Front subframe mounts installed!
 

I finally got around to doing the front subframe mounts last night. My, my, what a difference! No more swooping around on the road (still have some wander from a bad steering coupler, though), no more clanks and rattles from the steering wheel, no more bone jarring crashes going over rail road tracks, have to watch the speed more, she just flies!

Some notes that may be of interest to other DIY-ers:

I mostly followed the excellent DIY article here on Mercedesshop with the following shortcuts --

I didn't remove the brake lines, mine are new and looked long enough. The manual instructions are for actually removing the subframe, so I figured I would have the stretch need. I did, no problems.

I only removed the lower attachment for the shocks. Had to pull them up and re-insert the bolts through the lower control arm, but that beats completely removal.

I left the sway bar on. Was going to replace the mounts, but have the wrong ones -- hole in the new ones is about half the diameter of the bar.... Did have to remove the mounts to get the subframe down far enough.

I could not get the screw holding the battery box out, even with a torch and plenty of PB blaster. Found that the screws for the mount can easily be removed with an open end wrench. A pain to get them started, but the other side was also. Used a large phillips screwdriver and a prybar on the subframe to line the holes up.

Pretty easy fix for the results, I strongly recommend doing it if there is any real age on the subframe mounts. My old ones, un-installed, were almost 3/4" shorter than the new ones!

Peter

Glad my efforts were helpful for you Peter.

What was the condition of your large mounting bolts, compared to mine in the pictures? Just trying to gauge how bad mine were (I thought pretty damn bad!!).

This is great- looking to get rid of the clunking through the steering wheel, too-

psfred, if I asked my tech to do this operation for me (I just don't have the space/tools to do it at home) what is your guestimate for the amount of time it would take?

I am definetly doing this before aligning and getting 4 new tires-

thanks,

JAS

Sway Bar Mount comment
 

Psfred--

Recently r & r'd my 108's sway bar bushings and noted the same issue w/ the holes on the new bushings being a different size than replaced units.

These old bushings have been distorted from heat, pressure, etc and the new bushings w/ the smaller hole are correct. I was able to get mine into place by putting the new bushings on the bar and using a jack to pressure the steel mount plates on top of the bushings and bolt the whole mess into place. Believe it or not, they will fit. The new sway bar bushings are pliable and should grip tightly.

ps -- don't use any grease on these guys -- These new bar bushings have really improved the handling of my car. Body roll is reduced significantly and hitting corners at speed with these sleds is something else.

Mike:

Just a tiny bit of wear on the left side bolt, right side looks OK. I guess mine has less wear on them than yours did, as I didn't get clunks changing directions, just lots of wander and "swooping" on turns, where the car would go into the turn and then require considerable correction as the front axle "steered" under the body.

I think the left side moves more because the right side has the locator, but maybe it's something else.

I tweaked the mixture a little too, and suddenly have POWER! Great fun, and the milage seems a bit better, too.

JAS:

Took me three hours, someone familiar with the setup or with a hoist will take more like two and a half. Lots of fiddly stuff to mess with, alas.

Joe:

I'm going to try to install those new bushing tonight, I think I can do it without jacking the car up. Going to pull/push the Volvo into the garage this week and pull the head, I need a less hungry car to drive!

Peter

Joe:

I followed your advise and replaced the bushings this evening. Went pretty fast once I figured out just how to press them on. Next time I'm going to put the bushings on the sway bar, the remove the bar from the car and use a vice. Easier, I think.

Suddenly I have that wonderful Benz feel in this car for the first time -- that lovely sensation of complete control while the car "floats" over rough pavement and chuckholes -- you can hear the tires hitting, but really don't feel it!

Peter

This is what I really love about DIY on these cars (in fact most cars with a bit of character) - oh what a pleasure it is to get a hard job done and feel the car drive better afterwards. I've removed the diff from the 6,9 two days ago in order to recondition it and some parts of the rear suspension. Looking forward to an improved ride and no funny grinding noises when the job is finished.

Adam
'77 6,9