I had the front struts, mounts, bump stops, sway bar bushing and lower control arms replaced on my 95 e420 last week. When I went to pick up the car, the car was sitting about 1.5 - 2 inches higher than normal. I thought that the car just needed to be driven for the suspension to be settled. As of today, it is still sitting high. The springs were the original ones and so is the spring pad. Does anyone have any idea what happened? I am bringing it back to the shop next week to get it checked.
-
Hi Guest !
Welcome to the 500Eboard forum.
Since its founding in late 2008, 500Eboard has become the leading resource on the Internet for all things related to the Mercedes-Benz 500E and E500. In recent years, we have also expanded to include the 400E and E420 models, which are directly related to the 500E/E500.
We invite you to browse and take advantage of the information and resources here on the site. If you find helpful information, please register for full membership, and you'll find even more resources available. Feel free to ask questions, and make liberal use of the "Search" function to find answers.
We hope you will become an active contributor to the community!
Sincerely,
500Eboard Management
Suspension question - Ride height increase after shop work
- Thread starter dds28
- Start date
New struts will cause the front end to be higher than it was with old/worn struts, but not 1.5+ inches! 
Sounds like the shop tightened the lower control arm eccentric bolts with the car up in the air, not on the grounded / loaded / "ready to drive" as the FSM specifies.
BTW - what brand of new lower control arms did you have installed, since OE have been NLA for a while? Did you ask the shop to keep the old ones? If the ball joints are not damaged/loose, the LCA's can be rebuilt.
Sounds like the shop tightened the lower control arm eccentric bolts with the car up in the air, not on the grounded / loaded / "ready to drive" as the FSM specifies.
BTW - what brand of new lower control arms did you have installed, since OE have been NLA for a while? Did you ask the shop to keep the old ones? If the ball joints are not damaged/loose, the LCA's can be rebuilt.
Thanks Dave. I had to settle for the TRW ones since I couldn't buy the OE. I saw the old ones when I picked up the car. Shucks, I didn't realize that you could rebuild the ball joints. The old joints seemed ok. The boots were all deteriorated but definitely not seized.New struts will cause the front end to be higher than it was with old/worn struts, but not 1.5+ inches!
Sounds like the shop tightened the lower control arm eccentric bolts with the car up in the air, not on the grounded / loaded / "ready to drive" as the FSM specifies.
BTW - what brand of new lower control arms did you have installed, since OE have been NLA for a while? Did you ask the shop to keep the old ones? If the ball joints are not damaged/loose, the LCA's can be rebuilt.
So to correct the problem, do you loosen the eccentric bolts on the ground and tighten them?
The ball joints cannot be "rebuilt", but if there's zero play, they can be re-greased and new boots installed - then you replace the rubber bushings as well. I'd see if the shop hasn't yet discarded or recycled them.
Correct! The car needs an alignment any time the LCA's are replaced, btw. First get the ride height sorted though.
Whooaaaaa. That's nuts. It looks like you are currently 2-3" taller than normal. Almost certainly due to LCA's being torqued with the wheels fully extended.
Can you measure from wheel center to fender lip, as shown below? Stock E420 would be in the ballpark of 15.0 inches with new struts.
BTW - what brand/model struts were installed?
Can you measure from wheel center to fender lip, as shown below? Stock E420 would be in the ballpark of 15.0 inches with new struts.
BTW - what brand/model struts were installed?
I am not sure what they did to be honest. My car is a 1995 e420
take it back to where you got it installed and have them fix it. Or call your credit card company and dispute the charge as an attention getter. I did this job myself and without a lift so what Dave suggests seems very likely. The boys where hanging free so to speak when they tightened up the bolts. The struts are extended because that is how they were installed. Catch more flies with honey, but after they fix it, find a shop that actually has experience with the model. If you see a chilton's manual anywhere on their shelf, they are not your place.
Last edited:
Took my car to the alignment shop. The guy doing the alignment loosened the bolts to the LCA and retightened it. The car eventually settled to the correct ride height. Thank you Dave and everyone for the advice! Now I need to get the center link and steering damper replaced. Too much play in the right wheel.
@dds28,
To much play in one wheel (the right in your case) would probably be the tie rod end bushings. The center link might also be bad but if only one wheel is affected to me indicates tie rod bushing.
I replaced everything on my 500E steering assembly including the damper and then had the car aligned. No problems since.
To much play in one wheel (the right in your case) would probably be the tie rod end bushings. The center link might also be bad but if only one wheel is affected to me indicates tie rod bushing.
I replaced everything on my 500E steering assembly including the damper and then had the car aligned. No problems since.
Last edited:
Could it not also be the idler arm bushing? I recall having mine replaced many years ago for that very reason.
RayH
You NEED to loosen the LCA bolts on both sides, with the car under load (up on ramps is fine -- NOT up in the air), and retighten them.
"Eventually settled to the correct ride height" is not good -- it means that twisting strain was put on the rubber bushings, from the car's weight, and this will dramatically shorten the life of the bushings. I would immediately get the car up on ramps (or a drive-on rack) and loosen and re-tighten the LCA bolts. Don't wait on this.
Thanks Gerry for the advice. Your are right. I guess I chose wrong wording "eventually". The car was on the ramp with the suspension was loaded when the bolts were loosened and then re-tightened. The car was settled into the correct when the bolts were loosened while on the ramp and then tightened.
Terry suggested tie rod bushings could be worn on excessive side to side movement of the wheel. Are tie rods discontinued? I couldn't find it online.
Search the forum for tie rod assembly info. Some of the original part numbers are NLA/discontinued but there are functional equivalents still available from the dealership.
