210 Owners. Check your Spring Perch
 

Just got mine checked. The right side was good while the left had a break. Well, we are going to fix the one side and leave the other alone. The rust proof stuff there is fine. Any idea why the driver side tends to be the rusty one as opposed to the right side? Dealer is saying that there are way more driver side bad units than passenger side. This is going to be a 4 hr job with the rivets and parts.

Is MB picking up the tab for the repairs? I'd assume that they will reinforce the existing upper perch with rivets which is probably a much easier repair than trying to replace it once it has broken free of the chassis. Can you get a copy of the repair procedure and post it here...I'd like to pre-emptively do it to mine.

No they are not. I'll look up the repair procedures and let you know whether I will fax it to you or if I am able to post it here.

Found it in EPC. However, I suggest you check your's out. I did and am only fixing one instead of both since it is the left one that is rotten and going to break. The right one is fine. You may not have to do it. I can fax you the directions if you want.

I've heard the opposite, that it's the passenger side that's typically worse. That was the case with my car as well. I'm surprised you waited this long to have yours checked with all the warnings posted on this forum. The proper way to fix this is to weld/rivet in a new perch and preferably reinforce it with an extra brace, not just patch up the existing one. The bodyshop that did the work for me elected not to reapply undercoating in that area (with which I agreed) since it is the undercoating that seems to do more harm than good. Instead they painted and greased the area after installing the new perches. BTW, MB paid 50% of my expense and they picked the bodyshop for me.

I checked it when I bought it which was in Jan of 05 and it seemed ok at the time.

Not sure which extra brace they have. I know we ordered some parts. Will have to look at it. The other side is fine so we are not doing anything with it. This is at the mechanical shop and not the body shop that we are doing it.

Mine were replaced last year and I did both. I was pleasantly surprised when MB picked up the tab. The parts are under 50 dollars plus paint. The parts appear to be spot welded on. It actually looks pretty easy to do if you have a spring compressor. My other 210 is OK so far and I get the dealer to check them yearly.

I take it you just did an external, visual check back in Jan. 05. That would explain why it went bad after 2 years. The only way to know for sure whether a spring perch is bad is to peel the undercoating around it and have a look at what's underneath. That's what I did as soon as I got my car. The passenger side was already half broken and the driver's side was just surface-rusted. I had both of them replaced.

covered?
 

While I haven't needed these perch mounts, I believe if you have a service advisor working on your behalf, you might could at least get an out of warranty "good will" repair since it's a known issue.

Yes many people have had theirs covered 100%. Unfortunately my dealer was being a prick and they only agreed to cover 50% on behalf of MBUSA. This should be a safety recall item so the least MB should do is cover 100% of the cost on an individual case basis. A much more ethical way for them to do this would be to issue a recall.

This there a service bulletin number on this issue?

According to one poster here there is a service bulletin regarding this issue in Canada but not in the US the last time my dealer checked and I haven't seen anyone here find one either. I think it will take at least a few publicized deaths before MBUSA gets off its ass and issues a recall.

Up in the northern states, they usually put the majority of the salt down the middle of the road. I had a truck as a teenager that had totally rusted away driver's side quarter panels but the other side was like new!

Does anyone know if the later 210's are more immune to the spring perch rust?

The undercoating was solid at the time so I thought it was ok. I suppose I should have peeled it off and see what was inside. I check it every 6 months or so. This time I saw the stuff crack off so I knew it was bad.

It only takes a very small crack in the undercoating which may not even be visible to corrode a large area. Normally this isn't a problem and once the area is rusted enough the undercoating will start visibly cracking and it can then be repatched with something like POR15. But in the case of the W210 spring perches, even minor corrosion in that area can be a big problem because of the way the spring perches are spot-welded and it is these spot welds that hold the wheels in place. Basically it's a pretty bad design on the part of MB and they shouldn't have used undercoating in that area because of the vibration of the perch that tends to crack the undercoating and allow water to get inside.

No W210's are immune to this. Of course the newer they are the less exposure they've typically had to water and salt, but none of them are immune. As I've stated before the best way to inspect the perches for corrosion is to peel off the undercoating around them. I would do just tiny sections in a few different places, kind of like a needle biopsy for cancer. Rust is like cancer after all. Needless to say you'll need to repatch the sections you've peeled off.

Maybe I will have them clean off the other one and reseal it so we know it is good?