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Wheel Rubbing Problem, (not rubbing fender, but rubbing wheel well)

5K views 14 replies 4 participants last post by  JamesDean 
#1 ·
Hello everyone,

I've just fitted 4 w126 15" wheels with my snow tires on my w201 and am having some rubbing problems.

Last winter I had a set of 8-hole 15" wheels from my gold w126 SD with the winter wheels on them and there was no problem once so ever. I had an alignment done when they put the wheels on...

This fall I replaced front tie rods and rebuilt the rear suspension. I had an alignment done as well.

I was thinking maybe something in the alignments changed?

Now about 2 weeks after I had the right side alignment done, it started pulling to the left and feeling very loose/sensitive, so I took it back and had them fix it, but they didnt give me a printout...


Here where its rubbing:


Hopefully someone has some thoughts on this..

I was all happy that my winter wheels and snow tires were mount and going to work... :(

You know what else is weird, its ONLY on the passenger side, the driver side has almost nearly 2 fingers worth of clearance between the tire and wheel well...
 
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#3 ·
This is in the front, I dont suspect anything wrong with the springs, I havent checked the shocks yet. Perhaps its a bad shock mount...I know the drivers side has been replaced
 
#4 ·
usually if the car is sagging, it's the struts. I just replaced all around the last 2 weeks. My fronts were bottoming out and you could hear the wheels bottom out when hitting a dip. When I took one of them off, it was so bad that the strut sank down without needing any help. Check to see if they are leaking. If you replace them, replace the mounts, bumpers and boots all at the same time.
 
#5 ·
tires may be a lil big i think the 126 cars use a meatier tire.
 
#6 ·
I've got properly sized 190 tires 185/65s on the rims..

I'll have to check the shocks, 190 shocks are much more expensive than 126 shocks :(
 
#8 ·
126 Billie HD's are 63, comforts are 49 front/rear

201 Billie Sports are 80 just for the rear..
201 Billie Sports are 117 for the fronts...HD's are 114..

394$ for a set of new Billie Sports...

I can do the install job..thats no big deal at all.
 
#10 ·
My one mount is newish..was replaced not to long ago... i dont think either have boots on them..i cant remember though..
 
#11 ·
maybe that's the issue. Is it OEM or aftermarket? If aftermarket, it may fit differently than the other, thus causing the issue. I highly recommend anytime you replace a shock etc (when something is paired/equal on both sides) is to replace both. It just wears more evenly, etc.

My front struts were so bad that when I got the first one off, the top bar actually fell down into the strut. The boots help keep the dirt off the bump and makes them last loner. They are only about 5-10 bucks each.
 
#12 ·
You deffinatly should replace the mounts. They get weak over time, and can break if you hit a bump, putting a nice dent in your hood.
 
#13 ·
My mechanic replaced it, he buys though WorldPac...

Right, I always replace in pairs...

I might have to pull one of my front ones and see how much powers left in it...

When I bought the car, the ad listed the shocks as sportline shocks (equal to billstein sports)..that was four years ago. They've probably seen some wear.

I know my rear shocks have boots on them, however the fronts dont. Neither do my 126s as they're all Bilstein shocks.
 
#14 ·
I never saw boots on the rear. Only the front and my Bilies have front boots. They sound like some off brand, so you should prob change them all out to Bilies eventually. It's definitely worth the investment - will save your tires which are MORE expensive. Let us know how it goes.
 
#15 ·
sportline was the mercedes sub-model/edition of the car..or atleast my suspension package

they're probably due for replacement though. eventually I'll get around to it. gotta finsish of the restore on the SD thats been up in my garage for months. then the tranny work on my other SD...then some metal work on my dad's van...
 
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