Recently I had a friend come into town and we took my '78 300D into the mountains for a day hike. Drove 9 miles up and 9 miles back on a bumpy dirt road and after returning from the day hike I noticed that the rear end felt a bit "loose."

Now, I checked the tightness of the rear wheel bearings when I first bought the car about 2 months ago then tried rocking each wheel back and forth after I changed my rear springs, shocks, subframe bushings and sway bar bushings. That work was done only 3 or 4 weeks ago and the car hasn't been driven very much since.

Shortly after replacing the suspension bushings (I DIDN'T get to the trailing arm bushings) I took the car to Firestone and got it aligned. I did the lifetime alignment since I know that after the suspension components really settle in, it's going to need another alignment anyway.

Now both rear wheels feel a tiny bit loose to me, like the bearings may need repacking and adjustment. I can rock both of the wheels back and forth a very small amount but just enough to make a slight thump. I had the rear end off the ground yesterday to replace my driveshaft carrier, bushing and flex joints and I tried quite a bit to rock the wheels and feel for loose bearings but they felt tight. Back on the ground, then the wheels are under a load, I can move them just a tiny bit. When driving there is no squealing, squeaking, grinding or any noise that I'd associate with bearings going bad. When off the ground, the only sound that the hubs make is from the brake pads dragging a very slight amount.

Could it be that all 4 bearings in the rear have come out of adjustment at the same time after a drive on a dirt road with some rocks and washboards? It seems statistically impossible to myself and a few friends but stranger things have happened, I guess.

Could it also be that the rear suspension settled in a bit more and my trailing arm bushings (which definitely need replacement) are causing this apparrent loose feeling?

I'm driving the car to Firestone tomorrow morning for a re-alignment. Problem is that the shop is about 60 miles away and if it's bearings, I don't want to drive that far and risk damaging my hubs more. I don't have the tool for the hub removal to adjust the bearings but after pay day I could swing purchasing one.

Thanks for any advice you all can offer.

Phil Forrest

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1972 220D "Trudy," named by a friend.

"The 220D sounds good... I suspect it is the only car that you need a calendar for, rather than a stopwatch, when doing acceleration tests."
Tom Abrahamsson