does anyone here know how to do this? My drivers side rear wheel is toe'd in a bit and is leaning inward at the bottom. Yet I don't see any adjustment here or am I not looking in the right place? I would hate to think that my lower wishbone could be bent, but I cant find any damage or even a point of impact that would make it look like this. It's making the drivers side wheel wear out faster than the others and the tread of the tire is wearing faster on the outside edge.

Sounds like you have some bushings that need to be replaced.

So this is a matter of part replacement and not an adjustment? I suppose that would make sense since it looks as if there is nothing to adjust. That's what is throwing me off.

Dont think the rear suspension is adjustable.

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1985 CA 300D Turbo , 213K mi

It is not adjustable. Although according to my alignment guy, with a lot of work it can be modified with slots and cam bolts simliar to the front lower control arms.

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1983 123.133 California
- GreaseCar Veg System

i would suspect a bent or rust damaged arm. so be careful. a rusty arm is potentially dangerous as you could lose the wheel in a worst case scenario.

tom w

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I looked for that but didn't find any. This is a Car originally bought in Sacramento California and then brought to Arizona, so I've yet to find rust anywhere! I suspected bent, but it shows no sign of obvious damage and feels solid. The one place that looks vulnerable could be the area where the bearing is located like this could be a twist point. I'll have to check it out with the parts car when I get that. 1981 300D, wrecked in front, no motor or trans but good body and interior.

There is a "SMALL" adjustment available from MB.
The adjustment is in the form of OFF-SET bushings.
To make the correction you must calculate how much correction is needed & install the off-set in an approx position.

Unless the toe-in off by more that 0.5deg a GOOD 4-wheel alignment done with thrust angle(HUNTER) will compensate for that error.

__________________
MERCEDES Benz Master Guild Technician (6 TIMES)
ASE Master Technician
Mercedes Benz Star Technician (2 times)
44 years foreign automotive repair
27 Years M.B. Shop foreman (dealer)
MB technical information Specialist (15 years)
190E 2.3 16V ITS SCCA race car (sold)
1986 190E 2.3 16V 2.5 (sold)
Retired Moderator

Eyeballing something like this is very difficult. It is hard to see straight while your head is tilted, lighting is questionable and you don't have square edges as a reference point. Mostly likely it is what the other folks have said, which is you have a bad bushing or a collapsed support or arm due to damage or rust. None of these are good things and potentially very dangrerous. I suggest you jump right in and have that arm or bushing repaired.

However, if you want to play around with diagnosing what is crooked, you can do the following. Get the car on a level surface. Preferrably concrete. Get a piece of chalk and a plumb bob connected to some string. On both sides of the car (the good wheel and bad wheel in the back) hang the plumb bob off of several points on the suspension and body parts in the area. Mark where the plumb bob is on the concrete surface with the chalk. Good points to mark are like the center of the axle, the center line of the support bushing, identifiable marks on the body and so on. Mark the same spots on both sides. You may want to map the marks on a piece of paper with a description of where you took the mark from. Then roll the car back and get a view of what is out of alignment. When you mark the different connection points of the support arm, after the car is rolled back, use a straight edge to draw a line between the points. Do this on both sides. You can also draw lines beteen common body points. What you are looking for are things that are not symetrical between the good and bad side.

I have used this method to diagnose a bent chassis on my suburban which has a fixed axle in the back with no adjustment. I was able to determine if the chassis rails were out of square of if it was a bent spring shackle.

TimK

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EPA 609 & 608 HVAC Certified
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83' 300D Turbo - 300K + Miles
00' 1.9L TDI Beetle
85' 6.5L Turbo, GV-OD, GMC Suburban,
67' 2.5L Diesel NA - Land Rover Series IIA

Here's what you do if it's so cold your diesel fuel gels. Smear some on some toast and stay inside until it warms up outside.

Trailing arm bushings would be the first suspicion. They are difficult to tell, if they are bad, until you drop the trailing arm away from the subframe. Do a search for "bushings" and "Bodyart" for pics.

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Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )

Thanks guys! I found out earlier that the PO had a sliding bump into a curb and I never took the spare out before now and the Bundt cake rim is bent. That was the one obviously on the car. You can tell when looking at it that the rear wheel behind the driver is out of whack from the others. The tyre is also wearing most at the outer trim line. i'm getting my parts car because these will be cheaper and I have the whole thing to disassemble and swap. I'll post in parts since everyone wanted something from a 1981 300D rust free.

good deal. you are well on your way to getting it fixed!

tom w

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.