Parts Catalog Accessories Catalog How To Articles Tech Forums
Call Pelican Parts at 888-280-7799
Shopping Cart Cart | Project List | Order Status | Help



Go Back   PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum > Mercedes-Benz Tech Information and Support > Tech Help

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 09-17-2010, 08:26 PM
87tdwagen's Avatar
Registered Miscreant
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Sunny Ft. Lauderdale
Posts: 937
What is the stock W124 ride height?

I've been reading post after post regarding w124 ride heights for sedans and wagons and it seems that somewhere between 13.5" to 16" is where most who have responded fall. unfortunately no one has defined what the actual stock ride height is. Is it the same front to rear? Sedans vs Wagons?

Can anyone shed some more light on this questions? Measuring from wheel hub center to fender lip.

I ask because after replacing my front struts and rear multi-links my wagon seems to ride a bit higher than before. Technically changing the struts should not have affected ride height at all. I replaced the Original MB struts with Sachs (OEM) the struts were the same length collapsed and extended. The multi-links in the rear have more of an effect on ride height so I can see the change there, but I did tighten everything while under load per the FSM.

My heights are 15.25" Front, and 16" rear. The car was aligned by an indy shop and nothing odd was noticed. I just know that it now sits from .5 to 1 inch higher than before. What gives, do these numbers look normal? What are other measuring?

__________________
Stable Mates:
1987 300TD 310K mi (Hans)
2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee OM642 165k mi (Benzrokee)
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 09-17-2010, 08:46 PM
ps2cho's Avatar
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Posts: 3,525
I believe either late 88 or 89 saw a drop in the ride height. 88 and before definitely have the highest ride height. Even with bilstein sports and eibach springs I have a small gap from wheel to fender. If you use my same setup on a later model, it would be much lower.

I saw the same ride height increase after changing my wagons front shocks. It baffles me as well...
__________________
2016 Monsoon Gray Audi Allroad - 21k
2008 Black Mercedes E350 4Matic Sport - 131k
2014 Jeep Wranger Unlimited Sahara - 62k
2003 Gray Mercedes ML350 - 122k
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 09-17-2010, 09:03 PM
87tdwagen's Avatar
Registered Miscreant
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Sunny Ft. Lauderdale
Posts: 937
Quote:
Originally Posted by ps2cho View Post
I believe either late 88 or 89 saw a drop in the ride height. 88 and before definitely have the highest ride height. Even with bilstein sports and eibach springs I have a small gap from wheel to fender. If you use my same setup on a later model, it would be much lower.

I saw the same ride height increase after changing my wagons front shocks. It baffles me as well...
Good to know that I'm not the only one baffled by this
What are you measuring with your set-up? Do you know much of a drop you had or rather what the original height was for your wagon?
__________________
Stable Mates:
1987 300TD 310K mi (Hans)
2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee OM642 165k mi (Benzrokee)
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 11-29-2012, 08:55 PM
87tdwagen's Avatar
Registered Miscreant
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Sunny Ft. Lauderdale
Posts: 937
So the saga continues....

just two years later I have now replaced the front LCA and tie rod ends all around. With this improvement in my front suspension, it has now also grown once again
The wagon now sits 16" from hub center to fender lip front and rear. My front end came up another 3/4 in just with the LCA change. What gives?

Still searching for some stock numbers. Every suspension component has been replaced on this car in the last two years, and it seems to ride much higher than it should, can anyone please help
__________________
Stable Mates:
1987 300TD 310K mi (Hans)
2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee OM642 165k mi (Benzrokee)
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 11-30-2012, 10:56 AM
big dog 2's Avatar
ejgolfnten
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Elk Grove, Ca
Posts: 206
14.5/15.0

Original shocks......
__________________


1989 300E

2005 Acura TL

2011 Hyundai Elantra Limited

Swing hard! Take chances!
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 12-01-2012, 12:17 AM
87tdwagen's Avatar
Registered Miscreant
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Sunny Ft. Lauderdale
Posts: 937
Quote:
Originally Posted by big dog 2 View Post
14.5/15.0

Original shocks......
Big dog,
No I replaced the shocks two years ago but they have only seen 7k miles in that time as well and were riding lower than before replacing the lower control arm.
__________________
Stable Mates:
1987 300TD 310K mi (Hans)
2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee OM642 165k mi (Benzrokee)
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 12-01-2012, 12:20 AM
87tdwagen's Avatar
Registered Miscreant
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Sunny Ft. Lauderdale
Posts: 937
Quote:
Originally Posted by big dog 2 View Post
14.5/15.0

Original shocks......
Oops... Sorry I misunderstood your post
Thanks Big Dog for the numbers, that's great to know. I'm riding high and will have to fiddle with the LCA to see if it will drop back down closer to those numbers.
__________________
Stable Mates:
1987 300TD 310K mi (Hans)
2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee OM642 165k mi (Benzrokee)
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 12-01-2012, 02:23 AM
compress ignite's Avatar
Drone aspiring to Serfdom
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: 32(degrees) North by 81(degrees) West
Posts: 5,554
The "Trick" may be...

ALL W124 FLEXIBLE "Components" should be Torqued ONLY with the Chassis at
"Ride Height".
[I.E. Torquing the RUBBER components (OUTSIDE of "Ride Height") can artificially
affect the Chassis "Resting" height.]

Classic example is GSXR's removing the rear coils on W124 s
(After replacing ALL the rear suspension components)
to be able to [With Jacks and Stands] EXACTLY match the FSM heights
BEFORE Torquing the NEW component's Bolts.
__________________
'84 300SD sold
124.128
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 12-01-2012, 08:32 PM
87tdwagen's Avatar
Registered Miscreant
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Sunny Ft. Lauderdale
Posts: 937
its getting closer

After replacing the sway bar bushings today (my last suspension piece to replace whoo hoo) I decided to inspect the LCA eccentric bolts and found that a few were clocked further than they were with the old LCA's. I loosened these and readjusted back to the "before" state. Hand tightened everything and bobbed the front end a few times. Then when fully loaded I tightened everything up and was back down to 15.25 in. a whole 3/4 lower.

A test drive did not reveal any change in alignment, but given that I mess with the eccentrics and the ride height changed I'm thinking of taking it back to the shop for a re-check, hopefully I'll be fine until I get it there...

On another note:
I noticed that the sway bar bushings have this rubber nibs or bumps cast into the rubber, The old bushes have 4 bumps on all of them, and my new ones only have 2 bumps. What is the purpose for these bumps? Is it about stiffness? Any ideas
__________________
Stable Mates:
1987 300TD 310K mi (Hans)
2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee OM642 165k mi (Benzrokee)
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 12-02-2012, 05:19 AM
MBeige's Avatar
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: SoCal
Posts: 3,746
This may not be completely helpful, but it's a good reference to have (assuming you're pertaining to the '87 300TD):

Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 12-02-2012, 02:26 PM
87tdwagen's Avatar
Registered Miscreant
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Sunny Ft. Lauderdale
Posts: 937
Thanks MBeige

Very neat information and will use the rear bumper height measurement as a reference. Very nice and yes this pertains to the TD.

This is one car I don't mind investing in, it certainly has rewarded me for it

__________________
Stable Mates:
1987 300TD 310K mi (Hans)
2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee OM642 165k mi (Benzrokee)
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On




All times are GMT -4. The time now is 03:14 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0
Copyright 2024 Pelican Parts, LLC - Posts may be archived for display on the Peach Parts or Pelican Parts Website -    DMCA Registered Agent Contact Page