Does a 1984 300sd have a torsion bar that can be adjusted? My car sags slightly to the drivers side. The local MB dealer wants $1,800 for springs and shocks. A national chain claims to be able to solve the problem for $439 (4 KYB shocks installed). A private mechanic said he could fix the problem by adjusting the torsion bar and adding a rubber cup to the springs. I purhased this car from a friend, who bought it new. How can the springs be gone after 131,000 miles? The shocks have never been replaced. Who can I trust to tell me what is really wrong?

__________________
Jacob Wissler Jr., Houston, Texas, 1984 300 SD

I would think that your MB dealer would probably be more likely to correctly diagnose your problem than any one of the others. The $1,800 price does seem steep but I guess that's what MB dealers get for the job. Of course they would be using OE parts as well. The national chain you mentioned that said they could solve your problem by just changing the shocks might be able to satisfy you temporarily. If the springs are weak, however, the shocks won't really solve your problem and will wear out quickly and you will be in the same position again. I would suggest that you buy the springs and Bilstein shocks from a discount source and see what your private mechanic would charge you to put them on. You should be able to do significantly better than the $1,800 price you got from the dealer and, since that isn't a particularly difficult job, you should get the same results.

No torsion bars on these cars. The sag could be caused by two things, the first would be worn subframe bushings in the rear, which is what typically causes rear-end sag, and then worn rear springs. These cars are pretty heavy, so I suppose the springs could be sagging after 20 years, but I would have the bushings replaced first. Shocks would not cause the car to ride at the wrong height, the bushings and springs dictiate ride height (as well as how much junk you have in the trunk!).

GregS