Suspension, differential, and transmission help requested

[skiier3_9]

On my 1994 w124 E320 I have owned it for nearly a year now and put about 10k miles on it (it has 127k now). The car was in good condition when I bought it, however it came with no service records/history (probably a mistake...I know). I completed the 120K service as suggested by the owners manual (plugs, fuel filter, all fluids changed including the differential, air filter, cabin filter, etc.)Anyway, I would like to keep the car in as good of shape as possible (without breaking the bank obviously) and would like some advice/information about the suspension, differential and tranmission.

First, where can I find some good information about the suspension setup, names of parts, their purpose, etc. I know quite a bit about cars in general, but suspension is definitely my weakest subject.

Second, assuming the suspension components are all original what should I be looking to check and/or replace (and how do I check each component). I found the 4 P's as suggested by LarryBible, and have no problem jacking the car up and push/pull/pry/prod on the components, but I have no clue what to look for.

Third, the transmission makes a slight cluck (i think in the rear-end) on the 3-4 shift once in awhile. It seems to be only under light-moderate acceleration and after doing some research I would guess that it is the rear differential mounts or flex disk.

I am hoping to complete much of the service required on my own, once the weather warms up a bit here in the tundra region.

One further question - at idle i can feel a slight vibration of the engine, can I safely assume that the engine mounts are tired after 12 years and 125k+ miles.

Thanks for the suggestions and help!

[haasman]

I would suggest buying the 124 series repair CD (ebay is a good source) It has all that you could ask for although the interface and menus and user interface are a bit awkward.

The suspension on the 124 cars (first deployed in the 201/190 series) was quite unique in its day. The rear suspension is what is described as a multi-link, with five links controlling and locating each wheel. The rear suspension is attached to a sub-frame that is in turn attached to the body. The reason for all the links was to ensure positive wheel location through out its travel but not to allow any additional “steering influences”.

The links, with the exception of what some people call the lower control arm; all have rubber bushings at each end. These bushings will fail over time.

In the front, the suspension is a bit more straight-forward with a traditional shock/strut and a lower A-arm.

With any previously owned car I have purchased, I ALWAYS change the front and rear sway bar bushings. The results are a flatter body positioning during cornering and the car generally feels tighter. It is easy to do and not expensive as you are only changing rubber bushings and two plastic links. The fronts have two large bushings, the rear sway bar has two bushings locating to the body and the two vertical links.

Besides the typical ball joints, tie-rods etc there is also a steering dampener and at the top of the shocks a rubber mount which breaks down. If it were my car I would look at the upper shock mount, the steering dampener, replace the steering idler arm bushings.

Shocks: I ONLY use Brillstein HDs on all of my cars. They are firm, not harsh. Since your car has 120k+ miles it may be a good time to consider changing them.

You can determine if you need motor mounts the engine will have settled too close to the sub frame. You should have at least 13mm (if I recall correctly) between the engine and the sub frame.

Haasman

[skiier3_9]

Thanks haasman, I puchased a w124 owners bible last night on eBay and will look for the CD manual.