W126 Front End "Clunk" At Top of Bumps
 

My 350SDL is beginning to exhibit a single front-end "clunk" as it tops quick rises in the road (decreased weight on the front suspension) - has about 150k on it.

Has 2 year old Bilstein shocks, but has had no other front end work.

Can anyone start me off in the right direction- figured this is pretty common at this age (the car's, not mine :-)? I am looking forward, somewhat innocently, to doing some suspension work!.

Any advice on non-OEM replacement of bushings, etc (urethane?) to tighten up the suspension would be appreciated, as well.

As always, I really appreciate the knowledge base and your time, and assistance.

Noises are sometimes hard to determine from the "written word" However I would suspect that you have some issues with your Front End Support Rod's
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yes you probably are looking at some front suspension work. The noise is most likely coming from one of the track rods. This is not an easy job and you must have a lift to do it safely. Other "joints" to suspect are ball joints and control arm bushings. Some of these joints require compressing the front spring to R/R. Do not attempt this yourself without expert advice. If one of the front springs decides to leave its post it would most certainly kill anyone that it in its path.
I would have a good indy or MB garage check the joints (BTW - must be done when the car is off the ground) and give estimate. Post back here and lets us know. I basically just rebuilt the front end of my 84 300SD so I may be of some help on $ amount questions