Raising the suspension on a 1990 190E 2.0Ltr

Is it possible to raise the suspension slightly (Its been lowered) with something like spring spacers ? If not whats the cheapest way to do it ? I dont want to put it back to normal, its just lowered slightly too far and the 16 inch alloys catch the inner wings when going over bumps/dips in the road

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Mal UK.

Hi 10130848!
Yes you can raise or lower these cars using spring pads of different heights available at the dealer. These are fairly cheap - the labour for installation will be a far greater cost. The question is, what pad thickness do you have right now? They come in four thicknesses, and there are pips (or bumps) on the rubber pads that can be seen or felt at the top of the spring. 1 bump is the thinnest, 4 is the thickest, with a range of thickness of about 6mm-24mm (which translate into a slightly greater difference at the wheel edge).
I had to do this myself after lowering my 300E. I got a little overzealous when lowering and installed the thinnest pads available, only to reinstall the thicker pads that were on the original springs.
Hope this helps,
Nick

Thanks Nick
I was getting worried it was going to be really expensive !
After checking I also have the thinest, so I think I'll just go straight to the thickest to be on the safe side. Is it a DIY job ? or should I really be getting a dealer to do it ?

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Mal UK.

Unless you've got the right spring compressor and associated equipment, changing springs can actually be dangerous. I would suggest letting a dealer or mechanic handle this one. Also, don't forget to get the car aligned when you're done.
Good luck,
Nick

[Tobias MB]

10130848
Nick is correct about the spring pads. The correct thickness of the pads are:
1 nib=8mm
2 nib=13mm
3 nib=18mm
4 nib=23mm
The amount the car will be raised is about double of the pad thickness because of the placement of the spring on the control arm.
It is about half way between the inner pivot point and where the outer hub attach. Another way to raise it is to place a circular piece of material such as conveyor belting on top of the original spring pad. The belting comes in different thicknesses
and is super tough stuff.

TobiasMB
300SE, 300CE, 190/5.0

Thanks for all the advice, this is a great forum for getting imformation/advice I'm sure I can sort out the rubbing problem now. Sorry about the strange user name.....I thought you would be able to to put your name in each time you posted !

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Mal UK.

Mal:

You can update your user name and any infor you want by just going into your directory, with your password......Andras

[Bill Wood]

Actually, you can change everything BUT your USER ID by clicking on "profile". There is no way to change USER ID other than to re-register.

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Bill Wood - Webmaster
MercedesShop.com, LLC

[AMGmercedes]

If you are just having problems with rubbing, why not roll the fenders. It has been discussed on this forum before, just use the search function. Much easier and cheaper than changing spring pads. Just a thought.

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Bart
1987 300SDL-T
1985 190E 2.3-16
1984 280GE Cabrio
1978 240D
1957 220S(running one day, I hope!)