ALL IN AND DONE

[TerryA]

Well, this past weekend I installed my new tie rods, drag link, steering damper and 4 new front stabilizer bar bushings.

This is a PITA job laying on your back. To quote Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon "I'm to old for this shit"

Anyway the results are great. My front end feels like new.

I have also installed my new Michelin Super Sports 245/18 up front and 275/18 in back. Between the tightened up front end and the new tires my car rides like a dream. I couldn't be happier with them.

Before I did this I was considering installing new struts and hardware now I'm not so sure. I will drive it for a few days and make up my mind. I do have to get an alignment so I can't wait to long.

Thanks to Dave for the help on the part numbers and to Gerry for the Parts.com info.

Take Care

 

[need2speed]

Brilliant! I shared your amazement at the improvement following replacement of the original links and bushings...a must do for anyone who wants to feel what the car was like when new! Does it help the ride on your new 18" rubber?

 

[Glen]

Nice job, Terry. How many miles does your car have?

 

[jano]

Very nice, Terry. How are you liking the super sports? Awesome, eh?

 

[TerryA]

Hi Glen,

I am into 127,200 miles now and climbing.

I have been commuting to Torrance a lot 66 mile RT. The roads in the South Bay area brought out the worst in my ride.

South Bay roads are really rough filled with potholes, ruts and just uneven asphalt. My car was getting trashed by them.

My old Michelin Pilot Sports (2 generations back (2004) could not handle the impacts. Between the old tires and the loose tie rods and one really bad stabilizer bar bushing it was to much.

Jano & Dean, I love the new Michelin Super Sports they are light years ahead of the old ones. The ride is pretty smooth, quiet and they really stick to the road. I could not have made a better choice.

I owe my tire choice to Jeff he made me a deal I couldn't refuse.

Next, I plan on checking out the rear links and stabilizer bar bushings. I already have to change out a rear wheel bearing which I am waiting for. It will be a good opportunity to really look over the rear suspension.

 

[szvook]

Nice work, Terry. Btw, did you check the condition of the idler arm?

 

[TerryA]

There was a little movement in the idler arm on the steering box when I had the tie rods off. It was just play when rotating it back and forth.

Just enough to hear it hitting a stop in either direction. Maybe a 1/16" or less. It seemed OK to me. With everything back together I can't feel anything thru the steering wheel.

There is also a dead man idler on the passenger side which I looked at but it seemed OK also.

All I can say is that the car is really responsive to steering input when turning right or left with the new tires. I LIKE THE WAY IT FEELS!!!!

Nice work, Terry. Btw, did you check the condition of the idler arm?

 

[szvook]

There was a little movement in the idler arm on the steering box when I had the tie rods off. It was just play when rotating it back and forth.

Just enough to hear it hitting a stop in either direction. Maybe a 1/16" or less. It seemed OK to me. With everything back together I can't feel anything thru the steering wheel.

There is also a dead man idler on the passenger side which I looked at but it seemed OK also.

Good to hear. I didn't know there's a dead man idler on the passenger side.

 

[gsxr]

FYI. The arm on the steering box is the Pitman arm. The "dead man" arm on the passenger side is the "steering idler arm" as referenced in the FSM link below. If there is more than 0.5-1.0mm play, the idler arm bushings should be replaced. The special tools referenced are NOT needed, the bushings will push in & out with hand tools. The hard part is pulling the main bolt out as it usually hits the exhaust or some other non-moveable item.

I replaced mine with the engine out (photo below). The blue hex-head is the top of the big center bolt that goes through the idler arm and bushings.

http://w124-zone.com/downloads/MB CD/W124/w124CD2/Program/Chassis/46-6317.pdf

 

[szvook]

Ah, got it.

 

[TerryA]

Dave,

Duh! You are absolutely right what was I thinking. It's been to long since I did front end work on my 300E but now I remember replacing the rubber bushings in the idler arm.

In the case of my 500E there was nothing wrong with the idler arm. The "Pitman Arm" had a little play in the right to left steering movement not in the shaft. The "Pitman Arm" is what I was referring to with Steve's inquiry.

Thanks for your help.

