260E sitting too high
 

First off, I would like to know if the 87 260E had a different suspension setup than an 87 300E. the reason I ask is because I've seen most 260E's sitting higher off the ground with a lot more room between the tire and the body than any other 300E's.
Now if the suspension was wearing out I would suspect the car to sit lower not higher above the ground.
anyhow, I dont want to install aftermarket performance shocks or springs because I want to keep the soft ride. at the same time I also don't want almost a 3/4 of a foot distance in the tire well.
Any ideas how to lower it to 300E spec. and at the same time could someone please post the factory specs as to what the distance between the tires and the fenders should be .
thnx.

here's a pic of the front. does this look normal to everyone ?

here's the pic for the rear.

to me this looks like a 4X4 setup of a wrangler rather than a w124 with good wheels on it. so any suggestions at this point ? :)
the suspension is completely stock.

If you don't want a radical drop, change your spring pads to #1 all around.

Only other choice is after market springs (H&R or Eibach)

is there a part number for the "number 1" pads that you mentioned ? more over how would those pads be replaced with the original ? would the independent mech. know what to do once i bring him the parts or is that an easy DIY ?

also, the front is higher than the rear, which is not something i am too fond off. i can live with the rear being a bit higher than the front but the other way around isn't really what i want as a setup.

I would like to know where I can buy these 1-bump pads and what the cost might be. If I am to get these parts from the dealer, will these pads show up in their system ?

The dealer sells these pads.

I'd also try Fastlane / PartsShop.

Called the dealer, the name for these pads are "shims" as per the benz parts department.
They said they have four different heights for the front ones and three different height for the rear ones.
price is $5.25 each for the front and 4.something each for the rear. Not bad at all.
My question now remains,
is this an easy DIY or would I need to go to the mech. to have them replaced ?

allright,
here's a fax that a received from the parts dpet for the front suspension.
can someone please point out which number corresponds to the shims ?

also,
will the car require re-aligning once the pads have been changed to lower height ?

are your tires the factory size they don't look it........

William Rogers.......

my wife's 89 260E has lower body height than those in fotos.
also, the rear is higher than the front, and all is stock.

Yes, you will need to have the suspension realigned.

well atleast it confirms that something is fishy with the suspension.
yes the wheels are 16inch with 205/55/16 tires on them.

I have the same on my 260E 1988 after new springs and shims.

after change of springs realignement was not needed.

would be useful if someone could indicates the front and rear height specs at the fender ( measured vertically at axis level)

thanks for help

could someone please indicate the "shims/pads" in the diagram I've attached.
thnx.

height measurement of mine are: 14.5" front, 15" rear. Measured from fender to center of wheels.

My 1989 260E, totally stock
Frot height (from wheel center to fender lip) :15.25in
rear: 15.5 in.
http://img41.exs.cx/img41/3257/260E.jpg

I've spent the whole day yesterday going through every single thread yesterday going over the issues of swapping springs/schocks/pads etc.
bottom line is, i dont want aftermarket components because i want the ride exactly as is. not any firmer or softer.
as for swapping the pads, they will drop it a max of around 21mm depending upon if i go the extremes from #4 to #1. but then again i have yet to figure out where these pads are and how i can count the numbers on them.
perhaps if there were factory specs available then i could swap the OEM parts for new OEM parts.

Just curious, Benz300...did it always sit like that or has something changed?

it's been like this since i bought it. the previous owner must've changed something but i doubt it since everything is OEM. I've seen quite a few 260E's exactly with the same height. so it seems like there's something about 260E models that is different than the 300Es that changes with time to encounter such height differences.

jackd,
i noticed that the rear wheels of your car arent exactly in the center of wheel well.
then i stumbled upon your old post where you had issues with it after you had the parts replaced.
is this a picture taken while you were having the problems or after it was fixed ? because it still doesnt look like centered.

I still think that it's just that those low profile tires don't fill out the wheel wells.what was factoty wheel and tire for that model year?other than going one size wider I dont like the looks of anything on an MB but stock rims and tires.......

William Rogers........

This is how my car sits on 17" wheels and 45-profile tires that are actually smaller than 205/55/16s

I always wonder why the later 124s seem to be lower?

Which spring pads do you have up front and back? Try feeling the bumps and counting them...