S210 adjustable rear toe arm

[johnsco]

It was necessary to grind thru the
arm into the bolt - Just to free things up.
All was well-and-truly seized solid.

If your tyre wear is so-serious, your problem may be more than just a bit of adjustment to the toe-in.

 

[johnsco]

Two almost simultaneous replies !!
How's that ?

 

[kth286]

Grinder mmmmm yes I could see that sort of
Did you grind the bolt or through the arm and then the bolt?
I was thinking to hacksaw just the bolt at both ends then drilling the bolt out to re use the arm but that is just being tight i guess
Having only got 5000 miles out my tyres so far,not illegal but nearly smooth on the inside because of the camber, yes i know the large amount of camber is to improve handling but I was thinking of slightly reducing the camber on the bottom arm by elongating the hole with a die grinder, then weld a washer in place to pull the bottom of the wheel in, to give less Neg but still have slight neg and then I wouldnt need so much toe in, rather than spend loads on adjustable arms.
Surely a little wouldnt hurt and I would think that the toe in is purely there to offset the wear caused by the camber?
cheers
mark

Such excess wear as that will not be the camber, it will be a toe problem.

 

[jetboy]

I'm pretty sure it's camber wear, it's worn the tread (nearly) smooth on the very inside.
Despite a quick search I can't find the geometry report, I hope to get it checked again in the next few days, but until then from memory ....
Just under 2 degrees negative camber and just be over 2mm toe in, for each wheel

 

[Dieselman]

The toe is correct the camber is too deep, should be 1-38' +- 0-03'

The camber is affected by ride height, which in your avatar picture looks too low.

 

[jetboy]

Dieselman The toe is correct the camber is too deep, should be 1-38' +- 0-03'

The camber is affected by ride height, which in your avatar picture looks too low.
Thankyou for that, Im not saying it is not too low because it proabably is but that foto was taking on a sloping floor , if you look in the centre of the car,the line where the concrete join is, its not flat and points slighlty up
I have measured from the centre of the wheel to the bottom of the arch and the following confirms more work required as it sits down on the right rear
nsf 346 osf 345
nsr 357 osr 340 all mm's
I was thinking about getting from merc some of the spring packers to lift it on the right rear a little but I think the correct answer involves quite alot bigger spends.
I have checked the springs which as suspected and probably usual for that kind of age, are rusty, although I wouldnt say excessively and I guess they have sagged at best
The offside rear strut ram thingy has a slight misting of oil but not running out,I keep meaning to wipe it clean to see how bad the seepage is,but she doesnt loose (I nearly said use but that wasn't right) any quantity of oil, no top up required in 6 months.
I do love her but I think i'm just about to find out how much that luxurious motoring costs,
mind you the last spends was nearly 300 quid on dynamat and nearly a grand on a stereo amp and sub (which sits where the spare wheel used to go), I know its not break the bank money but I am poor, and feeling poorer by the minute
Thanking you in anticipation and hoping you understand my onf finger poking typing
Mark

 

[Dieselman]

Probably the OSR spring is broken at the base.

I wonder if ram seepage is caused by the spheres getting hard so not able to absorb the sudden pressure changes as readily.

 

[jetboy]

Hopefully it abit clearer on the bigger pic?

Mark

 

[jetboy]

Do you mean by the spheres being hard that the suspension is also, she feels firm but comfortable to drive, unbeliveable handling for the size of the car. the bounce test I would say is also firm but not excessive, Ill try the bounce again test tommorrow.
I will also measure the arch gap when she has been running, is it possible she sags more when left for a day before going home after work?
cheers
Mark

 

[jetboy]

Sorry for cross replies, I checked the springs all the way down and initially did think it was broken but it was just the outer painted cover and yes quite rusty in parts.
I wasnt sure if the springs would lift it back up or the prolem was the ram, I guess possibly a bit of both.
Is there a good spring set to consider as I guess oe will be expensive, parts supply only?
Thankyou

 

[ivandraganov]

I've the same problem,your car is getting too heavy with all that baggage in the boot.The problem is exacerbated with wide wheels and the original arms aren't fully adjustable....

