'87 300E rear shock rod pushing up through trunk!
 

Hi,

I checked the posting and seem to have a new problem - go figure!

Coming home the other night and started hearing a rattling sound in the back, after opening the trunck I found that the upper shock rod had been pushed up through and into the trunk!

Is this fixable? I've read the posts on replacing shocks but with the rod sticking through the trunk can anyone tell me if this has happened before and able to be repaired? DYI or $$?

Thanks for the help and advice,

PDX Ballard
'87 300E 250k and going...

More info needed. For instance, is the mounting hardware, bushings still attached to the shaft? If so, I guess you rusted through, and have a bigger problem. If just the bare shaft is sticking through, then I guess the hardware came loose and fell off, and fixing would probably just entail getting new bushings, etc, and re-assembling. So tell us precisely what you see....

Steve

I just went out and looked - The shock in the wheel well has the rubber bushing (about 1/2" think) on top of the shock and about 2-3" of the chrome rod is exposed. The wheel well hole appears intack from what I can see and feel.

Inside the trunk I can see the top of the rod with 2 nuts near the end, a meatl bushing and the the chrome part extending down through the trunk liner.

Hope that helps. I can see that the other side is a potential problem as the trunk liner is cracked in the same location but the shock is still ok.

Thanks for the help!

PDX Ballard

It would appear you have a shock mounting hardware failure, and the shock itself could have a damaged shaft. You should remove the shock and inspect. Likely the washer below the lower bushing had its hole worn larger, and failed.

Steve

Maybe I'll know more tomorrow after I pull everything apart but would I need Mercedes parts or buying new shocks will give me everything that I need?

The shocks should come with full hardware, but if the mounting hardware is the only problem, you can get off cheaply just scrounging for some minor parts.

Steve

Thanks!

I tracked down some shocks - most places were order in for a Monday pick up. That didn't work with my transportation schedule so I went to a tire shop and purchased new ones. found out that the ones being replaced were different! Who would replace one shock??

Back on the road again!