The bottom bush has gone on my shocker. Plenty of resistance still, but the bush on the bottom mount has gone.

Anyone know if they can be repaired? Seems a shame to throw it out just because of a bit of rubber.

You can try removing it and pressing it back into place in a vise or forcing it back in alignment with a long screw driver but it will come out again. I know.

The failure (as i expirienced) was probably caused by excessive vibration as a result of your bad motor mounts which i know you have replaced recently. I overheated two shocks such that they lost resistance and had the lower bushing overheat, melt and deform on a third.

__________________
Terry Allison
N. Calif. & Boca Chica, Panama

09' E320 Bluetec 77k (USA)
09' Hyundai Santa Fe Diesel 48k (S.A.)

Can you post an image, Parrot?

Clean it first, and use some glue when pressing it back into place.....offhand I would use some Gorilla Glue.....because I have the stuff...but any good grade of glue...that will do rubber to metal, and has a moderate temperature limit...should work...or epoxy....maybe even liquid nails.....

SB

__________________

Diesels:
'85 300D, "Max, Blue Benz", 155K, 27.0 MPG
'84 190D 2.2, "Eva, Brown Benz", 142K, 40.2 MPG
'77 240D (parts car)
'67 Eicher ES 202 Tractor "Otto" (2cyl, Air Cooled, 30HP)
Gassers:
'94 Ford F-150, "Henry", 170K (300 Six) 17.5 MPG
'85 190E 2.3, 148K....Parts Car
'58 Dodge W300M Powerwagon (Flat Fenders) Less than 10 MPG

Not yet. The bush is a real mess, its torn/melted and generally......a mess. It can't be used again, so I was wondering if anybody had replaced it. I could always contact Bilstein since they make them for MB anyway. Maybe they'll be nice and send me out a replacement

I tried changing the shock yesterday but I couldn't get the damn washer to screw down the thread on the bottom bolt - the washer wouldn't move past the pulley, so I couldn't get the bolt out far enough to remove the shock. I'm going to remove the entire assembly instead, starting at the lever.

You've got the tension released and the shock end of the pivot arm pivoted as far downward as it will go before you started, right?

If you start backing the bolt out before doing that it will hit and bind on the inside lip of the WP pulley.

Note it is not necessary to remove the bolt, just to back it out far enouugh for the threads to clear the insides of the shock bushing. Sometimes backing the bolt as far as is it will go and then pushing the bolt head down at an angle will allow the shock to slip past it.

__________________
Terry Allison
N. Calif. & Boca Chica, Panama

09' E320 Bluetec 77k (USA)
09' Hyundai Santa Fe Diesel 48k (S.A.)

You must have a shorter bolt than I have, or a bolt with a shorter thread but same length overall. The head of the bolt cleared the lip of the pulley, but the washer would not move over the thread - the washer wouldn't clear the pulley, hence shocky no movey

I've done it before, only the last time it went I took it to an MB indie and they replaced the shocker, pivot arm, pulley, V-belt and one or two other bits. I think they must have used a different, newer bolt. The old one was easy.

Heres a pic I took while doing it. I took the pic because I suspected there was a spacer/washer missing from the top bolt, between the shocker and the engine (it didn't seem perfectly vertically aligned). However looking at technical diagrams from MB, there isn't meant to be one, and I think its 99% likely the old faulty engine mounts have caused the damage - particularly as since everything else has been replaced, the shocker has not leaked its fluid - something it did before with regularity).



You can see the bottom bolt - its the washer on that bolt that won't screw over the thread on the bolt, and since the washer won't clear the pulley, the bolt won't come out far enough to get the shocker out

Oh and yes I know the cylinder head is mucky, and yes I know the oil tube needs painting. All good things......

I'd R&R it Parrot. If the bush is spanked, the shock can't be far behind. I did mine at 99k with the belt and the motor mounts shortly thereafter.
Steve

Fortunately the top bush seems fine, and looks to be the same size, so I'll keep the old one spare and use the remaining bush in case the new shocker decides to suffer a similar fate.

You can see how mallable the old bush was by watching this:

Video

[QUOTE=
You can see the bottom bolt - its the washer on that bolt that won't screw over the thread on the bolt, and since the washer won't clear the pulley, the bolt won't come out far enough to get the shocker out

[/QUOTE]

I just ran into this problem. I couldn't figure out why they would want an interference fit between the threads on the bolt and the washer. But I figured that if they put the washer on, I could get it off. Right!
A neighbor and I worked the washer over the threads of the bolt with two big flat-bladed screw drivers, twisting the screw drivers between the washer and nut on each side. Not elegant, but it worked. I then drilled a larger hole in the washer so I wouldn't have the same problem next time. To anyone doing this, be careful of your knuckles.

__________________
1987 300D with 201k miles.
1985 F350 Ford dually 6.9 diesel
1988 F250 Ford utiilty truck 7.3 diesel