What are these and how can I change them?

What't the condition of the trailing arm bushings? I replaced mine last year because I could feel the car would sometimes not track straight down the road. It was real subtle, but mine weren't too bad.. Just bad enough. If they were real far gone, the rear end might rotate a little and start steering the car. It wouldn't have to rotate much, and that might feel a bit floaty when you put horizontal loads on it from turning.

__________________
'83 300DTurbo http://badges.fuelly.com/images/smallsig-us/318559.png

Broadband: more lies faster.

I had a fairly floaty ride in my SDL too. Last Friday I replaced the rear subframe mounts. The difference is remarkable. I highly recommend replacing them if they have never been done.

Had the same problem. It is a combination of problems.
First thing i did to start correcting the problem was to change the springs to bilstein HDs. I removed the comfort shocks because they might be great at slower speeds, but not for handling purposes and speed. I usually cruise @ about 70-80mph and it becomes very profound. This appeared to help with stability.

Next i replaced the subframe bushings. Didn't really notice a difference and they did not really need to be replaced even after 270,000 miles. Yes i inspected closely.

What really seemed to help out a lot was to after placing spacers in the rear coil springs. These are circular spacers that must be forced into the center of the spring in order to increase the spring rate. They are made of a hard rubber similar to bushing material. So im not concerned with deterioration. They have to be centered so they will work on the weaker part of the spring in the center and help balance the load. These seemed to help the most. The ride height also came up as well.

The only reason i can attribute to this helping more than any other aid is because the springs are worn and need to be replace which causes your rear to sag bringing the nose of your vehicle up higher instead of forcing your front end suspension down and making your front suspension work like it should. This increased nose climb will increase even more if your rear is drooping.

Think of it like towing a trailer, too much tongue weight and a truck starts to get real squirrelly on the road. But use load leveling equipment to balance that load, and your handling returns. Too much squat in the rear was my main problem, and that has almost been alleviated with the increased rear ride height.

I also replaced the PO tires with T rated tires and that helped even more.

Then adjusted the play in the steering box, did the alignment on my car and voila. Nice handling vehicle to drive. By the way, the spring spacers only cost $10. Good to try to determine whether your springs are gone or not, and a lot cheaper instead of repairing/replacing things that may really not have been worn out. I think softer shocks wear springs more because they are allowed to compress further than with stiffer springs.

Components on this vehicle seem to have an extraordinary service life compared to others. I also dont think germans wanted comfort shocks for this vehicle, that is an American taste as opposed to European.

Take this as 2 cents. Use it if it helps, chunk it if dont. I think you will find this website its users very forthcoming with info that usually cost an arm and a leg.

__________________
airedale2 Welcome to Texas
1984 MB 300D 266,000
1993 Nissan PU 271,000
2002 Tahoe 122,000
2004 VW TDI 75,000