I had an indy shop replace my control arms about 1500 miles ago, and now my new front tires are almost bald on the outside tread. Since they replaced the right side spring as well, I measured the height of the fender on the left side and it was 1.25" lower than the right.
I figured the reason for this was the old spring on the left side, so I had it replaced as well. It is still 1.25" lower. I then looked at the eccentric bolt positions for the 2 control arms and they do not appear symetric. Could this be the problem? I looked everywhere for adjustment instructions for these bolts, but with no luck. Any ideas?

2004 CLK 500 Convertible 17kM
1987 300TD 206kM
1987 300D 188kM

Find a GOOD alignment shop, you have excessive toe-in due to a bad alignment.

Height difference side to side is more serious, if you have new springs, make sure the spring pads are correct and that both struts are good (if one has gone flat, it will allow that side to droop some).

MB alignments are different that most other cars, and some shops will never get them right. Toe must be set with a spreader bar (or equivalent force manually applied) or they toe in badly while running.

You must also have the tie rod ends and drag link checked, as any wear in these items produces severe toe-in and resultant tire wear on the outside.

Get this fixed soon, or the tires will wear right through the tread and rupture!

Peter

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1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!

I ordered the correct spring from a local dealer, which I will install this weekend(I bought the Mercedes spring compressor on Ebay). I also ordered the (8mm) shim as shown in the parts catalog. They say this is for the Blue colored spring. The (13mm) shim is for the red colored spring. Does anyone know what is the difference between blue and red? There is also an 18mm and 23mm shim available. How do I know which one I need?

My primary focus is to get the height correct on the left side. The struts are new (1 yr old) and are Biltein HDs. All the steering linkages were also replaced with the control arms. Is the eccentric bolt position part of the alignment, or does it not change?


2004 CLK 500 Convertible 17kM
1987 300TD 206kM
1987 300D 188kM

Yes, the eccentric bolt positiion is part of the alignment.
Regards, Bruno

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1992 300TE 160 kmiles

There are no shims on this suspension... what is available in different heights is the spring pad. Spring pad choice is dependent on the color code of the spring installed and the options on the vehicle. Assuming you have a 1987 U.S. 300TD (124.193), version 10/86 -10/88, with a sliding pop-up roof and a blue spring, then the correct pad would be 18 mm in height. If your vehicle was equipped with a red spring, then the correct pad would be 23 mm in height.

This information may be found in the 124 Service Manual Chassis and Body, Volume 1, Section 32-220 "Adjustment of Front Springs (Combination front springs - rubber mounts).

Hi jgl1,

I cannot seem to find this PDF file on my 124 Service Manual :
Section 32-220 "Adjustment of Front Springs (Combination front springs - rubber mounts).

I have 32-200 Removing and installing front spring, but no 32-220. Can you send me a copy of this file?

Thanks

Today, I replaced the left spring with one from the dealer 124-321-22-04 (blue color code). The height difference is now only .75 in. I checked out the rubber spring pad and it was 124-321-11-84 which appears to be 18mm. Tomorrow I will check the right side to see what size rubber spring pad is installed.

The manual says that a 5mm difference in pad amounts to a 9mm difference in height. I will see what happens.

Last weekend, I removed the right spring and checked the spring and spring pad part numbers. They are the same as the left ones. I replaced the 18mm pad with an 8mm pad. The height difference has not changed much, still about .75 in. Any ideas what to try next?

Eccentric bolt adjustment - loosen nut, turn bolt and eccentric head will shift bolt in/out. Tighten nut. This can usually be done on the ground, or you will need to drive over a pit. These adjustments will affect camber/caster/toe, so check toe first to see if that accounts for tire wear. Camber too positive will also wear outside of tires. Control arms tightened while car is suspended will screw with ride height, and the shop may have done this too.

Toe I check with a 1" square section long aluminum bar, with a couple small plastic carpenter's eave angles. Lightly jam bar against rear, then front of tires. When at rear, place plastic angles on bar, lined up with one edge of bar, so they just touch tire. Mark backs of angles on bar with a Sharpie pen. Repeat at front, and check position of angles to the marks. Make sure you keep same angle at same end of bar and aligned to same side or bar. I have found measurements to come out consistently this way, and it is certainly accurate enough for a check or rough alignment. The Sharpie marks can be wiped off with rubbing alcohol.

I have yet to get good, consistent measurements of camber/caster using any method, mainly due to irregularities of the garage floor surface. But, if toe is within spec, you have too much (positive) camber on both sides, so it will not hurt to adjust the control arm out until you get the ride height resolved. Then find a good alignment shop (immediately after rotating the rear tires to the front).

Steve

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'91 MB 190E 2.3
'08 RAV4 Ltd 3.5
'83 Lazy Daze m'home 5.7

Thanks for the info sborg. I wouldn't be surprised if the shop tightened the control arms when the car was suspended.
I will post what I find.

I took out both springs and compared them next to each other. They appear identical and both have the part number 124-321-22-04. I swapped the left and right and reinstalled them with the 8mm pad on the right side and the 23mm pad one the left side. I also loosened the camber and caster eccentric bolts and retightened them.. The right side is still 3/8" higher, but this is within the specs. I am still wondering why the right side is still higher with all the compensating, but for now I am content. I will have an alignment done next.

Have you checked your front spring perches to ensure they have not moved or have been bent?

Do both control arms look identical?

Haasman

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'03 E320 Wagon-Sold
'95 E320 Wagon-Went to Ex
'93 190E 2.6-Wrecked
'91 300E-Went to Ex
'65 911 Coupe (#302580)

I'm guessing based on my experience with my W124-

The alignment is way off on one side, effecting the ride height.

My clue was the suspension was high driving fwd. But, you could drag the brakes with it in reverse and the front would drop to being too low.
One of the MB techs piped in and told me to zero 3 of the eccentric bolts and put the 4th to one side. I winged the toe adjustment with a tape measure and took it in.
MB guy aligned and it settled. I would probably go for a thinner spring pads, but then again- not scraping the undercarrage is probably worth more to me now days than looks.

Michael

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Michael McGuire
83 300d
01 vw A4 TDI
66 Chevy Corsa
68 GMC V6 w/oD
86 300E