You are really coding for IE5.2 Mac? WOW ... good luck. LOL. It is a pain in the ass an a dead browser, is this a client requirement or you just really want it to work in IE5.2 on the mac?
90% of the reasons things break in IE5.2 can be fixed by giving each element a fixed width ... good luck though.
I'm sure a few people around here could offer some suggestions, but first I have a broader question: Is anyone still supporting IE for the Mac? I don't support it on any freelance projects and we don't support it at my day job either. Hell, Windows doesn't even support it anymore.
I think that the only reason to support IE for the Mac would be if you were building a website geared specifically for Mac users--especially Mac users who, for some reason (school kids with older computers, elderly or lower income users) would not have the means to update their OS or browser.