Brake Dive

Is it normal for a 126 Benz to have more brake dive and body roll than most other cars ? Going around town it gets annoying having to hold myself in my seat everytime I need to stop. Are there any common bushings or parts that would wear over time to cause excess brake dive ? Or is it that this car's
suspension geometry just makes the car act this way ? Thank You in advance.

By the way, the car is an 86' 420 SEL.

[MB STARS]

I have seen after market brake pads will act this way.

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MB STARS Master Guild Technician,12 years MB tech
5 years independent shop owner

I just had 4 new rotors and pads put on by the dealer a few weeks ago. The pads can't be aftermarket if the dealer put them on. The brakes don't make any sounds at all. Any other Ideas ???

[mbdoc]

If the front shocks are worn out then the front end can "dive" under normal braking.

[Michael]

Just curious...how many miles on the car? Sounds like worn-out front struts, but the OEM struts are supposed to retain something like 98% of their effectiveness at 100k miles...but there simply aren't a lot of things that could cause your problem. Sounds like struts, but if you've got low miles then I'd suggest having a tech familiar with the ride characteristics of your car take it out for a spin.

Good luck!

Michael
'92 500E
'88 300TE


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The car has 99k miles. But is also seems to have alot of body roll. Can this also be a sign of bad struts ??? THANK YOU

[Michael]

Hmmm...relatively low miles. Again, I'd suggest you track down a tech familiar with your car...that way, you have a baseline for comparison to know if there's actually anything wrong. I'd hate to see you start replacing OEM parts with new OEM parts, just to find out that your car does indeed dive under braking, and is somewhat prone to body roll. If your car's fine and it's simply performing as designed, then if you want better handling/less roll & dive then you can potentially put in some good Bilstein HD struts that will lessen these tendencies, or go to both a spring & shock upgrade, or even a 1+ wheel fitment along with springs/shocks. All will alter your car's handling characteristics, but invariably there's a tradeoff of some sort in terms of ride quality.

Once you've got an informed opinion, please post your results and I'm quite sure a bunch of us would be more than happy to get you and your car on the right track.

Best regards, Michael

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[Benzmac]

Not to knock anyone off their pedistal, but the 126 has shocks not struts like the 124!! The shocks are probably worn out by 100K.
Good luck

FYI If a car has upper and lower control arms as in the 126, it has shocks.

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Benzmac:
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