Diagonal pendulum axis
The term diagonal swing axle was in the official language of Mercedes-Benz series for the rear axle of the new time (1968) middle-class Mercedes "Dash 8" W 114 / 115 uses. It is a conventional trailing arm axle . The name was chosen for marketing reasons to avoid the then current S-Class ( W 108 / 109 ) with single-joint swing axle to make it appear as outdated design.
The axle consists of a boomerang-shaped subframe , which is attached to the body via rubber bearings and also carries the differential gear , and a triangular trailing arm per wheel on which a coil spring and a telescopic shock absorber act. The semi- trailing arm carries the rear wheel hub and is supported by two rubber bearings in the subframe. These bearings are on a diagonal line, the outer bearing is further forward than the inner one. With this construction, track and camber changes could be restricted and the driving behavior, especially in curves, improved significantly compared to the previous version with a swing axle.
This type of wheel suspension was used in the W 123 , W 116 , and C 107 series except in the W 114/115 . The last type was the S-Class W 126 , which was built until 1991 .
With the Mercedes 190 ( W 201 ) built from 1982 onwards, the diagonal swing axle was replaced by the completely newly developed multi-link axle , which was also used in the following models.