Out of the blue yesterday the left rear (drivers side) of my wife's 88' 300TE started to making a loud squeak/creaking noise when going over any irregular road surface. This is only on the drivers side. The right side of the car is silent. I had the wife bounce the left rear corner while I checked the rear suspension, the noise/vibration seems to be coming from the rear spring. The self leveling function seems to be working fine. Hyd. fluid level is good. The ride of the car has not changed (not hash), the rear is level no sag. Did not see any leaks on the Hyd. shock.

We did receive about 4" of rain this weekend here in Charleston, could that effect it (grasping at any straw here)?

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Ed C.

MY 124 chassis wagon has a squeek and occasional creek/groan from that same area. For the longest time I thought it to be the rear suspension - probably dried out old bushings. It turned out not to be the suspension at all, but rather the folding rear seat. All the noises disappear when the seat is folded down. I've not yet dug into it to see what the problem is with the seat, but try folding yours down and see if the noise disappears.

My personal experience is that suspension noises generally go away in the rain, rather than surface. The water temporarily lubricates the bushings, quieting them down.

Not the fold down seat I checked that and my wife reported noise is still there today after I folded the seat down yesterday.

I am thinking control arm bushing, sway bar bushing or sway bar link. I will be checking it out tonight. I will try to shoot some silicone spray into these areas and see if that makes a difference.

I could definately feel the vibration in the spring/control arm area when the left corner was bounced. Also it is specific to the drivers side, no noise on the passenger side.

Ed C.

Fair enough then, guess you don't get away with the cheap/easy fix. I too was certain it was the suspension - the noise very cleary originated at the drivers' side rear wheelwell. I'm assuming the noise is the outside pivot on the folding seat.

The rear suspension of the 124 is certainly known for wearing out bushings. The thrust arm is particularly prone - it has been upgraded several times over the life of the five link suspension. If you've never had the thrust arms replaced, this is the place to start looking. You can use the search feature to find past discussions of the issues.

Thanks for all the help jc. I will let you know what I find this evening.

you can also check the emergancy brake that was a problem on mine.