zhandax,

I can't really make out what's going on in the picture. Are you just using the screwdriver as a drift and tapping around the periphery of it to force it out? Did it require much force to get it to move? Any problem with the lip just bending back instead of moving the bushing out?

Gary

Yes, I used the screwdriver as a drift, but I was smacking it pretty good with a 4lb hammer. I kept the screwdriver inside against the control arm, and none of the lips bent enough to make the screwdriver slip off. I intersected the bushing at a 30-40º angle and worked opposite sides almost like a star pattern.

Are you pounding on the inside of the bushing?

By memory there is a metal flange on the outside of the bushing-the inner thing aluminum piece won't hold it back. Just a few wacks and they come out. I use a 3/5-1" chisel and a 1.5-2# ball peen hammer.

If you have an 86' with the early style thrust bushings.. those ARE a bear to remove. Looking at your pic, I don't think that is the case.

Michael

__________________
Michael McGuire
83 300d
01 vw A4 TDI
66 Chevy Corsa
68 GMC V6 w/oD
86 300E

The first one that I drilled I pounded on the inside of the bushing from inside the control arm tube. That is when I noticed that the lip that the screwdriver is sitting on in the picture was comming away from the tube indicating that it is part of the bushing instead of part of the control arm as I had first thought. At that point I moved the screwdriver outside to that lip and whacked away. This seemed to go faster and work better than pounding from inside the control arm, and makes drilling unnecessary. I will see if I can get someone to take a picture of the next one as it is difficult to hold the screwdriver and take a decent picture at the same time.

I don't need a picture...

Just remove them! and install the new ones.


Michael

__________________
Michael McGuire
83 300d
01 vw A4 TDI
66 Chevy Corsa
68 GMC V6 w/oD
86 300E

Are the new ones just the same as the old ones? If different, how about a picture comparing the two?

Gary

I have an '86 - what kind of job am I looking at to get them out? Have the replacements been updated or are they also difficult to install? Any idea what's the best way to attack the problem?

Gary

FWIW, Here is shot of the old bushings next to the new Sportline ones. These are the worst dented from pounding out on the lip using the 4lb hammer.

Also after a hard look, I think someone has alredy tried to sawzall out the eccentric bolt through the bushing on the stuck side. I hope they stopped out of caution rather than the other alternatives I can imagine.

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Gary,

If you've got the early style bushings which are SHOWN in the MB cd(W201 style?). I'd really consider NEW arms unless you've got access to a press with a good assorment of sleeves and arbors. It was not a fun project.

There was a campain to replace them- so if your car made it back to the dealership for regular services close to being new. It should have the later-style bushings. I believe it was vibration underbraking... Mine had made it back 3 times and that was it.

As to zhandax question. No I was not talking about the lwr control arm bushings. On the rear, there is an inboard bushing. The outboard is a joint located in the wheel carrier. Kinda ball joint with a hole through it for the LC bolt.

Michael

__________________
Michael McGuire
83 300d
01 vw A4 TDI
66 Chevy Corsa
68 GMC V6 w/oD
86 300E

Michael,

I will not get to the rear end until next week earliest. I think I have all the bushings for it (famous last words).

Oh,

Remember installing those new bushings. The angle is CRITICAL and different between the front and rear bushing in the front control arm.

Notice there are 2 different bushings in each kit. Mine had 2 and 3 molded in "marks" to show the difference. It would be a bummer to do the job twice.


Michael

__________________
Michael McGuire
83 300d
01 vw A4 TDI
66 Chevy Corsa
68 GMC V6 w/oD
86 300E

"I will not get to the rear end until next week earliest. I think I have all the bushings for it (famous last words).
"

It's not a bushing. It's a joint-not sure what MB calls it and it didn't come up in the suspension page online. Maybe it was a thrust rod brg?

"Sir Tools Metal Clad Bushing R&R Kit is needed for the efficient R&R of rear axle thrust rod bushings found on late model rear axle wheel carrier assemblies. Incorporating a thrust bearing to ease the pulling / pushing action, reduces the wear & tear of the tool to ensure longevity. This Bushing Tool comes complete with all the proper components to efficiently get the job done right. Applicable: Chassis - W 124, W 129, W 140, "



Michael

__________________
Michael McGuire
83 300d
01 vw A4 TDI
66 Chevy Corsa
68 GMC V6 w/oD
86 300E

I should have said "I will not get to the rear before next YEAR at the earliest".

Even with a seized eccentric bolt this job is not that hard when you have the right tools and experience. But getting that experience has been a long and bloody battle.

