83 300SD

Ok, when you step on the brakes quickly or release them quickly, there is a "clunk."

Visually inspecting from the outside, when the brakes are applied when rolling forward, the front DS wheel seems to stop before the car does. When you let off the brake, the wheel pops forward a little bit, as if to catch up with the position of the car. Generally, if you apply the brakes slowly, there is no noticeable clunk.

I have tried wiggling parts of the front end to see if I could feel any play, but I came up with nothing... maybe it requires more pressure.

What is it? Should I stop driving it immediately?

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Sounds to me like guide rod bushings. I would fix it soon. I've never heard of one letting go, but if it did it could be ugly under the right conditions.

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Bob
'82 300D Petrol B-G Metallic

Get the kits for both guide rods. This is a common problem with the 126.
it will allow the steering to perform correctly on the road.


.

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[http://languageandgrammar.com/2008/01/14/youve-got-problems-not-issues/ ]

"A liberal is someone who feels they owe a great debt to their fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money."

From the looks of it from doing a search, this is a job that requires removing the spring... Correct me if I am wrong. Frankly I don't think I am up to that. I need to go a little at a time. So far my experience is limited to changing the oil, changing out an oil pan gasket and replacing an alternator. A ratchet is the most "specialized" tool I own, other than my big wooden mallet.

What might I be looking at spending on having an indie do this job?

By the way, the steering seems to be fine on the road, so I don't know what I would be improving in that sense.

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ur wrong

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1967 250 S
1967 280SE
1968 250S
1971 280 SE
1973 220
1974 280 S
1975 450 SEL
1976 220 D
1979 300SD
1983 300 SD
1985 230 TE euro
1986 280SL
1986 500 SEL euro
1986 190E 2.3
1990 300 SE
2003 C230 K
2004 C230 K
1987 560SEL
1987 300SDL now in canada
2005 C230
1998 C43 AMG Sold to DON
1993 190E 2.6
300TD Former daily driver Totaled
current:
R320 CDI
Ram 2500 Cummins

Could you elaborate? Maybe I am a little confused about the repair. I see instructions for replacing the guide rod bushing, but not actually how to get that whole assembly out. Maybe it is so simple that no one mentions that part.

W126 Guide rod bushing replacement

Could anyone direct me towards any other info that might be useful about this repair. Also, whether you think it is do-able for a person without any fancy tools or a lot of repair experience (see my previous post).

Thanks

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I just noticed this. Notice how there is no little "clip" coming out of that rectangular hole? (sorry about the lack of terminology, I don't really understand how all of this front end stuff works).

Could that have anything to do with my noises?

1st pic is the one with the missing "clip," or tab or whatever... the second one is the other side for reference (sorry the second one is a little out of focus).

thanks

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If a ratchet is the extent of your tools..this may be a bit out of your reach...it's not difficult but you will need a jack, jack stands, 13,15 and 17mm sockets and wrenches, air gun or breakerbar and if an entire afternoon if this is the first attempt at this degree of repair....this will be bare minimum. Don't forget the front end must be aligned afterwards.

Thanks for the reply.

I've got all that except the air gun/breakerbar, but I think a breakerbar could be had cheaply. So it doesn't sound that out of my range...

What I don't have a lot of is time, but an afternoon might be ok... With my luck it is always longer than I think... and I need to drive the car to get places like work. Any idea what price range would I be looking at to have an indie do it?

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Ok I realized I should just go for it, since my money is going to need to be dedicated to the alignment afterwards anyway.

Does anyone have more info as to the procedure of taking off the brackets? Anything I should look out for, etc. Is it possible to do it without removing the brackets? (this seems to have been alluded to in one post) I think I could tackle this job, but I don't see the full info anywhere when I search, only from the point of having the brackets off and putting in the new bushings.

Thanks

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