I have a 1979 300 TD , I think it previously hit a curb or something. left front spindle was probably bent, now I have replaced it, but dont have an alignment info. book. Anyone have a brief fix? Lorenzo in Montana...

You start with checking toe-in. This is my shower curtain rod method:

On your 300TD the toe-in is about 3/32" to 5/32". Simply put a shower curtain rod between the tires at the front, and mark a line where rods insert into each other. Carefully roll the tires to the rear and mark the rod again. Remove the rod and measure the distance between the marks. This is toe-in, assuming there was toe-in to begin with. Adjustment is done by turning the tie rods in equal turns. It helps to have someone watching the tires to make sure the tires are going in the correct direction.

Since your steering wheel maybe off-center, you will have to "move" wheels to the correct position so the streering wheel is centered.

There is also caster and camber to check as well, if you'll willing to get a caster/camber gauge.

just rebuilt the front end on my 81 SD taking it to shop tomorrow for four wheel alignment,did similar trick to get it driveable but to protect expensive tires and have it handle well alignment at a good shop familar with MB's is a small price to pay $54.00 in Florence Oregon......
William Rogers........

I also used a similar trick after fixing the damaged caused by a tow truck driver (used "J" hooks on the tie rods rather than "D" hooks to the frame).

I tightly clamped two pieces of straight wood to both wheels, then adjusted at the tie rods until the front of the tires were approx 1/8" closer together than the rear. Car tracks straight and true.

That'll get you to an alignment shop.

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Thanks for the info--- it sounds like an easy fix. The eccentric for the camber is next. I 'll try a 1 degree off the vertical, thats what some american pickups are. 'course that will affect the toe-in. Lorenzo.

On the 300TD, the camber is 0 degrees, +10', -20'. A little positive camber is good.

You need to take greese cap off of the end of spindle. The spindle has something stuck in the hole. You have to pull that piece of metal out and clean the spindle end. Be sure to take the small "star hub cap" off the rim before you put the tire back on and set the car down.

The tool I use is the camber gauge sold at Habor Freight. I calibrate the tool on a perfectly vertically square wall, and lock the tool at zero. It isn't really the best tool for doing this job, but at $9.99, I can put up with it. Habor Freight does not recommend using its tool for setting camber, but can be done. An Intercomp Digital Caster/Camber gauge would be ideal to work with, but it costs $300. They say it is the same one used by NASCAR to align their front ends. Just stick the tool on spindle and adjust the ecentric bolt.

Keep in mind that adjusting the camber also affects the caster.

Is it possible to just measure the tie rod ends from center to center to get an accurate or close alignment?
I just bought all new rods and I'm going to replace them but my rods on the car now are outta whack so I know they will not be very accurate

Thanks,

Jeff

The curtain rod method in the second post is not bad, but you should not measure against the tires, measure against the wheels. The tires will not be in the exact same position all around. To compensate for this, I raise the wheel so it can be spun, visegrip a nail to a jackstand and put the nail to the center of the tread, then turn the tire a full turn to scribe a line, then do the same on the other front wheel. Then lower the car and roll it at least one full turn of the wheel to allow it to find it's correct camber position after being raised. Then measure between lines on the front and measure between lines on the back of the tire. Then adjust for them to be exactly equal. Radial tires use zero toe.

To make this a one person job, I took a piece of an old heavy steel tape measure and drilled the smallest hole I could make in one end. I put this in place with a thumbtack, then go to the other side and read the measurement. Do the same in the rear and equalize the measurements.

BTW, always check the wheel bearings for tightness prior to setting toe.

Good luck,

I thought Mercedes required a special tool to spread the front wheels to do a proper alignment.

I've owned MB for nearly 20 years. On our first one, it was delivered with the wheels out of alignment. I took it to a private alignment shop recommended by the dealer (MB guy was on vacation). That alignment didn't last. Had it done again at a MB dealer and it's lasted for 17 years. My '91 300E has been perfect since I bought it new.

j shepardson,

If you measure tie rod ends center to center before changing the tie rods and restore the same distance with the new tie rods, you should get a pretty accurate alignment.

Bud,

I have heard of this spreader bar too. An alignment shop told me that they could not align a Mercedes because they did not have the spreader bar. I have gotten satisfactory alignment without it.

Spreader bar!?!?

This sounds like BS. If you have a way to measure and a way to adjust, what else can you need? There are some unit body cars that must be basically "bent" into position, but an MB is not one of them. There are adjustments for caster, camber and toe. You must be thinking of a Honda, they only have adjustment for toe, everything else is put in place with a porta-power.

My $0.02,

Larry,

I agree. I can not understand why someone would use a spreader bar. But the tool is made by Beissbarth (#860 000 883) with MB part number 900 589 01 27 00.

The spreader bar is a *required* part of a proper MB alignment.

It is not used to *adjust* anything, it is used to "pre-load" the wheels to simulate the thrust on the wheels and suspension during driving, and to remove any of the play that would be present in any of the suspension components that would cause a "standard" alignment to give false readings. Think about this play: most (all?) MBs' steering linkage is the back wall of a parallelogram that is laid over the front tires. The spreader bar is the front wall of the parallelogram.

Any shop that understands MBs and their alignment will either have this tool or will know to simulate its effect by manual "pre-loading" of the front of the wheels while simultaneously checking toe. If they are not doing this or are unaware of the need for the spreader bar, well . . .

Richard Easley
Waco, Texas

j shepardson,

What do you mean by "out of whack"? That the left and right are not uniform, or that your current allignment is not correct?

Jeff Pierce

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Yes, my front end is pretty far out of alignment steering wheel and car always turns to the right.
The right wheel aligns with the steering wheel but the left is not aligned with the steering wheel kind like left wheel is facing 12:00 then the right is at about 1:00-1:30 and the sterring wheel right side of the horn pad is at about 4:00-4:30 when driving straight.

The right tire constantly gets worn so I'm not sure which tie rod is out of alignment if not both

Guess thats why I was wondering if there was a measurment from center to center of the left and right inner and outer tie rod ends so when I replace them they will be close to what I need.