More Front Suspension Work
 

Last year I did some front suspension repair work on my moneypit 300SE. Now it clunks again so I'm going to completely overhaul it, all new bushings and the brake rod bushings. I bought the spring compressor and I now have one side apart. I'll take some pics and post them. I also have to remove the brake booster and master cylinder to get at the sway bar bushing. What a PITA that is, but at least it will be new. I also have to replace the steering gear becasue it's knocking. Since I''m in there, the brake hosees will get replaced.

This seems like the never ending repair story.

Then there's the cylinder head.

Whew!

Drivers side bushing replaced. Onward and upward.

Are you using original parts?
 

Didn't you just do that job? The reason that I ask is that I followed your thread when I rebuilt my 300SD front end last year and now I am getting some clunks.
I think it is because I did not use original parts. When it was all together, I took it to the dealer for an alignment and could not get enough Caster to meet the alignment specs. (The car has never been hit and prior to rebuilding the front end I had no trouble meeting specs). Why do you think your car has clunking noises after such a short time?
In my case I think it is because the (Febi) track rod mounts that I used are of such poor quality that they are causing the problem.

Front End
 

I did not see any of your earlier posts on this subject. If you are going to replace the lower ball joints you will need a special tool. I believe that you can rent one from Performamnce Products. I made one, but it did not work very well.

You are correct sir. I did a partial front end rebuild last year but I think I installed the realy big ball joint at the chassis improperly. That caused to become damaged internally. This time, I'm replacing all the bushings because I have a spring compressor and I can.

I'm also going to replace the front calipers and master cyl. There is some kind of black sediment in the reservoir. The fluid was also black and had sediment in it. I hope my ABS controler is OK.

Here Are Some Pics
 

Here is a link to all the FS bits:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b177/wb300se/IMG_3179.jpg

My helper:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b177/wb300se/IMG_3181.jpg

The old drivers side sway bar bushing:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b177/wb300se/IMG_3224.jpg

The new one:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b177/wb300se/IMG_3223.jpg

Looking at the front sway bar clamp bolt, the brake booster is in front:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b177/wb300se/IMG_3226.jpg

Socket and u-joint on the front bolt:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b177/wb300se/IMG_3227.jpg

Socket on the rear bolt, what a PITA:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b177/wb300se/IMG_3228.jpg

This is how it's done:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b177/wb300se/IMG_3229.jpg

More to follow...

Interesting thread!
 

Is the "big ball joint at the chassis" the track rod mount? What do you think you did wrong when you installed it that caused it to become damaged? I am following your thread closely because what you do may help me determine why I have front end clunks after only a year. My guess is faulty parts but maybe I did something wrong.

I had a spring compressor so I replaced everything. The only thing I didn't do in my suspension rebuild was replace the sway bar bushings so that is the first thing that I will do on my second try. How long did it take you to do that?

Replacing the Lower control arm bushings was pretty tricky. Did you take it to a shop? I did it myself and ended up cutting the outside of the bushing with a hacksaw to break it loose from where it was pressed into the metal shaft of the center bushing. I then pried the bushing out of the control arm and pulled the center bushing out with a threaded rod. A PVC pipe union (o.d. 2 3/4) worked fine for pressing the large part of the outside piece into one side of the control arm. Then I used the bolt from my old idler arm to pull the inside in. I did the other side in stages using the bolt and the PVC union.

I am sure that it is much easier with the right tool.

When I originally pressed it in, I used my shop press and forced it in. This time I used a small hammer and a large wrench, on it's side, to ease it in on the outer band.

http://img.eautopartscatalog.com/live/L201736117FEB.JPG

The drivers side sway bar bushing took a couple of hours. The master cyl. came off, I had to loosen the wire ties on the side of the fuse box so the tools would fit approx straight down onto the bolts. I also used the synthetic MB bearing grease, the green stuff, to lubricate the sway bar and the busging so it would slide on. Then I had to futz around getting the socket out from the rear bolt and it's hiding place.


I tried to put the outer pieces on today but I ended up bending the cap. I'm getting a new bushing set in the morning and I'll take it to a shop since they have the proper MB tool. I used my reciprocating saw to but the end cap off and pry it out as you did.

http://img.eautopartscatalog.com/live/L204016578LEM.JPG

http://www.pindelsky.com has a lot of good info there and made the job easier. I'm still not finished yet. Once I get the LCA bushing replaced, I'll put the drivers side all back together again and tackle the passenger side.

I'm also going to replace the steering gear and the idler arm. The exhaust has to come off for that. ugh!

The saga continues. I took a few weeks off, I took the kids to Niagara Falls and Toronto before their school started. Vacation time.

This week I replaced the passenger side sway bar bushing which was pretty easy since the battery and tray have to come out. I had already taken the spindle off and I had tried to remove the lower control arm bolt but it was really tight.

Yesterday, I tried removing it again. This time, while using my 24" long swivel head ratchet, I hung from it and tried to losen it. No go, it wouldn't budge, although I did get a crack from it.

So, I put on a short section of boiler tube on the end of this ratchet and stood on it. Still not go, wouldn't budge. Then I bounced up and down on it and it finally loosened. That bolt/nut combo must have been torqued to 500 ft-lbs. I weigh about 190 and with a two foot lever and bouncing up and down on it, 400 - 500 ft-lbs sounds about right.

Then I replaced the upper control arm and sway bar bushings. I had to jack up the driver side to get a 'favourable angle' as the manual states. Alignment helps.

I'm going to take the LCA and bushing ends to an MB repair shop and have them press on the end caps. I already took the end caps off and the internal bushing out and replaced the bushing and tried the end caps but that was a no go. Large sockets or the special tool is needed. I want to get a move on.

Next. PS gear and idler arm bushings.

The end is in sight. I've decided to let my kids drive the car when they get their licenses in about 2 years.

I am not sure how this all turned out. I can only assume it went well since it was a complete front end overhaul. But, a clunking recently started to happen to my 560 SEL without any recent work to bias my search, so I suspected everything. I found the culprit to be the rubber bushings on the upper end of the shock absorbers where they tighten to the frame. The ones in the back were a major hassle since they required bleeding down the hydraulic shock suspension system and removing the back seat and a jack to manipulate the sub frame all to remove the shocks and replace the bushings. This fixed the clunking... Small expense for parts and hydraulic fluid, medium commitment for your time (for me took 5 hours)…

Regarding the large track rod bushing (sometimes called caster bearing, or aft Break Rod Bushing, or Thrust Bearing) that screws into the fore-aft rod that attaches to the lower control arm in the front… I replaced it in the bracket and did not require any special tools or efforts Simply coat the large bearing with grease to cut down on corrosion and aid the installation, align one of the lenghtwise groves with the bottom aft drain slot (to allow water to escape if trapped) and place it all on the floor and lean on it. This got mine 75% of the way in, then a rubber mallet to drive it the rest of the way works great. Be sure to wipe off all excess grease as it will cause the rubber insert on the back plate to deteriorate. I used silicone grease to coat the back plate and area prior to installing the rubber insert and back plate. Since this area has steel against aluminum the inside of it is bad about corrosion.

Bill

Bill, are your front absorbers struts or shocks? I have a cluncking noise on rough pavement on 1 side more predominantly than the other and noticed that the strut top rubber mount is cracked, I am wondering if you can remove and replace the rubber mount from the top of the strut assbly or did you have to remove the strut to do the job?
Mine is a 1992 500sl:)

The W126 has shock absorbers. The rubber bushings are easy to replace.

The car drives really well now but is really floaty and not well controlled. Time for new shocks. (More money for the pit)