FYI. The arm on the steering box is the Pitman arm. The "dead man" arm on the passenger side is the "steering idler arm" as referenced in the FSM link below. If there is more than 0.5-1.0mm play, the idler arm bushings should be replaced. The special tools referenced are NOT needed, the bushings will push in & out with hand tools. The hard part is pulling the main bolt out as it usually hits the exhaust or some other non-moveable item.

I replaced mine with the engine out (photo below). The blue hex-head is the top of the big center bolt that goes through the idler arm and bushings.

http://w124-zone.com/downloads/MB CD/W124/w124CD2/Program/Chassis/46-6317.pdf

 

[Jelmer]

FYI. The arm on the steering box is the Pitman arm. The "dead man" arm on the passenger side is the "steering idler arm" as referenced in the FSM link below. If there is more than 0.5-1.0mm play, the idler arm bushings should be replaced.

Heh, I believe that part had nearly 1cm play (by hand!) before it got replaced. Mechanic phoned me saying he was too scared to drive it off the ramp for fear it would come clean off - talk about dodging the bullet.

 

[TerryA]

Curious about something,

I just called MB of South Bay and asked how much to align my front end. They came back with they only do 4 wheel alignments for $199.00. Not Cheap!!!

I can understand that they should be checking to see if the rear wheels are aligned with the front. Isn't everything in the rear fixed with no adjustments?

So I am asking here what's to align on the rear?

Also, I just received my new rear wheel bearing repair kit $81.00 from (elautoparts.com 10 days by FedX from FLA) and was going to install it after I got the alignment. I did not see any reason to wait. Should I wait?

 

[gsxr]

Terry, the rear toe is adjustable, so all 124's should get a 4-wheel alignment. However, $199 is outright theft. My dealer charges $99 and I'd expect it to be somewhere in the $120-$140 range tops.

If you are doing any rear-end work (i.e., bearings)... I'd get that done first, then get the car aligned. But I'd call some other MB dealerships first to get price quotes. They can't all be that bad!

 

[gerryvz]

Yeah, MB of Houston North charges $180 for a four-wheel alignment. Merc-knowledgeable indy shops with the right equipment in the Houston area can do it for $125.

 

[jano]

Terry - sadly, the dealer alignments in this area are all in that range, even a lot of the good independents. If you get a good sales advisor, they might negotiate? I got one here at Fletcher Jones that kindly dropped the road-force balance for me to $30/wheel (normal cost is something like $55).

The big wigs and those more experienced here all recommend going to the dealer, but if you are willing to venture out to the independents, I would recommend Glenn at Glenn's Alignment, 949-631-2888. He does a lot of high end vehicles.

 

[TerryA]

Terry, the rear toe is adjustable, so all 124's should get a 4-wheel alignment. However, $199 is outright theft. My dealer charges $99 and I'd expect it to be somewhere in the $120-$140 range tops.

If you are doing any rear-end work (i.e., bearings)... I'd get that done first, then get the car aligned. But I'd call some other MB dealerships first to get price quotes. They can't all be that bad!

Thanks for the input on the rear tow.

I will install the rear wheel bearing first and then check around to a better price on the alignment.

Dave, As far as a better price from an SoCal MB dealer. There are no cheap MB dealers around here. This isn't Boise.

I will try to find an indy shop that I can trust. Maybe someone local can recommend an alignment shop.

 

[TerryA]

Terry - sadly, the dealer alignments in this area are all in that range, even a lot of the good independents. If you get a good sales advisor, they might negotiate? I got one here at Fletcher Jones that kindly dropped the road-force balance for me to $30/wheel (normal cost is something like $55).

The big wigs and those more experienced here all recommend going to the dealer, but if you are willing to venture out to the independents, I would recommend Glenn at Glenn's Alignment, 949-631-2888. He does a lot of high end vehicles.

Jano,

Thanks for reminding me about Glen's. They did and alignment on my 300E about 15 years ago and did a good job.

Anyway I called them and they want $145.00 for the 4 wheel alignment which is more reasonable. I will probably be using them next week.

 

[gsxr]

Now that's more like it ($145). Just make sure they center the steering box before starting, and that they use a spreader bar when setting the front toe. Usually just centering the steering wheel is adequate, but if they don't use a spreader bar for the toe, it won't be correct...

