How long does sway-bar bushings last on a w124?
 

I had my sway-bar bushings replaced, along with the rest of my suspension, last year. I have driven about 20000 miles since and now it feels like the bushings are worn out again.

My front end kind of 'thumps' over small imperfections in the road and is tram-lining(?) a bit too.
I recently replaced all 4 shocks but that made no difference at all.
I checked the ball-joints and they seem ok.

Can the sway-bar bushings really be shot after only 20000 miles?

Freestyler

Hello Freestyler,

I strongly believe there is no lifetime on most items on a car.
It depends so much of driving style, driving conditions, road and even weather conditions, etc...
On my W124 300TD turbo at 326000 km and 13 years old, almost everything is original except front shocks, tyres offcourse, one battery and after last Friday one new glowplug (cyl. No 4).
It's used under mixt conditions and I am driving rather quietly.
If your bushings are used so fast your car is in a need of a thorough check-up, at least for the drive train!
BTW are those AMG 17" really original AMG's , I am allways
suspicious to those large tyres...
Greetings,

Danny

Impressive! I have replaced almost the entire car during the 1½ year i have owned it. And there's apparently no end to it.. :(

And no. They are not original AMG's. But they are very nice copies. ;)
Right now i'm driving on the "15 with winter tires. The tram-lining is not as bad as with the "17 but it is still very annoying.

What would a drive-train check-up have to do with bushings wearing out fast..!?

Freestyler

Freestyler, do you do your own work or do you take it to the dealer for service? I find people who take their cars in for service have considerably more repair work done to them.

Kestas
I do the work myself. I have only had it in the shop once to replace the suspension bushings (inl. the sway-bar bushings) and once when i gave up on finding the reason for burning obscene amounts of fuel. (they could't find the reason either.. Bur they could charge me $600!)

If i had to pay the dealership for all this maintenance work, i would be driving a Yugo now.. ;)

Freestyler

Do you feel the thump in the steering wheel too? Could be the idler arm (I think). How's your steering shock? They are both cheap replacements.

I second that..idler arm. I wouldn't rule out the ball joints either.

No. No thump in the steering weel. And my steering shock is less than a year old.

Where exactly is the idler arm? (i'm still not quite familiar with the english terms)

Freestyler

"Where exactly is the idler arm? (i'm still not quite familiar with the english terms)"

The idler arm is symetrically located to the Pitman arm, which connects the steering box to the steering linkage. Probably the bushings are due if original. I don't think worn sway-bar bushings will contribute to your tracking problem. Do a formal wear test of the ball joints, check all suspension attachments for looseness, and check the struts mounts.

Steve