W126 Slight Tilt At Rear

[ymsin]

Its something I noticed and brought it up with the workshop chap who said "its common because of the fuel tank".

I always keep a full tank and have a habit of filling it up with petrol everytime the needle goes 1/4 down from max - approx 22 litres. My Godmom reckons its not good that I don't use up all the petrol and keep topping it up. I don't seem to think its a problem as long as its running well and taken through its paces to and fro office (about 20 km one way).

Well - it got me thinking that perhaps it could be due to the fuel load in the tank thats causing the rear to tilt at a slight angle of less than 1 cm at most. Don't think this would affect the suspension much, would it?

Is this common for most MBs as what the workshop chap claims?

[Q]

Do you mean the rear of the car is lower than the front or that one side of the rear is lower than the other? The fuel tank is centered in the car behind the rear seat.

[ymsin]

Sorry, I meant one side of the rear is lower than the other.

[Q]

Since the fuel tank is centered, I doubt it is that. My 380SE does the same thing. Tilted down on the right rear corner. Looks like a 400 pound person must be driving the car. I am convinced that the springs need to be replaced and that the weight of the driver is what caused the left side to drop first.

[ymsin]

My tilt is at the left rear corner. FYI we drive on the right hand side.
Its not much of a tilt per se but noticeable for its very slight tilt. I just changed the springs a few months ago. Reckon its a faulty spring?

Maybe it's a shock (?) Spring takes most the weight, so that's a very wild guess. How about a bushing?

If you think it's a bad spring, take it to a shop and have it inspected. I'm sure it's under warranty.
Regards,

[goldenbear]

It is very rare indeed for MB springs to fail. It is more likely the result of a bent trailing arm.

I have exactly the same thing on my '77 W123 ... it sits about an inch lower on the rear right-hand side. I always assumed it was a rear subframe mount that was causing this, but since it doesn't appear to affect the handling and there are other more pressing jobs to be done on the car, I haven't had it investigated.

[Mr. BILL]

Check the sub frame mounts. They have a tendency to go out after about 10 years