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  #1  
Old 04-13-2003, 02:33 AM
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front left shock or spring noise on w126

Hello..

Right before winter started and before the tempreture began to drop, I began hearing a somewhat loud noise when ever braking or accelerating. The noise comes from the front left wheel, and the best way to describe the sound is that it sounds like someone's belching. However, once the tempreture dropped below 50 or so, the noise went away. Now that spring has arrived and the tempreture began to rise again, the familiar sound is back. When I push down on the front left fender I hear the sound clearly, so I am sure its from the suspension in that area. Before I tackle this problem, I would like to have an idea of what this could be. Does this sound like a spring problem, shocks, or what? As of today, the car has 179,300 miles. Looking at the shocks, it appears to be the original stock ones. Its all white.. if that helps with anything.

Anyone with any suggestions? Also, a guess of how hard the job is? Perhaps a list of what parts I may need to purchase? Any info will be appreciated.

Thanks in advance...
Sharif

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  #2  
Old 04-13-2003, 10:43 AM
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mine was making the same noise the other day, then it went away. Its just the warmer weather "loosening" the suspension i suppose....also the rubber parts in it.
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  #3  
Old 04-13-2003, 10:59 AM
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Ya,but where is the sound coming from?
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Old 04-13-2003, 11:32 AM
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My money is on the upper-outer control arm bushings. Those are the bushings where the sway bar mates with the upper control arm. You can reach in and loosely hold the joint while someone presses down on the fender, if that's the source you'll feel what you hear.

If your shocks are all white, it sounds like the originals have been replaced with KYB's. Or were you refering to you car being all white????I don't think car color has any bearing on the noise :p
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  #5  
Old 04-13-2003, 11:36 AM
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I vote ball joint. Look for cracked boots and rust coming from it.
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Old 04-13-2003, 11:40 AM
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You know Steve, I don't know why I didn't think balljoint, I mean I'm right in the middle of that job right now.

But it was the groaning upper/outer bushing that I heard first on mine. On the opposite side of the bad ball joints too.
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  #7  
Old 04-13-2003, 12:10 PM
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Another common groan can come from the idler arm bushing but it comes with turning more than with compression of the suspension.
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Old 04-13-2003, 01:05 PM
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Steve and Mike.. Thanks a lot. Anyone here have a scanned copy of the manual or something that can help me tackle this project? Perhaps directions if someone is kind enough

BTW.. Mike, I mentioned the color of the shock just to be sure if it was the stock original one or if it was an aftermarket shock... not that the shock color had anything to do with the noise :p
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  #9  
Old 04-13-2003, 01:11 PM
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White shocks are usually KYB. MB uses a number of suppliers: Bilstein, Boge, and Sachs. All are black when installed as OE.
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  #10  
Old 04-13-2003, 01:15 PM
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both my 126's had clunk accelerating and braking both had bad track rod joints. Sounds like we have just about covered the entire front suppension maybe that's what it needs.........
William Rogers.......
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  #11  
Old 04-13-2003, 01:31 PM
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Yes, probably the most common noise, but a klunk is not a groan. And the track rod mounts can not be heard with the car motionless. They also can not be diagnosed by observation except to condemn all that have broken boots.

The noise they make is due to movement in the longitudinal direcetion.
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  #12  
Old 04-13-2003, 01:40 PM
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In my records, the front right bushing has been replaced 10K miles ago... I guess its time for the left one now

Doing a search on this problem, I see that I will need a tool to compress the bushing? Since I don't have this tool.. I am thinking of taking it to a technician to have it done. The part is pretty cheap, I saw that its $20 or so.. maybe $25 with shipping. Anyone know roughly around how much time a mechanic would need to replace the piece? Also, is there just one bushing on each side or are there more? I have never worked on the suspensions.. I am more familiar of the interrior of the car than the outside:p
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  #13  
Old 05-04-2003, 08:13 PM
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UPDATE:

I checked again on the noise and it appears to be coming from this rubber piece thats on the top portion of the spring. Right where the spring touches the body. I will double check tomorrow to verify if thats where the sound came from. If it is this rubber piece... is this a DIY job or should I just have a mechanic fix/replace?
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  #14  
Old 05-05-2003, 08:36 AM
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ttt
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  #15  
Old 05-05-2003, 01:46 PM
John F
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Sniggle,
My '85 500SEC has the same noise. I had it in to fix an emissions problem, and the tech said it was the track rod mount.
You can see the part at Performance Products web-site.
For my car it's under front suspension + steering; item #13.
The tech also said , that it takes two strong men and a boy to replace them.
A friend of mine suggested a silicon spray but it is too tight to penetrate. Just my .02 worth.
Good luck, John F

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