to get the 82 on the road for the NE spring)

rrgrassi · #2 03-14-2007, 04:10 PM

There is not a whole lot of adjustements on the rear, but there are bushings and mounts that wear out.

79300sdtd · #3 03-14-2007, 04:21 PM

on my car when i replaced the back shocks it lifted the rearend bacup and straightened the camber out... just my $.02

Surf-n-Turf · #4 03-14-2007, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 79300sdtd

on my car when i replaced the back shocks it lifted the rear end back up and straightened the camber out... just my $.02

New springs and 19mm pads on my 420SEL solved the same thing. Shocks too.

dieseldan44 · #5 03-14-2007, 04:28 PM

thank you for the replies.

Quote:

New springs and 19mm pads on my 420SEL solved the same thing. Shocks too.

what do you mean by 19mm pads?

79300sdtd · #6 03-14-2007, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dieseldan44

what do you mean by 19mm pads?

i do not know 100% but i think he is talking about the thickness of the rubber/plastic on either end of the spring.

Brian Carlton · #7 03-14-2007, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dieseldan44

..as viewed from the rear of the car

[LEFT]I tried some searching, but I dont know what this condition is called. Toe, camber?

It's tilted in enough so that when I kneel down behind the car I can make it out with my eye. Its at least a few degrees. What can I check / adjust to alleviate this in the meantime before getting an alignment?

The situation as described is positive camber.

However, are you quite sure the LR wheel leans \ as viewed from the rear. The top of the tire is further outward then the bottom of the tire?

If this is truly the case, something is damaged on the subframe. The vehicle will typically have 1 degree of negative camber. If you look closely, you'll typically see the top of the wheel tilted toward the center of the vehicle..........like this: / for the LR wheel.

The negative camber will be increased as the springs sag and the body drops down a bit. When heavily loaded the negative camber will climb over 2 degrees and be quite noticeable. This is normal.

However, if you truly have positive camber, you'll need to make some further investigations as to the cause. It's definitely abnormal.

rrgrassi · #8 03-14-2007, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 79300sdtd

i do not know 100% but i think he is talking about the thickness of the rubber/plastic on either end of the spring.

19mm pads give that amount of lift in addition to what the spring provides.

retx · #9 03-14-2007, 05:54 PM

where can one find replacement pads for the rear springs? the fsm explains how to adjust the springs via 9.5mm, 14mm and 19mm pads. im replacing my rear shocks this week but just wondering where replacement pads can be bought if found that mine are shot.

Brian Carlton · #10 03-14-2007, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by retx

where can one find replacement pads for the rear springs? the fsm explains how to adjust the springs via 9.5mm, 14mm and 19mm pads. im replacing my rear shocks this week but just wondering where replacement pads can be bought if found that mine are shot.

They are typically a dealer item.

dieseldan44 · #11 03-14-2007, 06:35 PM

All,

Ok so I am home now and took another look. Both rear wheels are equally pigeon toed in \ / looking from the rear. See pics, I tried my best to capture it.

Ok, so since they are equally screwed up I am expecting that it was a botched spring replacement. PO put new springs and shocks (off brand) in fairly recently. I dont know if he did it or an indy did it, I guess it doesnt matter.

I am going to poke around this tonight, is there anything I can look for?

thanks,
dd

PS Why does everyone cover up their liscense plate? Is there anything negative that can happen showing my plate? Just wondering.

t walgamuth · #12 03-14-2007, 07:06 PM

maybe he got 126 springs and put them in .

tom w

Surf-n-Turf · #13 03-14-2007, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

maybe he got 126 springs and put them in .

tom w

I agree. It doesn't look like it's a**-sitting. Seems like maybe there is too much spring or wrong shocks...too tall???

Dieseldan44, what is the distance from ground to upper most part of inside arch on fenderwell?? This may help.

Surf-n-Turf · #14 03-14-2007, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dieseldan44

All,

PS Why does everyone cover up their liscense plate? Is there anything negative that can happen showing my plate? Just wondering.

So if you piss off some phsycopath sonofagun like me I can't hunt you down...

Jus kiddin. I don't know why people do it. Identity theft issues maybe? Who knows?

dieseldan44 · #15 03-14-2007, 10:45 PM

Quote:

Dieseldan44, what is the distance from ground to upper most part of inside arch on fenderwell?? This may help.

The inner fender sheet metal is 20" off the deck.

It would make sense to me, not knowing much about car suspensions, that the spring is the dominant force in that system. So the spring is too short, pulling the control arm up too much, pulling the wheels in??

dd