If the eccentric is seized you must get a sawzall. Do not try to sawzall the bushing from the underneath the car. It is a really miserable job, you can not see what you are doing, and you run the risk of the boneheadded move pictured below.

I filled in the cut with steel epoxy and put plenty of extra on the back side of the cut.

Instead, hammer the ball joint out of the steering knuckle and let the control arm drop so the ball joint end is pointed at the floor. You will need to spread the jaws of the steering knuckle first with a large screwdriver. Put a piece of wood on the control arm before you hit it. From the side of the car sawzall through the rubber bushing and eccentric bolt. If you have to sawzall both sides, DO NOT try to sawzall through the bushing on the second cut. Also make sure you wear heavy leather gloves. I tried sawing through the bushing on the second cut without gloves and got a blister the width of a dollar bill on my hand. The whole assembly will move back and forth in the frame slot. A week later when I could use my hand again I discovered that with one bushing cut, there is enough play on the other side to get the sawzall blade between the frame and the bushing so you can just cut through the bolt. Be careful and keep pressure on the blade toward the bushing and you will not cut into the frame.

With the control arm out you realize the bolt is sill stuck in the bushings and has to be drilled out. This takes a 7/8" bit. Even with the control arm in a vice the bit will catch and hang a lot so WEAR GLOVES. I lost another week waiting for that blister to heal. Knock out the bushings as described above.

To reinstall the bushings, use a vice, a 1 1/2" pipe nipple and silicone grease. This is called bulb grease at the parts places. The nipple against the outside metal part of the bushing will insure you place force on the internal metal sleeves inside the bushings. Otherwise you will trap a small bit of rubber against the control arm and the bushings will not snug all the way up in the control arm. Remember to note the orientation of the nibs on the bushing and reinstall the same way. The fronts will be perpendicular to the rears. I am not sure how good an idea this was, but I put antiseize on the outside of the aluminum sleeve before I installed it. I now think silicone grease would have been a better idea.

You will need a holder to knock the balljoints out and back in. I used a 2" conduit pipe coupling (thinner and easier to saw). With the sawzall, saw parallel to the threads about 3/8" from the end. Then make two perpendicular cuts about 1 7/8" apart (measuring around the coupling) and knock out the resulting notch. Lay the control arm on this fixture allowing the ears on the balljoint end to be supported by the coupling. You will get better extraction results pounding around the balljoint shaft on the body of the balljoint than pounding directly on the shaft. Pounding them out does not require near the enthusiasm that pounding them back in does.

Freeze your balljoints overnight before you install them. Put the control arm on the notched coupling and line up the marks on the control arm with the marks on the balljoint. WEARING GLOVES, hold a 1" iron pipe coupling over the balljoint and pound on it. This will transfer the force to the outside circumference of the balljoint and avoid collapsing the center dome. I did not wear gloves and toward the end of the second balljoint I struck a glancing blow on the coupling. When my thumb stopped the 4lb hammer I lost both a pint of blood and the use of my thumb for a month. In retrospect, maybe holding the coupling with a pair of channel locks would be a good idea.

To reinstall the control arms, line one up and use a rubber mallet to line up the holes. Don't forget antiseize on the eccentric bolts. To get the balljoint shaft in the steering knuckle, put a floor jack under the balljoint end of the control rod and jack up 6 or 8 strokes. Then spin the steering wheel lock to lock. Alternate jacking and spinning until seated. I put antiseize on the balljoint shafts. Use new bolts to hold the balljoint in the knuckle. The dealer told me I could use euro grade 10 bolts that were threaded all the way up, but I measured and there was 7 thousandths difference in these and the OEM bolts which are only threaded the last inch. Use OEM bolts. They are about $2 each from Phil or Rusty. The same dealer charged me $18 for two bolts delivered. Buy an extra for when you bugger the threads trying to line up the notch on the balljoint in the steering knuckle. I used silicone sealant instead of wax to seal the gap in the steering knuckle that the bolt tightens.

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This just keeps getting better.

Front suspension is in the car. I am also replacing the brakes. I forgot I bought new setscrews for the rotors (hell, it was 6 months ago) and put the old one back in. It twists off. I drill the setscrew and start an easy-out to extract it. The easy-out breaks off.

Anybody want to buy a mostly rebuilt 300E?

Just to make you feel even worse - rotor set screws are supposed to be torqued to only 7 pounds, a force at which it would be impossible to twist one off. It is the lug nuts and wheel that really hold the rotor straight and in place, not the set screw. Good luck.