low front end w201
 

My new to me 93 w201 2.3L seems to be sitting much lower in the front than it should. The previous owner put in new OEM springs, and I just installed new struts and upper mounts... yet I can barely get my hand in between the fender lip and the tire.
So I was thinking next the upper spring cup is deteriorated. I noticed MB makes them in a variety of sizes from 8mm to 23mm.

12.75" from the center of the wheel star to the fender lip. Anyone have a quick second to take a known good stock measurement for me?

Thanks!

My '93 2.3 that I purchased new measures 14.5" from the center of the wheel star to the fender lip on both sides. Mine still has the original springs.

Yep, I figured I was squatting kinda low.

It makes clunking sounds over rough pavement. >:(

Any ideas guys? What else is there that has to do with front ride hight?

Are you sure that the previous owner didn't put lowering springs in? Or cut the stock springs? It's more likely than you think. Other than that I don't know if broken/worn front control arms could affect ride height at all. Typically it's springs/shocks/spring pads that are the main determinant of ride height. But spring pads aren't going to make up for 2" difference, even if you left them completely out.

How is the ride height in the rear?

I bought an 1989 190E 2.6 for my daughter. I always thought it was raked pretty low in the front but I haven't measured it. If I remember, I'll measure it on Wednesday when I see her. It only has 75K original miles on it and the struts and shocks seem to be stiff and in good shape. I highly doubt the lady that previously owned it had the springs replaced or had it lowered.
Now I'm even more curious about it!

Another thing that sometimes happens is people will go wild replacing everything in the rear of the car and leave the front alone or vice versa. This will accentuate the "raked" look or "saggy ass" look, depending on which combination it is. Suspension should always be done equally for best results. But sometimes that is not always a financially viable option when stuff breaks unexpectedly.

As a side note I always thought 190E's had a lower stance compared to the 300E. Comparing stock cars I've seen.

How many coils do you count?

http://i52.tinypic.com/242vgxk.jpg

lesjofors 40 568 03

Looked up the part on EPC, it discussed "points", and they appear to be the correct part number?! Counted the coils, and none appear to be cut. What is going on with this thing?

EPC Says - (PDF) www.c-hock.com/downloads/work/springpoints.pdf

I'm trying to get ahold of a spring compressor that'll work so I can yank it out to take a closer look.

Ok, so counted the coils again, compared to my spare stock coil, and it's right on. 12-13 or so.

Rented the Compressor from vstech and should be here this week.

If I pull these coils, and they're identical to my stock spare... Then what?! Move up to a 2304 coil? That's the super heavy duty one for the diesels with every option available I think.

Is there ANYthing else that could affect ride hight this much?

Thanks again guys!

I wonder when previous owner replaced the springs, if he left the spring pads out? You won't know until the spring is out. But that would definitely cause a change in ride height and clunks over bumps.

Sure hope so, but it's still a good 2 inches too low!

If he left the spring pad out completely and did not put anything in its place (some use garden hose for the "lowest" stance), I imagine that could easily make up for 1.75" worth of height difference (SLK's car is 14.5, yours is 12.75).

Wouldn't that be great. But now I have no clue what size pads i'd need?

No biggie. 3 or 4 "bump" pads in front is stock. The difference between 3 and 4 is less than .25".

Guess we'll see in a few days when the compressor arrives! Might as well order the pads now anyway. I think they're cheap.