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#1
04-03-2012, 04:55 PM
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New perch or coilover?
I had a spring perch fail on my 99 E300 and I am wondering if there is a better fix than welding on a new part. It looks like there is little left to weld the new part onto. I have seen coil/strut combos and wonder if anyone has info on this approach to solving the problem.
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#2
04-03-2012, 05:25 PM
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Passenger side? this is a common failure on your model. My w124 just had the same thing happen about a month ago. Subframe rail rusted out behind it and it popped off. Took it to the body shop and they cut out all the bad metal, welded in new, and then welded in a new perch and sealed the whole thing with por15. If the repair is done properly then it should be as good as factory.
__________________
Streetside: 1987 Mercedes 300E Petrol Blue/Green 2014 Ford Mustang Grabber Blue 1999 Ford Ranger Green Dockside: 1968 Eltro 17 1985 Silverton 34C
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#4
04-05-2012, 05:01 PM
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No, the driver's sides are almost always fine. Plus if it was rusty to the point of failure, you would definitely see it. Tap it with a hammer or something metal, if it sounds and feels solid, you're good! if it sounds crunchy and soft, you're not good.
__________________
Streetside: 1987 Mercedes 300E Petrol Blue/Green 2014 Ford Mustang Grabber Blue 1999 Ford Ranger Green Dockside: 1968 Eltro 17 1985 Silverton 34C
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#5
04-15-2012, 02:48 PM
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The repair
I replaced the perch using rivets as recommenced by Mercedes.
The rivets are rated at 2000 pounds shear. I figured that the load on the perch is about 4000 pounds when you factor in the lever arm created by the lower arm. So with 11 rivets there is about a five times safety factor. The metal under the old perch was solid. I first used phosphoric acid to treat the metal and then panted with epoxy primer. The rivets were dipped in epoxy before insertion. The mess [IMG]  [/IMG]Cleaned up mess [IMG]  [/IMG]Epoxy applied [IMG]  [/IMG]Perch mounted [IMG]  [/IMG]Spring installed [IMG]  [/IMG]
Last edited by Tasma; 04-15-2012 at 04:15 PM.
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#6
04-16-2012, 07:59 AM
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Cool! I hope it holds up better than the original setup. How many welds were on the original?
__________________
 85 190E 2.3(SOLD) 86 230E (-->300D) sold 87 300D (-->300TD) sold 68 250S w/ a 615 and manual tranny (RIP) 87 300TD (SOLD) 95 S280 "The KRAKEN" (Turbo 2.9 602 transplant) traded 86 190E 2.3... current project
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#7
04-16-2012, 08:44 AM
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Just out of curiosity how much did the perch/rivets all cost?
__________________
Cruise Control not working? Send me PM or email (jamesdean59@gmail.com). I might be able to help out. Check here for compatibility, diagnostics, and availability! (4/11/2020: Hi Everyone! I am still taking orders and replying to emails/PMs/etc, I appreciate your patience in these crazy times. Stay safe and healthy!) 82 300SD 145k 89 420SEL 210k 89 560SEL 118k 90 300SE 262k RIP 5/25/2010 90 560SEL 154k 91 300D 2.5 Turbo. 241k 93 190E 3.0 235k 93 300E 195k
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#8
04-16-2012, 09:33 AM
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Cost
The perch was $38 from the Benz dealer. The rivets were only $5 for 25 rivets. I bought special rivets that break off with the center pin in the shear zone of the rivet. They are called structural rivets and not the type you find at a hardware store. I bought them from a industrial supply place. (McMaster Carr)
I bought the rivet gun from Harbor Freight for $68. You need a big one to break off the quarter inch rivets. A spring compressor is needed so I rented one from AutoZone. It is hard to tell but it looked like there were about 10 spot welds originally.
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