Is my W124 1994 E420 chassis hight normal, lowered, or sagging?

[Andras]

I am the fourth owner and the car is about 14 years old. I wonder if the chassis height is normal, or lowered, or simply sagging under the weight of the engine. I measured the distance between the ground and the rubber jack pad:
Front: 6.25"
Rear: 6.5"
Are these numbers and the difference between the two normal?

I also took some side-view pictures of my car.

Picture 1: https://app.onlinephotofiler.com/images/A_4/2/8/8/8824/Picture_002small_16e7f.JPG
Picture 2: https://app.onlinephotofiler.com/images/A_4/2/8/8/8824/Picture_001small_76783.JPG

Each shock and strut has a large "2" printed on it. I don't know what that signifies.

My front dives too low on wavy road surface, but not on potholes. When it dives too low, the tire touches the fender wheel opening. I am pretty certain I need front struts, but may also need front springs. Without knowing the correct chassis height, it might be impossible to choose between comfort or sport struts, if the springs are not to be replaced. Should the springs be replaced?

Please help!

[POS]

Looking at the pictures, the ride height looks normal, but it looks like you have some 16" wheels with lower profile tires. Are you sure the rubbing is from bottoming out, or it from the wrong tire size? Normally, I'd say to do the "bounce test" on the shocks to see if they react worn. My usual procedure is to do the shocks first, then let that tell you if you need to do the springs.

[Arthur Dalton]

Looks normal, but these chassis are infamous for broken front spring at the last 2-3" of the coil at the bottom...you have to take the tire off and look in the bottom real close with a good light.
Mostly common in Norther/Winter climate zones ..if that is found to be the case , then when replacing the springs, ask for the Zinc Spring insert end caps..very cheap and will stop the fatique of the new spring at the bottom perch/mount.

[Andras]

POS,

Thanks for your reply. The wheels on the picture are 15", but the tires are wider than OEM 215/60R15 Bridgestone Potenza RE950. This evening I installed my snow tires, which are 195/65R15 Winterforce. I will see if the fender touching continues. I did the bounce test of the shocks and they seem fine. They are stiff, hard to press, and return immediately to resting position. Please see pictures below.

Arthur Dalton,

Thanks for your reply. As I changed to my snow tires, I looked at the front suspension and took some pictures. The springs are positively not broken.


My spring with colored dots: https://app.onlinephotofiler.com/images/A_4/2/8/8/8824/xny0dcfr.JPG

My spring from behind with more misterious dots visible: https://app.onlinephotofiler.com/images/A_4/2/8/8/8824/2k13gjof.JPG

My front lower control arm bushing is a little cracked, but I guess it is OK: https://app.onlinephotofiler.com/images/A_4/2/8/8/8824/jfp23bf3.JPG

My other control arm bushing looks better: https://app.onlinephotofiler.com/images/A_4/2/8/8/8824/fhhkmoku.JPG

My lower ball joint seems happy. It has no movement when prying under wheel nor lateral movement: https://app.onlinephotofiler.com/images/A_4/2/8/8/8824/ev1jx5vt.JPG

My upper mount from below seems cracked: https://app.onlinephotofiler.com/images/A_4/2/8/8/8824/4ifychmp.JPG

My strut bump stop looks worn or damaged: https://app.onlinephotofiler.com/images/A_4/2/8/8/8824/l2xclh5c.JPG

My upper mount from above seems cracked: https://app.onlinephotofiler.com/images/A_4/2/8/8/8824/opxoppqd.JPG

My upper mount,another pic: https://app.onlinephotofiler.com/images/A_4/2/8/8/8824/nkcoj3zr.JPG

My driver side upper mount seems worse: https://app.onlinephotofiler.com/images/A_4/2/8/8/8824/x2p1m5c1.JPG

Should I change the struts, the upper mount and bump stop, or neither? There is also some clunking when going over potholes, more on the left wide than right. Since my ball joints look good, I would attribute that to the upper mounts or possibly struts. But again, bouncing the car shows firmness and instant return to normal position.

Thanks,

Andras

[t walgamuth]

The bounce test really does not work for bilsteins. They can lose their effectiveness and give a rough ride without failing totally. The small area where they move up and down in normal driving will wear out and the areas above and below not be worn at all, giving a poor ride but on the bounce test working just fine.

Tom W

[david s poole]

i would replace the upper mounts on the shocks first[cheap and easy to do].one of the ways that i check front end on your car is to push down on front bumper and see if suspension has enough travel.bilsteins tend to lose the travel but still provide shocking action as they wear.gut feeling----with mounts that worn i would replace both.

[Andras]

David,

I push down on the bumper and it is stiff, travels about an inch with smooth and constant resistance. I don't know if these are Bilstein struts, or how old they are, unless you can tell from the photos.

t walgamuth,

I do have poor ride, not only because the summer tires hit the fender (I am checking if this happens with my winter tires), but also have loose steering, most evident around 40 mph when traveling straight. On turns at the same speed it is sure-footed. At speeds over 60 mph it is more steady, the faster I go the happier and the more steady the car seems to be. (Maybe it is homesick for the autobahn.) I checked and replaced all worn steering components and adjusted the gearbox. When lifted and shaken by hand both front wheels are steady without any free-play or clunking. I am thinking the cracked upper mounts and the possibly worn struts may cause the loose steering. As mentioned earlier, I also have some clunking on both sides when going over potholes.

[david s poole]

from what i recall you should have about 3 times that amount of travel.i certainly do on my 88te.

[Larry Delor]

Your sway bar bushings are quite worn.
See top right of this picture -> https://app.onlinephotofiler.com/images/A_4/2/8/8/8824/ev1jx5vt.JPG

They are inexpensive, and you need two wrenches to put them on (and a little bit of muscle, but not lots). You will notice an improvement.

[Andras]

Larry,

Thanks for picking this up. I missed it, and the bushings are probably responsible for at least part of my problems.

[Andras]

I replaced all parts in question and most of my problems have been resolved, except the car still seems to have somewhat loose steering, most evident around 40 mph when traveling straight. The steering wheel has a 1" play without moving the wheels. I think I can eliminate some of the play by tightening the steering gear to 1/2" play.

Here are the details of what I did and their affect:

I changed the wheels and tires from 215/60R15 Bridgestone Potenza RE950 to my snow tires, which are 195/65R15 Winterforce. The rubbing of fender lip over wavy roads stopped. I am no longer concerned with my chassis height, springs, struts. I will get 5 (1 for spare) 8-hole 16" wheels and 205 size Kumho tires for Spring to Fall.

I changed the 4 front sway bar bushings. This improved steering response, and probably eliminated the clunking noise.

I changed the upper mounts, bellows, and bump stops. This improved the road feel; unevenness of the surface is transferred to the car better.

Thank you again for all who helped!

[Larry Delor]

Glad to hear there was improvement.

Did you replace the rear sway bar links as well?

[Andras]

I did not get a chance to closely look at or touch the rear yet. The front outer sway bar bushings were so worn, once I unbolted their brackets they practically fell off!

[Larry Delor]

I replaced mine, and it was pretty easy to do. I had to take the wheel off to get to them easily. Probably took 10 - 15 mins a side (inc. wheel removal).

[Xsbank]

Idler arm bushings! $20 kit, about an hour's work; found them on my 300SEL, clunk in front end, found the bushings shot! If you can't wiggle the bolt out (throw it away any way) cut the head off it and install upside down so you don't have to remove the entire exhaust from the manifold back! Don't even have to remove the tie rod joint thingies.

I've learned my lesson about betting, but I'll bet yours are shot too!