C280 rear differential and arm bushings
 

I was told by my local shop that my '95 C280 has cracked front lower control arm bushings and the rear differential needs a complete reseal (leaking oil). Can someone explain to me what this means, if the car is safe to drive (they didn't say) and how expensive these items are to fix? I just got the car and have already replaced the wire harness and the head gasket. My wife is starting to get on my case about spending too much on it. Ouch!!

well
 

cracked bushings doesnt mean anything to me. they are rubber so a crack wouldnt seem to be anyting to worry about. does it steer and drive good? if so i wouldn t worry about that. if there is looseness in the steering then i would take a hard look.

in the rear, the diffs on benzes are extremely rugged. where is it leakng? is it leaking enough to drip on the ground? get under there and look. if it is leaking from the center section and it is just a seeping thing i wouldnt think about it again except to check the diff lube level now and then. if it is leaking from a boot on the half shaft then a repair is in order pronto. they wont last for long on that without failing. they will go for hundreds and even prob thousands of miles but it should be repaired relatively soon.

take a look. this sounds a little fishy to me. if you are unsure i would recommend a second opinion.

tom w

tom w

Thanks for the reply. I got under there to take a look. There is some oil, but not a significant amount. Certainly not enough that it's dripping. The note from the shop mentions that it is leaking 'especially around the pinion which is leaking all around.' Not sure what that means and how siginificant it is. Any idea on how major a job it is? It's definitely not leaking around the boot. How do you check the fluid level?
As far as the front lower arm bushings goes, the car drives and steers perfectly fine. I'll take a look at that when I get a chance. Any input what be much appreciated.

well
 

the pinion is the part where the power comes into the diff to be distributed to the wheels. the driveshaft attaches to it. resealing that might not be too bad but will require removal of the driveshaft. again, a little seepage there is nothing to get excited about. a lot of oil may also mean a bad pinion bearing too, but that is VERY unlikely with the rugged benz diff.

good work so far.

as yogi berra used to say "you can tell a lot just by looking".

tom w

The front control arm bushings are frequently in need of replacement on the 202 models. Replace them or you will pay a lot more for tires in the long run.

Thanks for the education t walgamuth and benzfan. I'll get a quote and see what they say. Thanks for all your help. Both problems sound manageable (fortunately).

my
 

pleasure

tom w

My indie said I wouldnt notice a problem from cracked LCA bushings.

Yeah, right.

I got them replaced under Starmark last month after indie did a pre-warranty end inspection, and I assure you they make a difference. A few months ago the car starting bouncing off to the side when I would hit potholes and then sway back in line, and that behavior stopped once they were replaced.

The front lower control arm has two different bushings. The forward bushings are quite rugged and may be functionally fine even with a few surface cracks in the rubber. The aft bushings are not solid - they have vertical ligaments that do crack, although replacement usually occurs at 100K plus miles. The cracks may start after 20-30K miles, but will usually be inconsequential for much, much longer. Have the shop show you the bushings and use good judgement.

Clean the oil off the differential and observe before resealing the unit.

I did the LCA bushings on my 1994 C280 two summers ago, and it drove like a completely different car after the work. If you haven't had the steering shock replaced, you should do it at the same time. You'll find out what the car drove like when it left the factory. Doing the job properly will necessitate an alignment afterwards, as the LCAs must come off the car to do the work.

Jonathan