W123 Guide Rod Mount Question

[jcd]

Need to replace both the guide rod mounts as well as the mount to "I believe" the lower control arm.

The bottom spring holder appears to be in the way of removing the top bolt and grommet for the guide rod mount on the lower control arm.

Is this as tough as it looks. Mine are toast.

Help is appreciated and Happy Easter.

JCD

[jcd]

Advice please.

JCD

[gsxr]

I did this while rebuilding my entire 123 front end, but I had the springs out so it wasn't difficult. On my car, I replaced the guide rod bushing in the control arm, but my old ones were not nearly as bad as I thought they might be. If you can't feel any play, or visibly see a big gap, they're probably OK. The mount itself, bolted to the frame, is the important part to replace - it's like a big ball joint in there. Mine were SHOT at 220kmi - amazing bad compared to the new ones! I believe to do this with the spring in place, you need to use a come-along or something to force the control arm forward to give you room to get the mount in & out. Again, it was not a problem for me as I had the control arm OFF when I did mine - sorry I'm not more help. On a side note, the c/a rod bushing kit is a dealer-only item and they are NOT cheap - so don't replace them unless necessary!

[surfblau]

I did the guide rod mount on my 126 with the lower control arm in place. It took a lot of force to pull the control arms forward to be able to remove the guide rod mount. It was awful.

Next time, I would remove the spring.

I wanted to replace the guide rod to lca bushing, and like you, I looked at the apparently simple unbolting to remove it, but my experience with the other end of the guide rod made me think twice.

Sorry I cannot offer more assistance.

alec

[jcd]

I have to replace both the guide rod mount, i.e. the large part that bolts to the subframe, as well as the grommets that affix the front end of the guide rod to the lower control arm.

I agree the job looks like a real knuckle breaker, my concern is that the lower spring bracket on top of the lower control arm is in the way of removing the existing grommets., really the top one as well as the bolt.

Does that describe it better.

Jim

[gsxr]

I believe the spring pad does need to be removed if you intend to replace the inner rod mount. My point was that it may not need replacement - how bad is yours?

[surfblau]

If there was a low risk and safe way to remove the bolt under the spring without removing the spring, I didn't see it.

Along the lines of what gsxr said, I finally decided that it wasn't worth messing around with the bushing in the middle of the lower control arm, and just left the old one in place. Like he says, mine didn't appear bad.

[jcd]

On the driver's side, the lower grommet is missing. leaving just the metal piece that fits between the nut and the grommet. The passenger side is on the way out. I'll have to study it some more this weekend. Looks like a real treat.

JCD

[surfblau]

Yeah, yours are definately far worse than mine.

Hopefully you have two cars and at least one garage/parking space.

If the guide rod to LCA bushings are so bad, the rest of the control arm bushing seem unlikely to be in great shape. You should consider doing a front end rebuild. It will probably only cost you another $200 in parts...

Something to consider (you probably already have).

alec

[jcd]

I checked a schematic in the MB service manual and the spring pad does need to be removed. I already have purchased "both ends" of the guide rod for both sides. I may have to plunge into the whole thing, although I really don't want to rip the whole thing apart, especially since I don't have a spring compressor.

bummer

JCD

[gsxr]

Well, if the springs must come out, you absolutely cannot do the job without a spring compressor. And if you have to pull the spring, I would *strongly* recommend changing the lower control arm bushings, they're relatively easy (& cheap!) to replace. The only reason nobody ever does is because they don't want to pull the spring! Performance Products rents a spring compressor, and so does Rusty (rusty@mbz.org or 800-741-5252). Worth every penny of the rental fee, IMO.