 

[TerryA]

Now that's more like it ($145). Just make sure they center the steering box before starting, and that they use a spreader bar when setting the front toe. Usually just centering the steering wheel is adequate, but if they don't use a spreader bar for the toe, it won't be correct...

.

Duly Noted, I'm pretty nuts about the steering wheel being straight when I am on level ground.

I want to be able to take my hands off of the wheel and the car will go straight down the road and the steering wheel is perfectly straight.

Even after R&R the tie rods it still goes straight down the road with my hands off of the wheel but the steering wheel is a little off center.

BTW, can you re-post that alignment chart you have from your alignment? or point me to it here.

Thanks Dave

 

[jano]

Terry - if you talk with Glen(n?) again, would you mind inquiring as to their balancing, if they do it on-car (I know they don't have a road force balancer)? I called there several times a couple weeks ago and don't want to be a pain in case they have caller id :-?

Also, to append Dave's recommendations, I don't know if Glenn does this, but try to get a before/after printout that many of the new machines do.

 

[gsxr]

Terry, here ya go!

1992 500E alignment sheet:
http://www.w124performance.com/images/cars/92_500E/1992_500E_alignment.jpg

1994 E500 alignment sheet:
http://www.w124performance.com/images/cars/94_E500/1994_E500_alignment.jpg

 

[TerryA]

Dave, Thanks

Jano, as you can see Dave sent me the computer readouts I will show them to Glen.

As for the "road force balancing" I will ask. I'm not sure what it is.

I could not open your post it was a blank screen.

Is that where they spin the tires on the car? I had that done once and thought it was a waste of $$$$

 

[jano]

No no no, they don't do road force balancing I know that, sorry I'm not clear .

Kindly ask if they do "high speed on car balancing". That's balancing the wheels while on the car I think (dave mentioned it in the wiki). Here's the wiki link and discussion:
http://www.500eboard.com/forums/showwiki.php?title=Road_Force_Balancing_your_wheels

 

[JordiC]

The Bill Ussery dealerships in Miami (both locations) had each quoted me the same price range of $175-$275 for 4 wheel alignment. They said the exact amount would be given once they inspected the car.

 

[JordiC]

Hey Terry, I'm assuming the nuts were included with the arms but they were bagged together separately, correct?

 

[TerryA]

Hi Jordi,

That's correct but I didn't use them because I wasn't sure that they were self-locking.

They appeared different than the ones I took off which had the plastic top thread.

I elected to use my old ones which were still in good condition.

The new nuts probably are correct they did come from an MB warehouse. The self-locking devise is probably a cross thread or a really tight thread at the top of the nut. They were cheap like under $3.00 for all 8.

Take Care

 

[Rudy]

Well, this past weekend I installed my new tie rods, drag link, steering damper and 4 new front stabilizer bar bushings.

This is a PITA job laying on your back. To quote Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon "I'm to old for this shit"

Anyway the results are great. My front end feels like new.

I have also installed my new Michelin Super Sports 245/18 up front and 275/18 in back. Between the tightened up front end and the new tires my car rides like a dream. I couldn't be happier with them.

Before I did this I was considering installing new struts and hardware now I'm not so sure. I will drive it for a few days and make up my mind. I do have to get an alignment so I can't wait to long.

Thanks to Dave for the help on the part numbers and to Gerry for the Parts.com info.

Take Care

Hi Terry,
I cant see the P/N for the screws in the bad. Can you provide this No., too, please.
And: how much you paid for the hole set of 7 parts. I checked with MB and its roughly 350 € - 450$
Thanks,
Rudy

 

[DarkStar]

I've always been curious about the aircraft green / gray paint....why not black...works for everything else.

 

[J-Sauce]

Terry, I curious what the quality of the work done by Glen was. I am in need of an alignment and $145 sounds reasonable. Better than Walter's $190. Cheers!

 

[zman]

Terry, excellent choice of rubber. I recently threw a set on my wife's 08 c350 sport and they are amazing..even better than the original conti contact 3's. I am definitely going to install them on my 500