I cannot imagine how it happened but last night the wife called from the grocery parking lot. big clunks and hysteria. I drove the car home. it had been making the groans and chuckles from under the front right but no thought that it was anything more thatn wearing out guide bushing.
the guide rod bushing stud has come completely out of the guide rod sleeve. it does not look like the threads are stripped. The bushing seems in good shape. how can this happen? I put a come along on the hub and it will never get far enough forward to re enter the stud (it seems) with out bending something real bad. I cannot find a new guide rod sleeve any where. two places have tghem lisgted but not in stock. can any one help?

Possibly, the sleeve end may have been cross- threaded in the past. Fairly easy to do with the fine threads. Still, it sounds like a faulty alignment.

Possibly a phone call to Peach Parts??

You will also need to obtain a spring compressor for replacement. Be advised, only the special MB compressor is recommended. It's available from the tool rental program.

I was in no position to just wait for parts. the wife's commute is four miles of country road. so I did a hack. by putting a come-a-long on the lower control arm and the tow ring i could move the hub forward and with a few adjustments to the jack under the control arm the two parts of the guide rod went together the same way (I presume) that they came apart. as I let off on the winch and jack the two just slipped into alignment. I did not expect this. I thought there were threads inside the guide rod. Are there supposed to be threads inside the guide rod?
I did (after the male part stopped going into the female) put a wrench on the male side and turned it into about the end of the clean threads. the clamp was not tight at all. I made it very tight and the male part would not turn anymore. I am hoping this is good enough until I get better answers and parts. brisk brake testing did not make the joint move.

I recommend you put some paint on it to see if it moves...

__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!