I replaced all parts in question and most of my problems have been resolved, except the car still seems to have somewhat loose steering, most evident around 40 mph when traveling straight. The steering wheel has a 1" play without moving the wheels. I think I can eliminate some of the play by tightening the steering gear to 1/2" play.

Here are the details of what I did and their affect:

I changed the wheels and tires from 215/60R15 Bridgestone Potenza RE950 to my snow tires, which are 195/65R15 Winterforce. The rubbing of fender lip over wavy roads stopped. I am no longer concerned with my chassis height, springs, struts. I will get 5 (1 for spare) 8-hole 16" wheels and 205 size Kumho tires for Spring to Fall.

I changed the 4 front sway bar bushings. This improved steering response, and probably eliminated the clunking noise.

I changed the upper mounts, bellows, and bump stops. This improved the road feel; unevenness of the surface is transferred to the car better.

Thank you again for all who helped!

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2004 E500 4Matic 138,000 miles