Found the problem, or part of it. Tire rack says the standard tire for this car is 195/70-14 it has 215/70/15's on it. Apparently some PO wanted the newer wheel style. Would this make it look this high though?

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Muleears
'07 E320 Bluetec 133K my DD
'04 Jaguar XJ8 VDP, 34K
'10 Hyundai Accent 60K Grocery Getter
'02 VW Golf soon to be on the road again
'97 E300 Diesel Son's DD
'61 VERY tolerant wife

Hampton Roads, VA USA

Gone but not forgotten:
'67 250S 95K
'86 300SDL
'87 300D Turbo, 364K! R.I.P.
'98 E300 Turbodiesel, 213K
'02 S420, 164K
'01 Prius 138K

Here's an output from a tyre size calculator...

You have a difference of about 2.5cm in the wheel radius - so I guess not

Attached Thumbnails

 

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

The 15" rims and tires will make the overall height of the car *slightly* higher, but it wouldn't cause any difference in height between the front and back.


I can tell you right now that the main problem is old springs in the back- 25 years and 1000 pounds apiece will do a number on the temper of the steel... The rear bushings are also a problem, but to a lesser extent, the springs are the main culprit.

I just replaced all the springs, shocks and bushings on my '84 last weekend and it went from pointing its nose to the sky like yours to being dead level. It had 3 nub shims in the front and 2 nub in the rear with the original springs. Now i've got a set of H&R sport springs with 3 nub on both sides.

If you want to make it look and ride like new, replacing the springs and bushings is what's needed. However, if you just want it to sit level, you'll probably be able to accomplish that with the proper combination of thicker rear and thinner front spring shims. Unfortunately, both of these solutions require access to a spring compressor.

Have you looked under the car yet to see what shims are in there now?

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-Brian

1984 300SD, 375XXX miles, Light Ivory w/ Palomino TEX