 

[Will]

Do you mean by the spheres being hard that the suspension is also, she feels firm but comfortable to drive, unbeliveable handling for the size of the car. the bounce test I would say is also firm but not excessive, Ill try the bounce again test tommorrow.
I will also measure the arch gap when she has been running, is it possible she sags more when left for a day before going home after work?
cheers
Mark

Sorry for cross replies, I checked the springs all the way down and initially did think it was broken but it was just the outer painted cover and yes quite rusty in parts.
I wasnt sure if the springs would lift it back up or the prolem was the ram, I guess possibly a bit of both.
Is there a good spring set to consider as I guess oe will be expensive, parts supply only?
Thankyou

Have another look to be certain. I've just tonight replaced the OSR coil spring on my 1999 E320 210 Estate. It can sometimes not be obvious until you look very closely as they normally break right down at the bottom.

Best to buy genuine MB springs as they are properly matched to your car/spec etc. Euro Car Parts quoted me two totally different part numbers for my car from two different branches so at least one on them was obviously wrong. Price wise MB genuine spring, with correct colour markings (3x blue dots) was around £65 including VAT - so not particularly expensive (I think ECP were around £40ish a side - possibly plus VAT - but I wasn't confident that was for the correct part anyway..)

Fitting was straightforward - around an hour's work - only 11 bolts in total the way I did it (5 of those wheel bolts ) and you can do it with basic tools - trolley jack/axle stands/sockets/pry bar etc.

 

[Will]

What it looked like in place on the car:

 

[Dieselman]

Fitting was straightforward - around an hour's work - only 11 bolts in total the way I did it (5 of those wheel bolts ) and you can do it with basic tools - trolley jack/axle stands/sockets/pry bar etc.

You don't need the wheels off, just run the car up ramps then raise onto axle stands under the inner wishbone bush, remove the bolt, jack the car up to lower the inner wishbone end, pull down to release spring.

Reverse procedure.

 

[Will]

You don't need the wheels off, just run the car up ramps then raise onto axle stands under the inner wishbone bush, remove the bolt, jack the car up to lower the inner wishbone end, pull down to release spring.

Reverse procedure.

Yep - I know you can undo the inner bolt, but access was an issue for me, and I had no ramps this time round where I was working (outside at the kerbside, in the dark...!)

To remove the wheel took less than sixty seconds (cordless impact gun).

Doing it this way meant that I could use the impact gun on the other bolts which made it quick for me and I didn't have to get under the car either.

With better access I'd probably undo the inner bolt but this really was quite straightforward. With the car jacked up/on stands and the wheel off there's very little tension on the spring either.

 

[jetboy]

Thankyou all, you have all helped,
I am fortunate enough to have access to a 2 poster ramp so i'll try abit of both and thankyou for the advice, especially as now I know the spring can be taken out by removing lower arm at either end.
I did have a quick look the other day, going as far as undoing the inner arm but not taking the bolt out, I did support it ready to take the bolt out but as the arm bends and the support was on wheels,so I bottled out and did the bolt up, time had ran out and I had to get home quickly is another way of putting it
Do you also have to undo the ram bolts to allow the arm to be extended further?
The bolt count of 11-5=6
2 shock (sorry ram) bolts
1 arm bolt
the other 3?
Thanks guys and sorry for the lack of grammer, belive meit took about half an hour to do this reply and I have trouble inserting previous quotes
Mark

 

[jetboy]

The other 3 are 2 on the plastic cover and the stab link
:bannana:

 

[Will]

Yep I counted 11 doing it from the outside as I did - obviously less to remove if you undo the inner bolt instead, but I didn't have to get under the car this way!

5x wheel bolts (17mm)
2x plastic lower cover bolts (10mm)
2x bottom bolts on the strut (aka 'damper/shock') (16mm?)
1x ARB link arm bolt (10mm)
1x outer rear arm/hub bolt (21/22mm?)

Easy/straightforward to do. Even easier in daylight/warm or with better access!

Now MOT'd for another 12 months, albeit with a few expected advisories!

 

[jetboy]

Yep 11 it is... Or in my case 22.
took the low side apart to have a proper check and thought while I'm there I may aswel take the other spring out to compare...
No different in length so put them back in but the opposite side and it's still low on the drivers side, so not a complete waste of time considering I was going to buy new springs.
I'm just not sure which problem bothers me more-it sits lopsided or wears the inside of the Tyre, I may replace the springs and would do all 4 but that isn't why she's not level.
The springs have 2 blue and 1 white Mark on, they are approximately 318mm long.
Does anyone know the length of a new one please?
Thanks
Mark

 

[Dieselman]

Is the rubber spring pad in place?