'87 300TD Front Suspension

[Spook74]

The 87 300TD, with 376k miles, that I picked up in North Carolina
over Christmas has proved very adequate to the job (and the weather!)
out here in northern Illinois, and is a very enjoyable car to drive, even as I
sort out its little foibles.

One thing that I noticed right away was that the front end was riding very low, with the tops of the tires almost touching the fenders. I have not felt it touching, but it is definitely close, and is at the same height on both sides. It steers nicely at speed, but I did notice that in tight slow turns, it tends to turn further into the turn very markedly, and it seems like one of the front wheels scoots sideways then. No obvious tire wear is evident though.

With the weather as cold as it's been, and with the SDL down, I've not had a chance to take the wheels off and look at it closely, but was wondering if this indicates something I need to tear into sooner rather than later? Any ideas what I would look for?

Thanks for any tips!
Gerry Visel

[the tenor man]

It's not unusual for these cars to have broken front springs...just a guess but I've had mine replaced. They break at the bottom where they get a lot of water spray.

I just measured the distance on my car from the top lip of the wheel to the lip of the front fender...about 7 inches.

Hope this helps.

The Tenor Man

[Spook74]

Originally Posted by the tenor man

It's not unusual for these cars to have broken front springs...just a guess but I've had mine replaced. They break at the bottom where they get a lot of water spray.

I just measured the distance on my car from the top lip of the wheel to the lip of the front fender...about 7 inches.

Hope this helps.

The Tenor Man

Thanks! I'll measure mine for comparison. I would not think it was springs, as it is level side-to-side. They are both at the same height.

Gerry