During an icy spell, I managed to run the right rear tire of my 420SEL into a curb. The rim was sufficiently bent/gouged at the bead to warrant replacing it since it would no longer hold air. While I wait for the new rim to arrive, I put the spare on which appears to be the identical alloy rim. Now whenever I hit a hole or a rough patch of pavement, the rear end seems to bounce in a series of jarring small bumps and the rear end looses traction causing the car to momentarily jump sideways.

The questions I have are: Is toe-in, caster, and camber adjustable on the rear of these cars and could one of these now be out of adjustment? Could I have bent the bolts securing the trailing arm to the body? Could I have actually bent the trailing arm or is this impossible to do? Thank you.

check for broken shock/strut mount on that side, along with broken or bent strut arm, there are 4 on that side, all easily fixable

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Jerry

2004 SL500 Black 55K Miles
2002 s500 Black 90K Miles
1986 300E Gold 233K Miles
1966 Twin Cessna 320D
1989 Jeep Cherokee 233K Miles
1994 Ford Van E150 399K Miles

Get the car to an alighnment shop and they will be able to see what is out of spec. The trailing arm very well could be bent.

I wouldn't drive the car until you figure out what the problem is and fix it.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

I got my tire mounted on the new rim and put back on the car - no change. I took the car to the alignment shop and was told that the right trailing arm was slightly bent (leading edge of tire bent outwards (toe-out) by 14 degrees from center. I checked around and the lowest price on a new trailing arm is around $1300!!! Not wanting to bite the bullet just yet, I found that the Parts Bin sells eccentric trailing arm bushings for under $17 each. Their P/N is L2006-16072. I am assuming that these are specifically designed to allow toe, caster, and camber to be adjusted. Has anyone tried using these before and do you think this would solve my problem?

Also, how difficult is it to replace the trailing arm bushings and is this a DIY job? (I have lots of tools and a spring compressor).

Thank you,

T.C.

I would try to get a used trailing arm, you probably could pick one up for a song.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200