squirley handling
 

I recently bought a 1985 300 turbo diesel w/ 145,000 miles on it, which I love. I had the front brakes,calipers and rotors replaced at a local shop ($650). They told me that the rear shocks need replaced(not sure about the front but I plan on doing all 4). The car wanders a bit mainly at higher speeds and I'm wondering if a front-end alignment is the place to start. Any advice would be appreciated.

Start with the new shocks, see how it handles, then, if needed,get an alignment & have them check all rear suspension components.

20 year old car may need some bushings, etc. replaced. ;)

i agree
 

with manny

tom w

:silly: duhhh, i was thinking 124, i guess i read it too fast

The shocks would have nothing to do with the wandering. Shocks dampen the spring rate and that is all. Look to your tie rods, drag / center link, ball joints, control arm bushings in the front and all strut rods (4) on each side of rear and the bushings for the subframe also. Push pull and pry on everything. Watch the movement of components as someone else turns the steering wheel, look for and pauses in reaction of components. Good luck.
Chris

What kind of tires are on it? Cheap tires with weak sidewalls can give you a fishtailing effect.

squirly
 

Hello,

Remove the shock steering stabilzer and check for operation, you just have to undo one end and you will see what the scoop is. All mercedes have the identical shock even the newer ones.

These all go, even though they are made by Bilstein. These can be purchased on Ebay for $22 well worth the investment, 5 mins to install.

Also check if there is any movement in the track rod link that attaches to the body. This has rubber mounts that can be replaced via a kit. Its on the passenger side. Long tube thing!

The Bilsten shocks however are amazing how long they last. Don't use Kyb you will regret it. I have some on my car and they knock/thump all the time. good shock but not for Mercedes. Would suggest going with HD Bilsteins little more expensive but tightens the roll and overall handling quite a bit. Make sure your tires arent to tall either eg 75's. This makes the car roll on corners and generally very poor performance. The previous owner may have put these on. They tend to be cheaper to purchase.

Mercedes are very different from American cars with alignment, I have never had an alignment done on any of my cars, and I have thousands of miles racked up, and the tires wear out really even. A sign of bad alignment is usually scuffing on the edges.

Brian
300ce,240D,300D, and 300SD

Fishtailing
 

1984 300d Turbo 137k
Check Your Motor Mounts And Transmission Mount Replace Diy And The Front Sway Bar Bushing

squirley
 

Thanks for all the replys. I'll try these and let you know what worked best.

Steering gear adjustment.
 

I'll bet you have excessive slack in your steering gear. This will cause wandering. Test it by moving the steering wheel with the engine turned off. There should be less than 2" of play in the wheel, measured at the perimeter. You can adjust the steering gear by turning the allen screw COUNTER-clockwise a quarter turn at a time until the slop is removed. Don't turn it any further than needed to remove the play, it will cause premature wear of the gear. Also, have someone turn the wheel back and forth lightly, and check underneath to see if there's any movement in tie rod ends, etc. Replace anything that's worn. Also, check the toe-in adjustment. If it's off it can cause wandering and tire wear.

I've seen worn out center link, tie rod ends on the older MBs. One of the easiest suspension parts to check. Jack up the front of the car and push/pull the tire at 3 and 9 oclock.

Thats one inch (1/2 inch each way)

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/tech-help/12299-steering-wheel-play-slop-post54385.html#post54385

True, but...
 

Actually, the factory manual states on page 46-110 of the chassis and body manual that the free play should be 25mm or less. (.984251969 inches) But, in the case of a car with mileage on it, and worn parts elsewhere, one should expect a little more play than the factory new spec. states. 2" is a reasonable amount of play to expect in the wheel. Anything more than that will definetly cause the car to wander from where it's been pointed by the driver.:)

also check links on rear anti sway
 

bar.

tom w

Suqirley/ Wandering
 

I'm Going To Try The Steering Gear Box Adjustment First. Do I Need To Loosen Anyhting Before Turning The Allen Screw ? The Wander Seems To Only Be Noticeable When Pointing The Wheel Straight Ahead, Not Really When Cornering. It Does Seem To Have Too Much Free-play In The Steering Wheel ( 3-4 Inches W/ Car Off ).

Yes...
 

Hi there,
Yes, first loosen the lock nut that is keeping the allen screw shaft from turning. You will need a 6mm allen wrench for the screw. I believe the nut is a 19mm. Turn the allen screw COUNTERCLOCKWISE to remove the play. Don't turn it any further than necessary as if you go too far it can cause the steering wheel to bind up in the straight ahead position. I'd try a quarter turn at a time, then check the play. On my 123, it took over a turn to get the play out.

road wander/ squirley handling
 

Wow! Richard woolridge's suggestion worked like a charm. Last night I adjusted the allen screw on the steering box and now the car has NO road wander ! I can take both hands off the wheel and it tracks beautifully. Before I was constantly having to compensate for the loose steering. I don't know how many turns I made on the allen screw because it was frozen to the 19mm lock nut. I didn't realize this at first. I turned the nut w/ a socket wrench 3 or 4 revolutions and found that the allen screw had turned with it. I had to turn them back the other way and use a crescent wrench instead so I could hold the allen screw at the same time -Duh. Somehow I seem to have hit the sweet spot on it. Thanks again Richard. It feels like i'm driving a new car now. If anyone else is having this problem, give this a try. Richard, you are the man ! Probably saved me from winding up in a ditch. I can even let my wife try driving it now - she drives a 2003 Honda odyssey ( sissy car ).

Glad it was a simple fix!
 

Hi GregBenz,
I'm glad it was a simple adjustment for you. My '82 300D had the same problem, as did my '75 280. I don't know why the steering box gets out of adjustment so far, possibly a little bearing wear. At any rate, congrats on the quick fix!:)

Bump :)

I'm looking through my Hanes manual and I can't find a diagram for the Steering Box in the V6. Course then I'm also driving a V8....

Where would it be located? Will I need to jack the car to get access to it?