twitchy handling problem $$$? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

land sea air · #1 04-22-2006, 12:28 AM

ok heres one thing thats always bugged me about my 87' 300E since i got it and throwing money at it hasnt really helped so here goes. when driving along at any rate above parking lot speeds the car has a tendency to wander a little left to right sometimes a little suddenly... under full throttle or coasting its not an issue but thats not the best way to drive normally so

. the amount im pushing the gas pedal also determines the direction the car is pointing by a noticeable amount and that last bit has me really confused, the problem seems to come from the right front area of the suspension and the 16in. c 203 rims i recently put on have made it worse. any help would be much appreciated.

t walgamuth · #2 04-22-2006, 05:39 AM

there is a horizontal link on the front of the rear suspension with a rubber bush at each end of it. i dont know the proper name of the link, but if you get down low and look in front of the axle right next to the rear wheel you will see it. i think you will find it is shot. common problem.

i bet a lot of the 124s got sold off because of this simple little problem. it makes the handling really squirrelly!

tom w

#3 04-22-2006, 07:08 AM

I agree.....check the rear sway bar bushings...if you can move them by hand , they need replacing !!!

t walgamuth · #4 04-22-2006, 07:25 AM

now the sway bar links would be vertical. the things i am talking of are horizontal. both will make the handling funny, but the original posters description of its response to throttle input, i think, indicate the horizontal links. the sway bar links could be bad too, though.

tom w

land sea air · #5 04-22-2006, 11:43 PM

well ive done all the sway bar bushings and the drag link, ive also replaced both rear control arms but im not sure i know which horizontal link is being refered to, i would go poke around under the car seeing as its raining i think ill try tomorrow...

haasman · #6 04-23-2006, 02:07 AM

John

Check your motor mounts.

Haasman

t walgamuth · #7 04-23-2006, 03:36 AM

now that link has a rubber bush at each end. the bushes go bad. not the whole link.

i really should try to find a diagram and give the right name for the part. anybody got a link for a picture of the rear susp for a 124?

tom w

haasman · #8 04-23-2006, 04:20 AM

This diagram is found at Performance Products online.

Haasman

t walgamuth · #9 04-23-2006, 05:44 AM

on that diagram, is the front of the car to the left?

it looks a lot different without the body of the car for reference.

tom w

land sea air · #10 04-23-2006, 12:15 PM

i replaced the motor mounts and the transmission mount a couple of months ago along with the transmission but now that i think of it one of the mounts was bad enough that the motor was resting on a suspension piece... the sway bar perhaps??? is this piece that we are looking for in the front or rear suspension? or both?

Johnhef · #11 04-23-2006, 12:32 PM

front is to the left in the pic, see the diff mount holes?

the rear arms are #7 in that picture that were replaced on his car. your engine was partially rubbing on the sway bar but mostly sitting on the subframe, i dont believe the sway bar was damaged by it, it wasnt abnormally bent.

t walgamuth · #12 04-23-2006, 01:48 PM

ok. front to left. the link i am thinking of must be #11.

it tends to wallow out the bushings on the pass side which allows the axle to move forward under acceleration and back under decel... this "steers" the car left or right depending upon whether you are accelerating or decellerating. very unnerving but pretty easy to fix.

tom w