W210 Front End Vibration - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

okc329 · #1 03-25-2003, 11:25 AM

My last reply to this thread indicated that the re-balancing of my wheels by the dealer had improved the vibration situation a great deal. However, that was during a period of very cold weather and I believe that the front lower control arm bushings were "stiffened" up due to low temperature. As the weather moderated and the temperature came up into the 50's and 60's, the vibration returned. So back to the dealer. This time the shop manager came out to the rack, took a long pry bar and put some side-wise force on the bushing. The driver's side was very mushy and the other side somewhat less so. They said they would replace the bushings. However, when they went to press the old bushings out of the control arms, their tool broke - I think that may answer the question above. Their solution was to order new control arms with busings pre-installed. Car is supposed to be finished today. I'll let you know how it feels after I drive it for a bit.

phouse · #2 03-25-2003, 12:19 PM

Any Idea what they would cost ? I know the tool to remove the bushings are expensive.. The one to remove the front one cost $1300 and the one for the rear is about $150.. The arm and bushing combo should be cheaper..

blackmercedes · #3 03-25-2003, 05:04 PM

Steve,

This seems to happen to the W202 bodies as well. One reason I sold off my 17" wheel combo was the inability for the factory bushings to handle increased loading thanks to the larger wheels and tires. Luckily, the dealer covered the repairs under warranty.

I went back to the 15" set up, but might "tinker" with some mild 16" set-ups to try to get a bit more grip without compromising suspension tuning. I did install the AMG suspension, and would like to take advantage of it a bit more, but huge 17 or 18" boots are not needed on the C230. It's only got 150 ponies.

okc329 · #4 03-26-2003, 02:25 PM

Picked up my car from the dealer last night. If you read my previous post, you know that I was getting new lower control arm busings by way of a replacemnt of the control arms themselves - this because their tool used for pressing out the old bushings broke. Anyway, I drove my usual 15 mile route to the office this morning at my preferred speed of 60 MPH and the car felt great. I really believe they got it this time. Thanks to STEVEBFL for continually pointing to the bushings as the culprit.
The dealer comp'd me all the parts and I got by for $345 which included a $100 charge for re-alignment. I thought that was very fair as car is 21 months and 12,000 miles past the warranty limits.
Any of you with W210 cars still in warranty should ask your dealers to test these bushings via the pry bar method and replace them if they are not really stiff. Ask to witness the test yourself.

phouse · #5 03-27-2003, 12:47 PM

How Much was lower control arm bushings..?... Was the upper a problem too..?

phouse · #6 03-27-2003, 12:53 PM

Sorry I meant to say the whole arm ? Compared to just the bushings..

okc329 · #7 03-27-2003, 01:27 PM

Sorry, I don't know what the cost of the control arms would have been because the dealer did not charge them to me. He harged them to Mercedes-Benz. I do know that the dealer wanted $68 per set of lower control arm bushings. Two set are required. Drove the car some extra miles last night and my wife could definitely notice the difference as a passenger.