C43 Suspension Lower on Driver Side......
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From: NJ
AMG
C43 Suspension Lower on Driver Side......
Ive find out very little discussion about our C43 being lower on the driver side. This is my 3rd C43,and trust me springs are well installed and still have driver side being lower.Anyone of you have had this problem or have found a way to avoid this,i know its probably heavier because of many things but hey i dont want to start putting different pads sizes on the sides! Im running H&R Super-Sport & #1 all around,Its more noticable on the rear 
..... Thanks In advance. Fred.
..... Thanks In advance. Fred.
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12' W204 C63 AMG coupe "T-Rex", 12' W451 Smart Fortwo Pulse (99' W202 C43 AMG + Ultima Can-Am sold)
Mine sits perfect on all corners and I weigh 95kg (yes I know I have to loose some weight, but life is too short for this kind of hassle) 
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eclectic assortment of cars
In what condition are your shocks? If they are worn out, you could have some ride height issues. Also, how much if a difference are you talking about? There could be some variation in the fenders - those holes for the fasteners can lead to some variation too.
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From: PDX
1999 C43, 2008 P30 E63, 2014 SQ5, 2024 Model Y Performance
I question how level the pavement is if this only occurs sometimes and other times your car sits level...
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the other day when my car was parked outside my house, it was leaniiiing to the right passengers side!
the other day when I snapped a few pics of the rear it had even level stance on another place???
WTF!
pavement on both places was even level, wweird
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Thread Starter
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From: NJ
AMG
I see alot of you guys change their shocks for the Bilstein Sport.. arent they the same as the stock Bilstein we have?
Last edited by FREDC43AMG; Aug 7, 2011 at 10:32 PM.
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From: Grand Rapids, MI
99 C43 AMG, 2001 CLK55 AMG
just to continue this topic, seems there have been a few threads like this but no resolution...
I just had my bilstein sport springs installed today. I get home and notice the leaning, about 5/8" higher on the driver side rear, or basically 3 fingers driver side and 2 fingers passenger. car was 2 fingers both sides before install (euro springs). the front is level, or ar least level enough to the naked eye.
i dropped the car back off at the shop after hours and left a note explaining, i will keep this thread updated on what i hear back tomorrow. But the springs and spring pads are only about 8 months/3000miles old, so that shouldn't be the issue. i know its random but i thought it could be possible that when they pulled the springs/shocks/spring pads that they might have put one of the fronts on the rear, etc but that would throw the front off too i would think, but who knows.
Its supposed to be the best German Auto shop in town so we will see how this goes. I will flip my lid if they try to pull the "we only installed your parts, we aren't responsible for what happens after they are on" card since they gave me the story about customer supplied parts.
I just had my bilstein sport springs installed today. I get home and notice the leaning, about 5/8" higher on the driver side rear, or basically 3 fingers driver side and 2 fingers passenger. car was 2 fingers both sides before install (euro springs). the front is level, or ar least level enough to the naked eye.
i dropped the car back off at the shop after hours and left a note explaining, i will keep this thread updated on what i hear back tomorrow. But the springs and spring pads are only about 8 months/3000miles old, so that shouldn't be the issue. i know its random but i thought it could be possible that when they pulled the springs/shocks/spring pads that they might have put one of the fronts on the rear, etc but that would throw the front off too i would think, but who knows.
Its supposed to be the best German Auto shop in town so we will see how this goes. I will flip my lid if they try to pull the "we only installed your parts, we aren't responsible for what happens after they are on" card since they gave me the story about customer supplied parts.
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From: Land of mountains, cheese, chocolate and watches
12' W204 C63 AMG coupe "T-Rex", 12' W451 Smart Fortwo Pulse (99' W202 C43 AMG + Ultima Can-Am sold)
I think I may have a solution to this question
When installing my KW adjustable suspension, I noticed on the front lower suspension arms there is not a cut out position to place the end of the spring spiral, so depending on where the end of the spring is positioned on the arm, it will give a different height when you put the vehicle down on its wheels.
The rear is no problem as there is only one way to install the springs due to the built in cut away in the lower suspension arm.
I stand to be corrected but I think this is the answer to a recurrent problem experienced by many owners ...
