Blanche needs subframe mounts I think. My mechanic says they're not totally sunk, but getting there. 175K miles and they're original. The rear should sit a little higher I think. Is this a do it yourself job? I will have use of my brother's body shop over the weekend, so it would be a great time to put it on jack stands and go to work.
My other question: Is there more room to change the motor mounts than on the 300D? After I changed the last set, I swore I would NEVER do it again. I gladly paid $65 in labor to get it done. But this car looks to have more room.
I would really welcome any suggestions from W126 owners who have tackled either of these jobs.


Thanks in advance, and an early Happy Thanksgiving!

__________________
R Talley
88 BMW E32 735i (make it go away)
95 Volvo 960 "Inga" (valve problems)
95 Nissan Maxima (the indestructible)
89 Ford Ranger XLT (ugliest truck in the South)

I've replaced the mounts on the SE. Did everything from below. Pretty easy. I was lucky that I didn't need more than hand pressure on a 4" hex key to get the small bolts out.

I have a brand new set of mounts if you're interested. I'll have to check p/ns to be sure.

Sixto
91 300SE
81 300SD

Sixto,

Which mounts did you change? I've read posts about them being rusty, but this car has sat inside most of it's life and I can't find ANYTHING that shows the faintest sign of rust.

I haven't looked at the bolts that hold the rear sub frames in. I have changed the motor mounts on a 103 motor. PIECE OF CAKE...not like getting to those nasty things on the 300D.

Thanks for the advise...

RT

__________________
R Talley
88 BMW E32 735i (make it go away)
95 Volvo 960 "Inga" (valve problems)
95 Nissan Maxima (the indestructible)
89 Ford Ranger XLT (ugliest truck in the South)

I should have said I was responding to the other questions. I changed the motor mounts on the SE. I haven't touched the subframe mounts.

Sixto
91 300SE
81 300SD

I looked last night at the rear suspension of a 240D. It looked like the same "basic" design of the 126. Looks like basically jack stands, a hydraulic jack, and sockets are involved.

Any 123 owners tackled this? My mechanic offered to do it for 1 hours labor, but I'd rather save the $65 and do it myself.

Thanks for any input!

__________________
R Talley
88 BMW E32 735i (make it go away)
95 Volvo 960 "Inga" (valve problems)
95 Nissan Maxima (the indestructible)
89 Ford Ranger XLT (ugliest truck in the South)

Robert,

I've never changed sub mounts, but it looks easy. If rust is a concern that has been voiced by others, I think you can forget it. Your car has never tasted salt. In fact it may have never been rained on.

Good luck,

I did these in my driveway with car up on jack stands. They are a real pain, but doable without special merceces tool.

Removal (assuming your car is essentially the same as 300D):

Remove metal bracket (im not sure what this piece is called, couple of small bolts, easy off.) Remove center main bolt (this may or may not come out easily...more on this at the end of this post) When I first did the job, these main bolts came out very easily (half inch ratchet, breaker bar). Not the FUN part.....prying out the mount...this was a real pain....just have a lot of chisels, pry bars, heavy hammer etc. the one tool that I have use for MANY things, and was a necessity for me, is a very large channel lock pliers....sears craftsman, open to almost 5 inches...about $25, well worth it). When you manage to pry the mount out enough to get a grip on it, grab it with the channel locks and twist. Basically, you need to use every trick you can come up with to pry, twist, and mangle the mount, and eventually you will get it out. Each mount took me about 30 minutes to remove...a real pain.

Installation:

You must coat the mount with silicong grease ("Sylglide" at Pep boys or auto zone) as regular grease damages rubber, silicone grease does not...standard procedure for sliding in bushings. This is a real tough mount to install (without special tool), because you cant simply draw in with the bolt or with a treaded rod, because you would be pulling against the central rubber portion with a lot of play...not rigid enough to pull mount in fully and seat properly. you want to push it in by applying pressure to the solid metal portion of the mount. You cant simply bang it in, because when you hit one side the other pops out, and vice versa. The Mercedes special tool threads into the main bolt hole, and has another portion that you tighten and push mount in. What I did was make a tool out of solid oak..a u-shaped tool , and the two ends of the u just the correct width to apply pressure to metal portion of mount. This must be very strong...i used two pieces of 3/4 inch oak for bottom of u, and single pieces of 3/4 inch oak for sides. Coat mount with silicone grease , support wood tool with bottle jack or jack stand, and jack up bottle jack or lower car down so that weight of the car pushes mount in. THIS WAS EDITED....I didnt use threaded shaft to pull in as I said before (it was almost 2 years ago)...there is nowhere to push rod through...instead I used weight of car to push in the mounts.

Remaining assembly is simple.

ODDLY ENOUGH...when I first did the job, removing the mounts was tough but fairly straightforward. A year and a half later, I had to replace one of the rear trailing arms, and I was in the process of taking things apart, and I could not in any way remove the big center bolt from the subframe mount....I could turn it, but I could not break it free of the rubber!! I used a half inch breaker bar with a piece of pipe and rotated the bolt about 3/4 of the way around, and it still would not break free. In the end, this whole job was too much for me and I had a shop do it. When they blasted the subframe mount bolt with an impact wrench, the rubber part of the mount tore apart, and needed replacement.

So, when you install the center bolt, coat it with silicone.

In the end, $65 dollars for someone else to do it is well worth the money, unless you are crazy like me and will go to great lengths to accomplish the job yourself and buy yourself a couple of tools in the process (the large channel locks are a real handy tool for many many things)

Good luck

Let us know what you did.

Mark

__________________
1984 300TD Wagon, 407,800 mi (current daily driver)
1985 300DT Sedan, 330,000 mi (gone to that great autobahn in the sky)

WHEW...I'm tired already.

I think I'll call tomorrow and take a nap while the mechanic does it. If I get wild and crazy in Arkansas, I might try this. Otherwise... I'm sure my brother has all the tools. SURELY with a body shop he has the tools available. But that sounds like a LOT of stress. I'll keep you posted.

Larry, my car has been rained on. I've been altering which car sits under the carport...the 300SD or the 300E. I have kept it well waxed and washed it IMMEDIATELY after the rain.

Now...to tackle the sunroof. The bushings are bad and it's scuffing the paint on the rear.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

__________________
R Talley
88 BMW E32 735i (make it go away)
95 Volvo 960 "Inga" (valve problems)
95 Nissan Maxima (the indestructible)
89 Ford Ranger XLT (ugliest truck in the South)