When Mercedes manual calls for a special tool, they aren't kidding...

[Carrameow]

I am trying to remove the rear control arm bushing from my wife's 87 300D. The service CD recommends a special tool for the very purpose of removing this rear bushing only.
I thought this requirement for a special tool was a joke in the beginning but 3 hours later, I reget trying to remove the bushing to begin with.
I have beaten the special tool requirement many times in the past , but this time I got beaten.
I clamped the control arm between hardwood jaws in my vise. I thought I could use a bottle jack with a huge socket just the right size to apply pressure between the front control arm mount and the rear control arm mount to press the bushing out. To my horror I actually flexed my control arm and pushed the front control arm mount and rear control arm mount apart with the jack and did not even budge the bushing. When i removed the jack pressure, the control arm came back to normal.
I next tried to chisel the bushing out, using a piece of hardwood as a backstop to prevent damage to the control arm.
The problem I am running into is the bushing's arrangement and design, which keeps you from using a hydraulic press to just push it out. A good deal of rubber protrudes out and absorbs jack or impact force before you can actually apply solid force to the bushing housing.
The tool Mercedes recommends is a special 3 prong rear control arm bushing remover that uses a Bolt. I doubt you can buy it or whether even the dealer has one.
THE ESSENTIAL POINT of this point is please dont take the special tool requirement too lightly. Sometimes we can all be ingenious and win and sometimes we have to sit back and think it over.
Don't worry, I wont give up. I'll post a picture tonight, and if I ever solve it, i will let you know.