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I have a 98 E300TDT wagon that is having a minor issue with the rear tail gate.
Sometimes, when I go to open it, it opens no problem, however, more often than not, the tailgate will not open right away. The gate will try to open, but will not release fully. It is as if the truck is just ajar. It sometimes take several attempts before the tailgate will open.
The automatic / soft close mechanism is working properly as far as I can tell as it does keep drawing the tailgate to close properly.
What are the trouble shooting tips to get this wagon running properly? I have new springs ordered as the previous owner(s) lowered / cut the springs and I get tire rub so obviously I am not driving it much.
I have a 98 E300TDT wagon that is having a minor issue with the rear tail gate.
Sometimes, when I go to open it, it opens no problem, however, more often than not, the tailgate will not open right away. The gate will try to open, but will not release fully. It is as if the truck is just ajar. It sometimes take several attempts before the tailgate will open.
The automatic / soft close mechanism is working properly as far as I can tell as it does keep drawing the tailgate to close properly.
What are the trouble shooting tips to get this wagon running properly? I have new springs ordered as the previous owner(s) lowered / cut the springs and I get tire rub so obviously I am not driving it much.
1998 E300TDT wagon (Japan export)
You have 2 Qs (or more....) here.
1) Spray some lubricant/ penetrant on to the lock/latch mechanism (dont go crazy with it) and see if this loosens up the mechanism. Seems like the wagon is in need of some TLC wrt lubrication.
2) Cut springs? Blasphemy!! Ride must be crap with cut springs (been there many years ago in my teens when I was dumb n stupid...) Are you replacing with oem or lowering springs?
Have you looked at the different spring pads? How many dots presently on your 4 corners? easy enough to check and feel for the dots (dimples)
Get it running tips?
We need to know what the issues are first and it's history.
I'm running cut H&R springs for a W210 E55 with Bilstien shocks for an E430 Sport on my E320 wagon and it rides fine. Zero tire rub either. My W211 E63 is harsher when driving in Sport II.
Swapping pads on a W210 makes a negligible difference. You might notice a difference going from a 4 to a 1, but it's not worth the effort to do it.
As for your rear hatch issue, mine did that a handful of times and hasn't done it since. I never bothered to look into it.
1) Spray some lubricant/ penetrant on to the lock/latch mechanism (dont go crazy with it) and see if this loosens up the mechanism. Seems like the wagon is in need of some TLC wrt lubrication.
2) Cut springs? Blasphemy!! Ride must be crap with cut springs (been there many years ago in my teens when I was dumb n stupid...) Are you replacing with oem or lowering springs?
Have you looked at the different spring pads? How many dots presently on your 4 corners? easy enough to check and feel for the dots (dimples)
Get it running tips?
We need to know what the issues are first and it's history.
.
--
I have ordered the factory springs based on the VIN, with the front springs coming from Germany, the rear springs were already in the Canadian supply chain.
The ride is different. I would not necessarily say bad but definitely not normal MB. I can "hear" from the rear as if there is virtually no dampening occurring.
The trim level is advantguarde which is apparently already almost an inch lower than the standard w210 platform.
When travelling, the tires will rub when going over bumps or humps on the road. This is not a comforting sound when on the highway. This is why I am not driving the car very much at the moment, as I don't want to have a bigger issue.
Given the poor quality of our roads in Southern Ontario, I need to have the proper ride height so I don't get tire rub.
Also, when I got the car inspected for registration, I had the mechanic do an alignment as the steering wheel was off center slightly. They were able to get it better but not right, and the specs are close but not 100%. That was the second indication of someone messing with the suspension. The first was the looked a lot lower than the stock W210s, but it does have extra body cladding. Then the tire rub on the roads. This did not happen during the test drive when I was looking to buy the car, but the roads in BC are in better condition than here.
I am not a fan of someone messing with the stock suspension, as the engineers had a reason for their madness...
I am pretty sure there are different Bilsteins on the car, as there is a nice(not) sticker on the hatch saying Sport Bilsteins.
I will try to lubricate the locking mechanism in the morning, hopefully that will help.
I have ordered the factory springs based on the VIN, with the front springs coming from Germany, the rear springs were already in the Canadian supply chain.
The ride is different. I would not necessarily say bad but definitely not normal MB. I can "hear" from the rear as if there is virtually no dampening occurring.
The trim level is advantguarde which is apparently already almost an inch lower than the standard w210 platform.
When travelling, the tires will rub when going over bumps or humps on the road. This is not a comforting sound when on the highway. This is why I am not driving the car very much at the moment, as I don't want to have a bigger issue.
Given the poor quality of our roads in Southern Ontario, I need to have the proper ride height so I don't get tire rub.
Also, when I got the car inspected for registration, I had the mechanic do an alignment as the steering wheel was off center slightly. They were able to get it better but not right, and the specs are close but not 100%. That was the second indication of someone messing with the suspension. The first was the looked a lot lower than the stock W210s, but it does have extra body cladding. Then the tire rub on the roads. This did not happen during the test drive when I was looking to buy the car, but the roads in BC are in better condition than here.
I am not a fan of someone messing with the stock suspension, as the engineers had a reason for their madness...
I am pretty sure there are different Bilsteins on the car, as there is a nice(not) sticker on the hatch saying Sport Bilsteins.
I will try to lubricate the locking mechanism in the morning, hopefully that will help.
1) Ontario road conditions? - agreed - originally from Mississ
2) Getting your avanteguarde oem springs back in? AND you'll need to get it re-aligned again, unfortunately.
When you do this, have your shop inform you of what spring pad dots you have for front and rear.
