Sudden Collapse of my Front End Alignment--Why? 83 240D
 

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My 83 240D has tracked straight and true for years. Now, suddenly, the steering wheel needs to be cocked 30 degrees askance to make it go straight.
When I was getting some exhaust welding done , a Meineke mechanic noted that the front end was messed up and "I might as well throw the car away".
I know there isnt much to aligning the front end. Its either the tie rod links. The front end variables are:
1.Steering Rack,
2.Ball joints,
3.Bent tie rods (n/a),
4. Collapsed Shocks and that is it...

Can anyone clue me as to what is going on?

I would take a close look at the track rod mounts on both sides. Sounds like one of those may have gone bad.

Check the steering gearbox mounting bolts ASAP.

Make sure you go and kick that Meineke mechanic in the ass to...

Check what everyone has said. Especially the steering box mount bolts.
Your front end has quite a few adjustments on it.
When was the last time the front end was rebuilt?
When was the last time the bushings were checked ?
Get a crow bar or prying bar and jack the car up on stands.
Use the bar to force movement out of the bushings. You can determine how solid the rubber is. With time the bushings can become mushy if oil and fluids get on them or they can rot and start to fall apart.
It could be that when the car was up on the jack the bushings were falling apart and it caused the front end to come out of alignment.
You should check the following ( for mushyness and just falling apart)
Lower control arm bushings.
Upper control arm bushings.
Upper and lower contol arm ball joints.
The brake mount, its against the firewall section. Also check the rod and thread section of the brake rod to see if it has slipped.
Check the coil spring, has it broken.

Now onto the steering assembly.
Check all ball joints on the steering linkage
Check the adjustment sleeves on the tie rods to see if they have slipped.
Again check the steering box mount bolts.

Below is the diagram for your car.

Dave

how important are the guide rod bushings at the lower arm? i've got new tie rods and am waiting on a control arm to work on my front end. the guide rod bushings look bad. would it be worth it to check the mounts for play and replace those bushings?

My entire suspension rebuild for the 82 300TD was about $1000. That included new lower control arm bushings, New upper control arms, all steering tie rods and drag link. Rebuilt kit for the steering idle arm. New steering damper. New front coil springs. New track rod mounts and rod bushings. New sway bar mounts and bushings. New rear subframe mounts. New rear coil springs, new trailing arm bushings, new differential mount. Shocks were only 2 years old and had only 3000 miles on them so I reused the shocks.
This does not include the new coil spring compressor from Sir Tool. ( $550 to buy or $100 to rent for about 21 days)

Labor was by me, at no charge.

Throw it away, not a very knowledgable mechanic. Maybe thats why he works at Mieneke

Dave

Maxwell
The guide rod bushings are what controls the forward and back movement of the steering spindle while the car is riding. It is done by adjusting the position of the lower control arm,forward and backwards. It does come into play when adjusting the castor and camber of the front suspension. So if your going to all this trouble I would consider replacing it while your at it. However you will have to remove the coils spring seat to get to the bushing. I don't know a way to get to the bushing with out the coil spring seat removed, which requires removing the coil spring. That just complicated the job. You will now require a coil spring compressor. Either rented or purchased.

If some one has R+R the guide rod bushing without R+R the coil spring please post your method.

Dave

I've read you can replace the guide rod bushing with the spring in place. just takes some work. Is there a way to test the guide rod mounts for play?

Again a pry bar. The center of the rod has a bolt that is held in the center of the opening on the lower control arm. See if the rubber is cracking or falling apart. It should be firm and provide support for the center bolt. The lower bushing probably gets the most wear. It is exposed the most. The upper bushing is partially protected by the spring seat. Use the pry bar to try and move the rod as it goes into the LCA it should want to stay in the came centered position. If you can move the rod around then the bushings have deteriorated and should be replaced.

Dave

Maxwell
You really have to find the link to how to do that job without removing the coil spring. I'm reviewing my suspension rebuild and I just can't figure out how you can get around the coil spring. The spring seat has to be out of the way to insert the top bushing and washer and bolt. The washer is alot like a tea cup saucer and cannot be pushed into the LCA from below. It has to come in from the top.
Which again requires the spring seat to be moved. Again there's the coil spring compression problem again. The spring seat is held to the LCA by 3 bolts which are bolted from above. Again teh coil spring must be moved.
I have attached a picture of the area that you will have to work with. Notice the spring seat sitting just above the rod bushing assembly in the LCA. If the bolt that holds the rod into the LCA can be extracted past the spring seat. Then I think you might be able to do the job with out a coil spring compressor. I'm not sure of the clearance!!

Dave

The bolts for the track rod are UNDERNEATH the coil spring. I just can't imagine that there is a way to r&r the track rod without removing the spring.

You need to find a front end man instead of a muffler welder at Meineke.

My 240D went OVER 500,000 miles with ALL the original front end parts except the shocks. When I got my parts car, I took the entire front end out from under it and put on my half million mile 240D. These front ends are incredibly durable and well worth rebuilding even if you don't have a low mileage parts car and need to buy all new parts.

Tell the muffler welder at Meineke to take a flying leap on a rolling donut.

Good luck,

In my earlier post I was referring to item 20 - track rod mount is what I call it. They will dry/crack and can make noise when turning, especially when mashing the brake at the same time. This particular item can be replaced without removing the spring.

Not to get off topic but I replaced the passenger side track rod mount - item 20 - on the 300D this morning.

In my opinion, it can be done by one person but when you are starting the installation of the new track rod mount it helps to have another person on hand. I got my neighbor to come over and hold the crow bar in position during initial installation of the threaded end of the new mount. It took me about an hour and I had him help for about 10 minutes.

This job is a piece of cake on the 300SD versus the 300D. The SD most definitely a one man job.

So if i wasn't going to replace my guide rod mounts and bushings, would it be a waste of time changing the tie rods and getting it aligned?