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420 SEL Rear Suspension Problem

During an icy spell, I managed to run the right rear tire of my 420SEL into a curb. The rim was sufficiently bent/gouged at the bead to warrant replacing it since it would no longer hold air. While I wait for the new rim to arrive, I put the spare on which appears to be the identical alloy rim. Now whenever I hit a hole or a rough patch of pavement, the rear end seems to bounce in a series of jarring small bumps and the rear end looses traction causing the car to momentarily jump sideways. The questions I have are: Is toe-in, caster, and camber adjustable on the rear of these cars and could one of these now be out of adjustment? Could I have bent the bolts securing the trailing arm to the body? Could I have actually bent the trailing arm or is this highly unlikely? Thank you.

Reply to
T.C. Mann
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Sure, any of the horrors you mention COULD be true, but it could also be that the shock absorber isn't functioning and so is allowing the now uncontrolled wheel to bounce on the pavement.

Reply to
T.G. Lambach

a burst accumulator bladder in the case of hydropnumatic rear suspension, once the leaked nitrogen is all out of the system, that strut will be hydraulically locked and no suspension travel will happen at all on that wheel. Makes for interesting handling!

Reply to
Ziggy Switkowski

True but the 420SEL doesn't have those, only the 5X0 models do.

Reply to
T.G. Lambach

Mercedes just ships cars to the US the way they think people want options, but you can order anythng you like including a 4 wheel hydraulic suspention. They're rare as hens teeth but I've seen a 280SEL like this.

Reply to
Richard Sexton

Sound like your sway bar link broke... Also check your rear wheel bearing.

Reply to
Tiger

I got my tire mounted on the new rim and put back on the car - no change. I took the car to the alignment shop and was told that the right trailing arm was slightly bent (leading edge of tire bent outwards (toe-out) by 14 degrees from center. I checked around and the lowest price on a new trailing arm is around $1300!!! Not wanting to bite the bullet just yet, I found that the Parts Bin sells eccentric trailing arm bushings for under $17 each. Their P/N is L2006-16072. I am assuming that these are specifically designed to allow toe, caster, and camber to be adjusted. Has anyone tried using these before and do you think this would solve my problem?

Also, how difficult is it to replace the trailing arm bushings and is this a DIY job? (I have lots of tools and a spring compressor).

Thank you,

T.C.

Reply to
T.C. Mann

I had to replace a 126 rear trailing arm 3 years ago due to a crack. I got a good used one for $100. Labout was about the same.

Reply to
Richard Sexton

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