W210 Spring Perch Failure...Looks Like My Number is UP! - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

nhdoc · #1 04-02-2008, 01:22 PM

:MODERATOR EDIT ADDING DATA LINK:
W210 DANGEROUS FLAW please read (crosslinked in post #1 to all on topic data)
W210 DANGEROUS FLAW please read (crosslinked in post #1 to all on topic data)
:MODERATOR EDIT ADDING DATA LINK:

While driving up my street this morning I heard a strange clunk from the left front followed immediately by a definite "spring pluck" vibration. I drove home and looked and saw my driver's side perch has started to separate from the body rail, luckily it didn't completely break off (yet). I emailed the S.A at my local dealer to find out my options. I may have some leverage in getting some coverage on it since I just ordered a new C300 from them and it is due in the end of this month...here's a photo of what a failing spring perch looks like.

Hatterasguy · #2 04-02-2008, 01:47 PM

That sucks, bet MB covers it though.

Buying new cars from them does wonders for these problems.

TMAllison · #3 04-02-2008, 02:11 PM

That sucks Marty. Glad you heard and then found it before it bacame a bigger problem.

Hopefully your prior purchases and dealings with your local dealer will gain you some assistance with the repair.

scott19_68 · #4 04-02-2008, 05:08 PM

Damn, that sucks! Could not have happened to a nicer '210 owner.

Is there any update on the whole spring perch issue? I don't have the will to comb through that monster thread again looking for updates.

PatricdeBoer · #5 04-02-2008, 05:57 PM

Man, that's scary business. Imagine if that had come undone at freeway speeds.

Lunagen Labs · #6 04-02-2008, 06:19 PM

Mine DID come apart, rather violently, at freeway speeds. I pulled over right away obviously, but really it felt like nothing more than hitting a small pothole then the car kinda leaned a little to the right. Still drove straight, nothing even like blowing a tire. And that was a total failure, the spring actually fell out and we had to go get it off the shoulder of the road. Not saying nothing bad could've happened, but it's not as scary as I expected.

Hope they take care of you. Might want to verify how they're fixing it, whether they'll weld or rivet it.

JimSmith · #7 04-02-2008, 09:17 PM

Keep us informed on your trek through the MB corporate attitude on this subject. I live in fear of finding mine going bad all the time. I inspect them regularly but believe the problem becomes visually apparent only after the joint has failed. Jim

BigBen · #8 04-02-2008, 09:41 PM

I live in the salt belt (and this year more than ever with nearly 5 meters of snowfall in Montreal!!!). So I go to an anti-rust treatment every second year.

What else (in terms of preventive maintenance) could be done against spring perch failure?

Thanks,

bob_98sr5 · #9 04-03-2008, 01:49 AM

nh,

yes, good thing it happened at slow speed. i cringe everytime i read these kinds of posts.

to all:

ive read many o' posts about the spring perch reinforcement and using structural rivets and not welds to put this on, but ive never once seen a picture. anyone have a pic of this installed?

bob

nhdoc · #10 04-03-2008, 11:46 AM

I found out today the repair is being paid for in total by M-B under a goodwill program. Not sure yet if they will do both sides unless the passenger side shows signs of failing but I am pushing for that for sure. I told them the driver's side didn't give any indication of failure beforehand and I keep a close eye on them and unless they remove all of the mastic sealant and reseal it they will not know if the passenger side is about to go or not.

It didn't hurt to have a brand new car on order in their decision to goodwill it since they said these are handled on a case by case basis and since I'm a good customer at the parts counter and have my new cars serviced there too they were willing to extend the goodwill to even my old car. The fact that nearly everyone at the dealership knows me by name doesn't hurt either and not a month goes by that I am not up at the parts counter getting some bits and pieces. Well, I'll close out the thread after the repairs are done.

One thing of concern was the shop they use for "all of their spring perch repairs" has been welding the new ones in and seemed unaware of the WIS procedure which calls for them to be riveted. I emailed a copy of the WIS to the S.A. since he also seemed to be unaware of the proper factory sanctioned procedure. Hopefully by next week when my car is in there they will figure out the best way. Frankly, I'd like to see them weld and rivet it - sort of a belt and suspenders method.

Dr. Worm · #11 04-03-2008, 12:23 PM

Toyota is buying back or extending warranties on trucks that have rust problems with the frames.

http://www.ohio.com/news/top_stories/17252894.html

muleears · #12 04-03-2008, 07:28 PM

Marty,
Do you think this is primarily a rust belt issue?

bob_98sr5 · #13 04-03-2008, 08:18 PM

muleears,

best way to check is to look really carefully at the seam sealer. if its bubbled up b/c of rust growth, it will be very obvious because it looks a little different in color and will be higher than the non rusted seam sealer. best way to check is to remove the wheel, take some simple green to it with a brush, clean off the area really well and just inspect. you can prod it, but dont poke holes in it unless you have seam sealer to cover up any holes you make.

bob

nhdoc · #14 04-07-2008, 03:43 PM

FWIW mine was a southern car until 2005 so it has only seen 3 winters in the great white north. Also, I do look at the perch seams each season (at least) when I change or rotate tires and until this incident there was no evidence of any degradation. I think the water can penetrate by capillary action and cause damage over time and then, it just pops. The M-B inspection procedure calls for removal of the spring and all of the mastic sealant and then re-seal it when you are done. That's more than half the work to replace the perch! I doubt very much that many of them get inspected to that level...most are just eyeballed, passed by visual, and then they break apart once the unapparent damage gets bad enough.

I dropped my car off at the body shop today...when I get it back I'll know if they did both sides or not. Apparently M-B is willing to pay for both if the body shop determines that the other side is damaged too but, like I said above, in order to inspect it properly you have to remove all of the existing sealant and then re-seal it so I wonder how they will decide if it needs to be done or not...frankly it is in their interest to do both if, for no other reason, purely to avoid a future liability if it should break off in 3 months.

And yes, I drove it the 15 miles or so up to the body shop (though I stayed off the freeway and took local roads). I figured I had 163K miles on it...I thought I could squeeze another 15 out of it and luckily I made it without a problem.

aklim · #15 04-07-2008, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nhdoc

Hopefully by next week when my car is in there they will figure out the best way. Frankly, I'd like to see them weld and rivet it - sort of a belt and suspenders method.

For your sake, I hope they rivet it. From what I understand, welding IS a problem since the heat from the weld will change the temperament of the metal. Do you want it to become softer after the weld? I would think not.

AFAIK, the rivets are VERY difficult to work with. The local shop broke 3 riveters before buying a pneumatic or hydraulic one that would hold up.

Once again, RIVET the spring perch not weld.