i'm slowly getting my new (previously mishandled) 1992 190e 2.3 sorted i.e. new head gasket, valve stem seals, rebuilt alternator, tensioner dampener, O/V fuse, steering dampener, front wheel bearings repacked and adjusted, etc...

The problems i'm experiencing are:

1) as i get on the throttle the car tends to pull a bit in one direction and when i lift the thottle the car will pull slightly in the other direction. this is noticable at higher speeds i.e. 60k+ it's not sever, but, makes for a less than solid ride. the car does very well in the corners, but, the suspension is loaded at this point. my suspicion is that it might be in the rear suspension... but nothing seems to scream out at me with the wheels off. it's got new rear shocks and a zero toe setting (rough check with a measuring tape) the front has a 3-4mm toe in. wheel base measurement on both sides of the car match.

2) being a bit new to the MB experience, i find that i have to unsteer the the wheel when coming out of a corner. is this the way it's suppose to be? there is good assist on the power steering (flushed the system and a new filter) and all the ball joints and steering linkages are in decent condition and the struts and upper berings seem ok. The castor looks ok, haven't measured, but +10deg. is about right.

your help on this is much appreciated.

http://catalog.eautopartscatalog.com/mercedesshop/sophio/wizard.jsp?partner=mercedesshop&clientid=catalog.mercedesshop&baseurl=http://catalog.peachparts.com/&cookieid=1K51DMBHN1K6002BQ1&year=1992&make=MB&model=190-E-004&category=L&part=Thrust+Arm

I would wiggle all vigorously in the back to see if anything is loose or badly worn. Also visually inspect submount-to-body bushings.

Steve

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

Have you run a Carfax report on the car to see if any major/minor damage has ocurred previously? A proper alingment check at a professional alignment center may spot your problem quickly and save a lot of throwing parts at it.

Tim

This time I jacked the back end up pulled the wheels off and attached a come-a-long to the rear hub using a wheel stud then hooked the other end to the front frame near the wishbone mount point. Applying a small forward load on the rear suspension I noticed a significant movement in the front subframe mount of the rear axle... got similar results on the other side. The rubber seem to look ok and there was little or no deflection in any of the pushing/pulling struts, track rods, or spring links ... so i'm going to change out all the sub frame bushings and see what happens. I'm hoping the rubber is just soft with age and that the new rubber is stiffer.

Stefan.

Could very well be , but I would still not overlook the thrust arms I posted .. they are notorious and have been modified/upgraded to a larger rubber mount/insert to rectify the originals short longevity.
An easy eyeball test is to have someone shift to fwd/rev w/foot on brake , a litttle gas and you stand outside and watch the wheel,, if its center seems to shift laterally to/fro, the thrust arm ends are weak..and that will mis-steer the car under torque load

I will check the thrust arms (MB docs. call it a pushing strut) again using your test method .. no one is around to help me right now... how much lateral movement am I looking for? Was my come-a-long test incorrectly loading one side of the sub-frame thus causing the front subframe bushing to deflect significantly. While doing that test I did pay close attention to the thrust arm .. it looked like it maybe had 0.01 to 0.05" compression at most... (just a guess :-) ) as oppose to the subframe deflecting at least 0.10 to 0.25+" at the front bushing. What model year did they change the thrust arm design?

Stefan.

I am not sure of date changes , I just know the OEM had to Beef the design b/c they were crapping as fast as they could replace them at low milage.

You can call them a push strut or whatever , the reason I call them by the Benz designated name is b/c there is always confusion when guys order them [ they usually wind up w/torque strut] There is a picture with designation names I have put somewhere in the Archieves , so you may want to search that out.
Anyway, I am not there to check as you have , so iIam not saying you need them, nor am I saying you don't need the mounts you suspect. I am simply advising you to be aware that these particular struts are a notorios weak link in the system and if a part is a known notorious failure part , I generally look there first..

Hi Iwould also suspect the arms,its just great when the veh changes lanes when you step on and off the gas.joeym