Rear lower control arm to wheel carrier alignment problem

[LaugeR129]

I have a problem getting my rear lower control arm to align with the wheel carrier after having removed the spring.

I replaced the wheel carrier outer joint that connects the rear wheel carrier to the lower control arm. To do this I disconnected the shock absorber and sway-bar link. Then I removed the bolt connecting the wheel carrier assembly to the rear control-arm. Using a jack, I lowered the arm removing the tension from the spring.

But when trying to reassemble and raising the control-arm (and putting tension on the spring) the control-arm and the wheel carrier no long aligns. It’s pretty far of maybe half an inch.

I have tried removing the spring and then everything aligns nicely if I raise the control arm without the spring. But when with the spring mounted the control-arm is too far towards the front of the car. The spring is rotated correctly, so it aligns with the end of the groove. Exactly as in the pelican parts guide (last picture #16)

Mercedes-Benz R129 Rear Coil Spring Replacement- SL500, 500SL, 300SL, SL320, 600SL, SL600 (1990 - 2002) - Pelican Parts Technical Article

Is your rear ride height lower than normal or do you want to install lowering springs? Well follow this procedure to do it yourself.

www.pelicanparts.com

The problem seems to be related with the spring or the tension from the spring. But I have taken the spring out several times and re-assembled it again, but every time it ends up with the alignment problem the I raise the control-arm.

If anyone here have any idea what I am doing wrong it'll be much appreciated!

 

[gsxr]

This is normal. The rear wheel carrier will move around when not bolted to the LCA. You need to force it into place while raising the LCA, being very careful not to damage the boots on the new outer joint. This isn't easy. The Pelican thread only discusses disassembly, not reassembly.

Also, the Pelican writeup is needlessly difficult. If only removing the rear spring, you SHOULD NEVER disconnect the outer end of the LCA from the wheel carrier. Instead, remove the INNER pivot bolt for the LCA. This is far easier to re-install, and does not require disconnecting either the shock or sway bar. Installation is complicated by the need to torque the inner bolt only with the weight of the vehicle compressing the spring to normal ride height, but there are various methods to accomplish this.

If only replacing the outer wheel carrier joint, there's no need to remove the spring, nor disconnect the shock/swaybar. Click here for the 500Eboard HOW-TO procedure, see posts #16-#22 with details about only replacing the outer joint - this also has some installation tips you may find useful. Additional support joint discussion is in this thread. The Pelican thread is, ahem, for the birds.

 

[geraniumtr]

LaugeR129, Dave is correct, absolutely normal. If you place your floor jack under the control arm and raise it slightly you should be able to move the jack a bit to align the arm with the wheel carrier. I also put some silicone grease on the inside surfaces of the arm to help slide the wheel carrier into position.


Regards,

Peter

 

[TerryA]

@LaugeR129,
You might first reassemble everything without the spring in place. This I think would prevent you from having to force all of the parts together and then follow gsxr’s advice in the above thread.

With the INNER pivot bolt removed it is fairly easy to replace the spring and then jack the lower control arm back into place with a small secondary jack. I did this job on my back in the driveway.

 

[LaugeR129]

Wow thanks a lot for all the good and fast replies!

I tried pushing the wheel carrier down, with only the LCA raised slightly using a jack. And it seems it might align better this way, for whatever reason. But I didn’t have the strength to get the carrier all the way down to LCA. So, I’ll try and get some help from a friend.

Otherwise, I’ll try the method with the inner bolt, but would rather not have to worry about getting it torqued at ride height.

Was also thinking, if I used a spring compressor (I don’t have one at the moment that fits) if that would help. But my guess is the spring would have to be compressed quite a bit. So maybe that wouldn’t help at all?

I'll of course keep you updated with my progress - and hopefully also success

Again, thanks for the tips and suggestions. It’s much appreciated!