Oooh no, that symptom just surfaced on my E430 last week. I'm planning on having the front wheels rebalanced to see if it goes away...

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

I bought the control arm bushing tool and had a mechanic friend do the work for me. It didnt cost a lot.

If you lived in Atlanta, I could hook you up with the guy who did the work for me. He's pretty cool and easy to work with.

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With best regards

Al

Well, comparing the factory bushings on the 210, 208 and 202 with the 124 and 126 bushings, you'll see exactly where I'm coming from. The newer bushings are what I would describe as "skimpy" with very little support, even on the OE AMG bushings.

I was disappointed. "Mbenzman" and I have been researching this issue and he advised a fix for his BMW customers was to use a urethane bushing. It did not decrease the ride quality, just gave a slightly sharper turn in and eliminated the shimmy. BMW aftermarket stuff is plentiful, unlike us un-loved MB owners (there's very little market for many of these types of things).

So, we went on the hunt. Even to the point of getting some designs sent over to have some polyurethane bushings custom made. Then I tripped across LPD Auto and they have been selling these to W202 owners for the past 2 or 3 years at least. It wasn't until I went to their website that I learned they offer the same for the W140 and W210.

I have ordered a set for my W208 and they have shipped. I anticipate receiving them soon and will provide feedback. I'm placing a lot of hope that this small modification will be the ticket!

Duarte is only about 15 minutes from where I live. I just need to hop on the 210 freeway and head west towards Pasadena (you know, where the Rose Bowl is). I wonder if they are just a warehouse or if they allow the public in.

How much did you say these cost you?

How much would a mechanic charge to install this, or rather, how much time would it take?

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

Maybe your bushings are simply worn?

My 98 E430 feels very tight and responsive. Not as nimble feeling as the W124, but certainly not wallowing or floaty.

Hmm...maybe I need to drive a bit harder...

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Chris
2007 E550 4Matic - 61,000 Km - Iridium Silver, black leather, Sport package, Premium 2 package
2007 GL450 4Matic - 62,000 Km - Obsidian Black Metallic, black leather, all options
1998 E430 - sold
1989 300E - 333,000 Km - sold
1977 280E - sold
1971 250 - retired

"And a frign hat. They gave me a hat at the annual benefits meeting. I said. how does this benefit me. I dont have anything from the company.. So they gave me a hat." - TheDon

I paid $110 for both sides (2 bushings) including insured shipping. LPD is an auto parts recycler and also sells new parts.

FWIW, I've had a small shimmy at 60 since the car was new....but I'm REALLY picky.

I picked up a new to me '97 E420 and drove it 70 miles home. It does feel more like every other luxury car. My '94 E320 Sedan and '95 E320 Wagon had better road feel. I like the re-circulating ball much better. The W210 seems larger and I like the climate control much better. I loved the W124 but I couldn't stand the ongoing head gasket leak or the chance of the evap core going so I'm not going there again. I loved my wagon until the evap went. And oh, the W124 seats are much more comfortable than the hard W210 seats.

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85 300CD Signal Red/Tan sold
83 300D Manganese Brown 109K
97 E420 Midnight Blue 197K sold
98 BMW 328i Vert White 100K, sold
95 BMW 525i White 125K, sold
93 BMW 525iT Red 193K, sold
95 E320 Green Wagon 125K, sold
94 E320 White 127K, sold
85 300SD 156K Grey (Annie), sold
84 300D Lapis Blue 170K (Judy), sold
99 ML 320 Black (lease), 1998 C230 White (lease)
00 Honda S2000 Red (lease)
86 Mercedes 300E (sold)
84 Porsche 911 Red (sold), 1965 Porsche 911 White (sold)

Roger that.

It's hard to describe, but two things stand out as being different with the W210 seats. They have much less lumbar support, and the backrest is much shorter. The top portion of the backrest is too low and angles inward, pushing my shoulders forward.

However, even better than the W124 are the seats in my wife's Volvo S70. They are by far the most comfortable seats I've ever sat in.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

My new (to me) e430 came with the AMG sport suspension installed, by the Mercedes dealer. Sway bar, springs, shocks, etc. The difference in the ride between this car and the previous 1998 E430 I had a couple of months ago is dramatic.

This one sits lower by at least 1.5-2" and it is very stiff. Almost un-Benzlike, if I could use such an adjective. You can see pics of it in the post I made in OD (and my profile).

Downside is that I definitely feel every bump and pothole. The trunk CD player is useless - on a rough road it skips constantly. Not an issue as I use my iPod anyway. I also broke a foglight housing taking a downramp in my parking garage too quickly - previous Benzes cleared the ramp no problem, this one I have to slow down a bit, it's too low.

But in terms of performance, the car is a blast to drive. It corners harder and I really notice the stability at higher speeds. Lane changes, etc. the chassis barely rolls at all.

It's a nice upgrade, but it does change the character of the car significantly. Which is a good thing if you drive like I do.

Funny thing - I also have a slight shimmy at around 80-90 Km/h, which is in the range you guys mention. It's slight, but noticeable. I thought it was my tires. Alignment was just done and it tracks perfectly. I'm buying new tires anyway - will see if the shimmy goes away or not.

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Chris
2007 E550 4Matic - 61,000 Km - Iridium Silver, black leather, Sport package, Premium 2 package
2007 GL450 4Matic - 62,000 Km - Obsidian Black Metallic, black leather, all options
1998 E430 - sold
1989 300E - 333,000 Km - sold
1977 280E - sold
1971 250 - retired

"And a frign hat. They gave me a hat at the annual benefits meeting. I said. how does this benefit me. I dont have anything from the company.. So they gave me a hat." - TheDon

Greetings. I'm toying with the idea of acquiring the face-lifted W210, M.Y. 2000 - 2002.

Browsing thru MB USA's website, 16-year model review, the only difference I notice is that 2000 has ME 2.0 engine management, vs ME 2.8 for 2001 - 2002. Not sure if that is software / hardware upgrade, and the significance ?

Any other difference besides engine management ?

Not in a hurry to buy, as I still have a resonably good ride, 95 W124 E320 coupe in good conditions :-)

Thanking in advance.

Generaly any W210 after the face lift is a safe bet, they had them pretty well sorted out by 2000. But as one Mercedes dealer I know put it when I asked him which was the best W210 to get; "2002 E320". According to them they have very few problems with the 2001-02 W210's.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Thank you Hatterasguy. My research so far also suggests 2000 - 2002 are all good years, however just curious what differences are there between 2000 and 2001-2002... should one focus on the last 2 years only, or just snap up any one of these 3 model years when the 'right' car comes along.

I don't think their are any major differences. Its just that MB does a ton of little updates to parts, and the later production cars have all the little updates.

MB is famous for continuing updating and changing parts even years after a car stops production.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

The only difference I've noticed is that with 2001-2002 E class cars, the center screen in the speedometer cluster contains one more menu that 2000 cars do not have: a digital speedometer that shows your speed in large numbers. Otherwise, all of the different menus are the same: odometer / tripodometer, Radio Station presets, MPG / fuel remaining to empty, Navigation, etc.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

I think that E430 is a good car but i like better W140

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