When installing my KW adjustable suspension, I noticed on the front lower suspension arms there is not a cut out position to place the end of the spring spiral, so depending on where the end of the spring is positioned on the arm, it will give a different height when you put the vehicle down on its wheels.
The rear is no problem as there is only one way to install the springs due to the built in cut away in the lower suspension arm.
I stand to be corrected but I think this is the answer to a recurrent problem experienced by many owners ...
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From: Chapel Hill, NC/Montreal, QC
1995 C36 AMG, 1998 C43 AMG
I think I may have a solution to this question
When installing my KW adjustable suspension, I noticed on the front lower suspension arms there is not a cut out position to place the end of the spring spiral, so depending on where the end of the spring is positioned on the arm, it will give a different height when you put the vehicle down on its wheels.
The rear is no problem as there is only one way to install the springs due to the built in cut away in the lower suspension arm.
I stand to be corrected but I think this is the answer to a recurrent problem experienced by many owners ...
When installing my KW adjustable suspension, I noticed on the front lower suspension arms there is not a cut out position to place the end of the spring spiral, so depending on where the end of the spring is positioned on the arm, it will give a different height when you put the vehicle down on its wheels.
The rear is no problem as there is only one way to install the springs due to the built in cut away in the lower suspension arm.
I stand to be corrected but I think this is the answer to a recurrent problem experienced by many owners ...
Member
Joined: May 2010
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From: Bay Area, CA
1998 Black Opal C43
I got the same problem!! Driver side rubs on the fender but passenger side doesn't. I don't think mine is a spring sitting issue though. Planning to swap out my spring pads with left and right to see it makes a difference.
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From: Land of mountains, cheese, chocolate and watches
12' W204 C63 AMG coupe "T-Rex", 12' W451 Smart Fortwo Pulse (99' W202 C43 AMG + Ultima Can-Am sold)
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From: NJ
AMG
I started this thread a while back ago... And still never understood why mine was leaning to the driver side. Had 3 C43's and the last one was the more noticable,took suspension apart many time and everything seemed ok... New H&R coil Springs and New Bilstein shocks didnt change anything. As for the way the Tip of the springs sits on one side and the other might change a little bit the eight because it sits on the opposite on each sides but never saw that on any other cars soo...? It might also be due to more weight on Driver side?? Anyways the best solution is to Put thicker Pads on the side wich looks lower,pads were actually created for this particular reason. I know have a w211 E63 and still have this type of problem and many others as comfirmed noticing lower driver side,might be a German Thing to make car sit straight and level on highways.
Last edited by FREDC43AMG; May 15, 2013 at 01:17 PM.
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maybe your springs got soggy and sagged over the years?
on certain pavement conditions mine is leaning a bit on the passengers side.
in other places it's sitting straight.
WTF?!
maybe springs gets weaker dropping their stiffness?
on certain pavement conditions mine is leaning a bit on the passengers side.
in other places it's sitting straight.
WTF?!
maybe springs gets weaker dropping their stiffness?
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From: New Zealand
C43 w/clk55 Organs
for equal level it is super important to do all the suspension bushes up while the car is flat on the ground. you will see all the bushes have line up marks which must be straight or lined up when the car is level!.
This can be akward to do so I actually ended up making 6mm steel plates with little nylon wheels which I used to bolt to the hub and drop the car on, which allowed easy access to all the bushes. alternatively a car hoist is needed.
This can be akward to do so I actually ended up making 6mm steel plates with little nylon wheels which I used to bolt to the hub and drop the car on, which allowed easy access to all the bushes. alternatively a car hoist is needed.
Last edited by Pagz; May 15, 2013 at 07:39 PM.
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From: Grand Rapids, MI
99 C43 AMG, 2001 CLK55 AMG
when i took my car back to the shop they redid my alignment, mostly because my steering wheel wasn't straight, not due to the leaning, but when they rechecked it after they only noticed a 1/4" difference (driver side being higher), whereas prior i had measured the difference at 5/8"
so its not much of a lean anymore, which i guess i am ok with. also mine was in the rear.
so its not much of a lean anymore, which i guess i am ok with. also mine was in the rear.
