Excellent documentaton, Jeremy. A few other keywords to add to this topic, for SEO: The bushing is also known as the "support joint" which is located at the bottom of the "rear wheel carrier".

I've done this job on almost all of my cars. If the joint is original, it is almost always toast after 20+ years and/or over 150kmi. You can inspect it via flashlight and if any of the dust boots/seals are damaged, it should be replaced, as that means failure is in the not-distant future (even if it's not yet making noise). Omegabenz says that when these joints wear, it will cause excessive negative camber in the rear, I believe he said new bushings caused a significant change in camber. That helps your tires last longer and offsets the cost of the bushings/joints and special tool.

Warning: There are some cheap, off-brand bushings / joints on the market from Uro / APA / FEQ / Pex. If the price is under $10, it's garbage, don't waste your money. Under $20 is highly suspect (I've seen Febi and Meyle around $20 and I'd be nervous about those). OEM is Lemforder, these are usually $25-$35 depending on vendor, Coretco should be ok too. Genuine MB is approx $50 list, $40 wholesale. The part numbers have superceded nearly a dozen times but they are all interchangeable. Try 220-352-02-27 when searching. Pelican offers Lemforder at a great price.



Note about the tool. The aftermarket SirTools version is approx $120 shipped from several vendors, links below. The Baum tool is $160 from "alkyracer101" on feeBay. Links below:

http://www.toolsource.com/metal-clad-bushing-p-112946.html

http://www.tooldiscounter.com/ItemDisplay.cfm?lookup=SIRM0085

http://zdmak.com/wbstore/main.asp?action=PROD&PROD=M0085&CTMP=1

http://www.ebay.com/itm/121080269082 (currently sold out, but click here) to check in the future)



Photos from my R&R's are at this link:
http://www.w124performance.com/images/W124_subframe/wheel_carrier_joint/

Photos of the factory tool are here, scroll to the bottom:
http://www.w124performance.com/images/W124_subframe/subframe_tools/

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Update on my above warning: Years ago I had bought a couple of Febi rear wheel carrier support joints (bushings) as discussed in this thread, before I learned that Febi gradually started reboxing junk parts instead of quality OEM ones.

Anyway, those Febi support joints lasted a whopping 20kmi over 2 years before failing. I was doing other work on the car and noticed excess movement in the rear suspension; sure enough, there was about 1mm of play in the Febi outer joints. Ridiculous. I removed both, tossed them in the garbage, and promptly installed Lemforders.

Click here for Lemforders from Pelican, $24 each (don't be tempted by the $14 Febis unless you enjoy changing them every 2 years).

Be careful out there...