rivcal4life

Does/has anyone have an issue with their rear driver wheel being farther forward than the passenger side? I changed tire size recently and only my driver side rubs. I looked closer, and the tire is about a half inch or farther forward than the other side, leaving almost no clearance at all.

I believe this could be a thrust arm issue? Or maybe an adjustable control arm like in the front? I really don't know, and I can't get under the car until tomorrow evening or maybe Tuesday. I can usually figure stuff like this out on my own, but it would be nice to know what to look out for.

Thanks in advance guys.

PS: Sorry for the crappy composition of this post; it's 2:30am and Im a big fat sleepy head.

Makahveli

Well I here what your saying, with most cars the driver side is usually more off centered like that to accomadate for the driver sense in most cases believe it or not a driver mostly drives alone. Sometimes when you buy a set of wheels one wheel is offset differently to counter this, but sorry I not to helpful towards the trustarm part!!!

rivcal4life

Hey Im not sure I understand what youre saying here. Why would they put one wheel farther forward than the other ever, and how could a wheel counter this?

I also realize that every tire Ive had on that side had always worn down prematurely.

Makahveli

I know this is true with some cars, but mercedes could be different. But usually when a driver is sitting in a car it will slightly make the car lean more off to the drivers side because of the drivers weight. And eventually with time this side with sag a bit more and will be noticable with the eye. Its more common though with cars that have leaf spring setups. In a cars life the driver is in the car alone more than a driver with passengers to even the weight distribution, or cargo setup. Have you ever seen a freight truck with a majority of the load to one side? The truck will lean to one side. Alot of car makers counter this by putting the gas tank allong the passenger side for weight distribution, but our cars have the gas tanks centered behind the rear seats so that isn't true for our cars. But let me say this again I'm just listing a thought that came to mind and this probly isn't even the answer to your question. Heck whenever I have people in the back seat of my car my tires rub in the rear cause of the sagging to the rear and I know I'm not the only guy here to experience that!!!

appatula

Look underneath the rear wheel and find the suspension link forward the tire, it should have an eccentric offset bolt bolted on the frame, that is for toe. It seems as if your toe could be extremely out of spec? When was the last time you had gotten a full alignment? Just a quick .02 cents for my buddy

rivcal4life

Yeah as you said and I expected, it was the toe adjustment. I maxed it out today and it still isnt where it should be.

It was getting dark, so I couldnt check, but are you aware of another adjustment for the rear of the wheel for the toe? The front control arm has a forward and a rear exxentric offset bolt. Just curious if the back has another also.

Thanks App!

YNVDIZW124

It's ok, i don't think no one cares. Half of the time i don't know what im saying on here...

Check the bushings of the upper control link and the one next to it. You need to take it to an alignment shop to properly set the toe. It shouldn't be that far off but maybe you have other suspension problems.

appatula

What you have found is the toe adjustment link(Spline or XZN eccentric bolt), if that is maxed out then there may be other problems. On the front control arms there are two bushings and two eccentric bolts in which adjust for camber and I assume they could also toe in things a bit if offset from eachother. The REAR, however, has one eccentric bolt (the rear control arm is not shaped like a "Y" in the front) It is just this ugly looking elongated egg shaped control arm. So I assume that one bolt can only adjust for camber. There are 5 suspension links going from your frame to the rear knuckle, take your rim off and scrutinize the rubber bushings at these connections. It could very well be the case that these are so far worn that the toe link is inferior in adjustment. Try to wobble the whole knuckle assembly with your hands from side to side, see if its looser than you want it to be. You can pick up 5 link sets off ebay for under $100 bucks (make sure you get a decent aftermarket german brand though) and its not too bad to DIY, I've done both sides on my 300E while I did the subframe bushings. Keep us posted

rivcal4life

Changing it all couldnt be as bad as what I went through when I hit a curb a couple years ago. Im thinking Ill take it to an alignment shop, as I looked at the bushings yesterday and they did not look bad to me. YNVDIZW124, I remember reading a thread where you said you knew about one for $65 that did a good job on your car?

morris374

i put gas-a- just shocks on my car like two years a go and ive been getting wheel rub on the driver side rear, i thought my shocks were leakin but still cant figure out the problem

rivcal4life

Encountered this same problem on my 500e over the weekend when I put on 285 tires in the rear. The passenger side is perfectly fine, but the driver's rubs.

Hopefully the toe adjustment will fix it, if not I will have the bushings replaced.

Any other suggestions? I will post results.

Chappy

You may have to go down a tad in tire size.

rivcal4life

285's are very common on the 500e. Some even go 295 without rolling fenders. As I said before, the passenger side is fine and does not rub at all.