I'm running cut H&R springs for a W210 E55 with Bilstien shocks for an E430 Sport on my E320 wagon and it rides fine. Zero tire rub either. My W211 E63 is harsher when driving in Sport II.
Swapping pads on a W210 makes a negligible difference. You might notice a difference going from a 4 to a 1, but it's not worth the effort to do it.
As for your rear hatch issue, mine did that a handful of times and hasn't done it since. I never bothered to look into it.
Westcoast streets.....no problem.
TO streets? I dont think so....
if you're about to replace the cut springs with OE then you'll probably just baby it until the springs are restored. but
since your original post is lacking in specs, there is a longshot that the rubbing is not sole/direct result of the shortened
springs....but perhaps the previous owner also changed tire size as well. I'm thinking about the mindset of folks who
would perform such a mod...and the tendency to swap tires/wheels 'for that proper stance' so it wouldn't hurt to
inspect the tire and wheel specs (stamped on sidewall as well as rear side of rim) to see if they're in alignment with
factory specs
if you're about to replace the cut springs with OE then you'll probably just baby it until the springs are restored. but
since your original post is lacking in specs, there is a longshot that the rubbing is not sole/direct result of the shortened
springs....but perhaps the previous owner also changed tire size as well. I'm thinking about the mindset of folks who
would perform such a mod...and the tendency to swap tires/wheels 'for that proper stance' so it wouldn't hurt to
inspect the tire and wheel specs (stamped on sidewall as well as rear side of rim) to see if they're in alignment with
factory specs
The car is currently running on winter tires 245/40R18. I also have 225/40R18 and a set of 225/50R17.
According to the dealer, the car would have come with 215/55R16, but I don't have any 16" tires / rims.
The previous owner did some other upgrades, such as much larger brakes (driller rotors), and AMG calipers, so I am not sure that even 16" rims would fit. From what I have been able to find out, the sizes "should" be ok, more or less accurate, although I have seen different versions of the calculations.
that's good that you have some specs but you left out others. the 245 profile tires you're using are already about
.5" oversize when compared to OE tire. so the OFFSET of the wheels *may* be what is contributing to the rubbing.
too low an offset and the tire will rub on the outside shoulder of the tire..touching the wheel arch edge. too high
and offset and the inside sidewall of the tire rubs on the infamous, protruding suspension nut. check your tire for
rub marks.
Last edited by raymond g-; Dec 2, 2019 at 10:42 PM.
This will give you a good estimate of the tire differences:
Also, I believe the cut springs presently on your ride have been cut too much. It's also thrown out the spec camber and possibly the caster specs.
Speaking from experience where my son lowered the c230K with eibach springs using pad#3 at the rear and #2 up front on 15" wheels. The original springs pads were #3 at the rear and #5 up front.
The lowering springs threw the cambers both front and rear way off just doing the recommended lowering springs (dropped it by 1.5 inches along with pad change up front only to #2.
No tire rubbing but you could certainly tell this car was on the verge of looking like a lower rider at the rear. PRETTY fugly even with 15 inch wheels. He had to drive slowly over speed bumps during the test drive stage.
After we added a camber kit front and rear as well as caster for the front, a re-alignment, all was good. The camber adjust made the difference and did raise the car enough to look correct and drive that way to could be driven.
So the rear tailgate is still working (thanks khomer2), its nice when it is an easy fix.
The new springs came in on Wednesday, so I delivered them along with the car on Thursday to get it sorted out.
Well, there is definitely a difference. The stock springs are much beefer than what was on the car, so obviously likely aftermarket.
Upon disassembly, the drivers side spring was actually broken. It had snapped in the lower thick black bushing, so that obviously had an impact on the ride height.... Glad I made the decision to replace all 4 springs.
They also have had to order some control arm bushings as they were worn out and torn. So I will get the car back on Monday.
I also had them attempt to install the block heater cord, since it "should" be a simple job with the tires off and in the air. Well, not exactly. It would appear as if someone actually REMOVED the factory heater and installed a frost plug! After some discussion and consultation with a factory trained mechanic, they said leave it alone. They have had issues whenever someone tries to remove the plug with the block leaking, and MB usually will pull the engine and re-tap the hole. So, best solution is to go after market in this case, as they are not confident that it can be done without a huge issue.
That being said, I can now put my fingers between the wheel well and top of tire comfortably. So that is an improvement!
This is a photo of when the previous owner had it for sale. As you can see the car is lower. These are the winter rims on the car. I will post updated pictures once I get the car back on Monday or Tuesday.
The car also has drilled rotors and AMG brakes upfront.
This is a picture of the car in the shop after the new springs were installed. Not much of a difference in the rear, but almost an inch on the front.
Ride quality is better but that was not the main reason, will be taking it on the highway where I know it had tire rub before, hopefully that is taken care of now.
Still have other issues to sort out, but hey Rome was not built in a day and this is still a work in progress to return it to more "factory".
looks like a nice car, worth putting this work into to sort it out.
I was going to say that perhaps the rear accumulators are shot and that why it is sagging, but you providing pictures shows it is not that low or bouncy.
If you ever have too saggy of a rear, just feather/manipulate the self leveling valve. it has to be disconnect with a small screw but otherwise when you flip the valve into "fill" it raises the car temporarily to "reset" it.There are pictures all over the forum of the valve and its location.
maybe spacers are an option if you still need room. I know the front is more likely to rub as the upper control arm bolt hits the tire. the rears are easier to fit larger tires in.
Last edited by e350forme; Dec 18, 2019 at 09:53 AM.
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AND you'll need to get it re-aligned again, unfortunately.
