How should it handle? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

sdgrossman1 · #1 12-22-2003, 04:09 PM

My '89 560 SL does not seem to handle anywhere as near as well as my '86 300E did.

Steering was all over the place when I first bought it, so my mechanic replaced the idler arms and bushings...(as well as getting the car 4-wheel aligned) made it better, but not great. At highway speeds you really have to hold onto the wheel to keep the car going straight.

He did say the steering box was "weeping" and needed to be rebuilt, and said that there was some sort of adjustment that could be made to "tighten up" the steering.

Also, the whole car itself just does not seem to ride very smoothly or solidly.

The shocks and springs tested out ok when I had the car checked before purchase. I am wondering if I need to start replacing all sorts of bushings and mounts etc.

Sure, I know it is not a new car... but... I am expecting a solid ride. Going over bumps and ruts are hell.... car seems to really shake and rattle excessively.

Any thoughts or ideas?

Thanks,

Steve

RickM · #2 12-22-2003, 05:35 PM

These, and all heavy cars, go through suspension componnents faster than others. I redid my rear with subframe bushings, springs and bilsteins...made a huge difference. Tight and quite. The sterring is most likely the sterring gear box, damper and or sterring couplers. Some items are much easier to check than others. A common item on Ebay is a front end bushing kit....it's no coincidence that it's packages that way.

Use the search and you''ll get heaps of detail and opinion on this subject.

#3 12-23-2003, 12:36 PM

On a fifteen year-old car, any rubber bushing that was installed at the factory is essentially dead. Assuming it's still in place, it has either lost it's elasticity or been corrupted by a petroleum product.

107inOZ · #4 12-23-2003, 06:56 PM

My 1982 380SL runs straight and true at high speed, and feels quite solid. Your 560 should be better.

If you are constantly having to correct, and the wheel algnment is correct, it may well be a bit of slop in the steering box. When the car is stopped, see how much you turn the steering wheel before the front wheels turn. If it is more than a couple of inches, it may be a cause. The steering box is adjustable, although the amount of wear will determine how successful this will be. A worn coupler at the base of the steering column would give similar symptoms.

As for the ride, a previous owner may have put in harder shock absorbers. There a quite a few posts in here from people who have put in Bilstein Heavy Duty shocks, and wished they had opted for the softer version.

The subframe mounts may also be a bit soft, and if these need doing will tend to cause the car to shake a bit on a bumpy road.

These cars are designed to be cruisers rather than sports cars, but the handling should still be quite good. My complaint is that that the back tends to slide in wet weather. I have swapped tyres front to back but no improvement.

Anyone else have this complaint?

4NDELIT · #5 12-24-2003, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by 107inOZ
My 1982 380SL runs straight and true at high speed, and feels quite solid. Your 560 should be better.

If you are constantly having to correct, and the wheel algnment is correct, it may well be a bit of slop in the steering box. When the car is stopped, see how much you turn the steering wheel before the front wheels turn. If it is more than a couple of inches, it may be a cause. The steering box is adjustable, although the amount of wear will determine how successful this will be. A worn coupler at the base of the steering column would give similar symptoms.

As for the ride, a previous owner may have put in harder shock absorbers. There a quite a few posts in here from people who have put in Bilstein Heavy Duty shocks, and wished they had opted for the softer version.

The subframe mounts may also be a bit soft, and if these need doing will tend to cause the car to shake a bit on a bumpy road.

These cars are designed to be cruisers rather than sports cars, but the handling should still be quite good. My complaint is that that the back tends to slide in wet weather. I have swapped tyres front to back but no improvement.

Anyone else have this complaint?

wow... that's a wealth of info! Is there any way to tell if the subframe mounts need to be replaced for sure? I too experience excessive shaking when driving on the highway, and I think this may be the problem. My car also seems to drift a bit... I've had it aligned and will check the steering box. As far as the back end sliding out in the wet, mine does it too, but since it's a limited slip diff, the car is heavy, and the tires are skinny, I find it easy to controll the drift. I even have fun sometimes!

cbdo · #6 12-26-2003, 04:55 PM

Re subframe mounts--for starters, if they look and/or feel a bit dried out and inelastic, deteriorated from exposure to oil/grease/fuel, or appear a bit squashed down, and they're at least 10 years old or so, it seems pretty likely that new ones will make a difference that's somewhere between perceptible and surprising. I've noticed a number of posts relating marked improvement generally after refreshing these.