So I took the new 85 300cd down and had new tires put on. (ones on it where badly weather cracked and also miss matched.) But the car drove straight, no vibrations etc. Part of the tire deal was a free alinement and when they where done he told me he had the camber adjusted to it's max. Said the only way to get it any closer would be to replace the springs and shocks... Is this correct?

The springs and shocks on this car seem fine to me, no sag, shocks actually ride much better that the blistens I have on the 81..

A plain ole tire shop is NOT able to alighn the benz's correctly--You got to take it to the dealer -or the correct shop.

Probably worn LCA bushings. If the rubber's gone then the eccentric bolt can't shift the LCA to where it's supposed be.

I didn't think that was the case for the w123. Now with my w124 Most alinement places will not even try.

You shouldn't have to adjust the camber to it's max to get it aligned properly. Maybe you've got worn components and in that case it was a waste of money to get it aligned anyway. Or maybe, over the years someone, while replacing other components, got the caster way off which can affect your camber adjustment. Either way, something isn't right.

Finding someone who will take the time to align a car properly is a very difficult task, especially with the pressure to get the car out in less than an hour to turn a decent profit.

Scott

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Scott
1982 Mercedes 240D, 4 speed, 275,000
1988 Porsche 944 Turbo S (70,000)
1987 Porsche 911 Coupe 109,000 (sold)
1998 Mercedes E300 TurboDiesel 147,000 (sold)
1985 Mercedes 300D 227,000 (totaled by inattentive driver with no insurance!)
1997 Mercedes E300 Diesel 236,000 (sold)
1995 Ducati 900SS (sold)
1987 VW Jetta GLI 157,000 (sold)
1986 Camaro 125,000 (sold - P.O.S.)
1977 Corvette L82 125,000 (sold)
1965 Pontiac GTO 15,000 restored (sold)

The alinement came with the tires which where only 400 for all 4 mounted and balanced so I'm looking at it as a free alinement anyways.

Inspect your upper and lower control arm bushings. If they are fine then its the just the shop not knowing what they are doing.

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1985 300TD Turbo Euro-wagon
1979 280CE 225,200 miles
1985 300D Turbo 264,000 miles
1976 240D 190,000 miles
1979 300TD 220,000

GONE but not forgotten
1976 300D 195,300 miles
1983 300D Turbo 175,000 miles

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...e485-1-2-1.jpg

Cool. I'll check them in the morning. Thanks

Whats free was the excuse for them to charge you more. Was it front or back? It is entirely possible to have a broken spring. However I am almost 3" dropped and the dealership had no problems getting me into spec.

Take it to the dealership, everywhere else is a hack job.

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http://superturbodiesel.com/images/sig.04.10.jpg
1995 E420 Schwarz
1995 E300 Weiss
#1987 300D Sturmmachine
#1991 300D Nearly Perfect
#1994 E320 Cabriolet
#1995 E320 Touring
#1985 300D Sedan
OBK #42

I think my only dealer choice here is Longs of Chattanooga. We do have a specialty shop in the area called bavarian auto. I had thought about taking it there.

I've always had the feeling that I would take a car to the dealer and wind up paying 1000 bucks for an alinement or something silly....

I went to the dealer to price out the new tie rods for the 81... the price for the set was almost 2k.... I got them myself for about 78 bucks... I even showed the guy at the parts counter and asked why the huge difference. He just said that he couldn't believe they where that expensive.

Sagging UCA bushings will cause negative camber, requiring an inordinate amount of positive adjustment. Very common with a W123.

A hunter alignment machine at a independent is the same one at your local mercedes dealer... If your ride height is correct its not springs and shocks have no bearing on alignment unless you have struts... i agree with most that you need to look into your control arm bushings.

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1996 s10 zr2 with a 6.5 turbo diesel
1996 c2500 suburban with a 6.5 turbo diesel
1981 300sd with a turbo 617
Monte carlo figure 8 car