Hello, the archive search did not come up with results.

I am shopping for the lower (front) control arm bushings for my 95 C280.

Lemfoerder is less expensive than Meyle on Pelican parts.

However, on other sites I found a comment that this particular lemfoerder part is made in China and the rubber had not felt solid.

Is Meyle a good quality bushing?

Other manufacturers?

Moog suspension parts does not seem to have this particular bushing.

I know about out sourcing and other Lemfoerder engine mounts made in Turkey etc.. my question is about trying to get a peg on the current production part quality.

Thanks !!

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1979 300D 220 K miles
1995 C280 109 K miles
1992 Cadillac Eldorado Touring Coupe 57K miles SOLD
********************
1979 240D 140Kmiles (bought for parents) *SOLD.
SAN FRANCISCO/(*San Diego)
1989 300SE 148 K miles *SOLD

Those bushings are Meyle HD which I have heard is generally good. I haven't bought any Meyle HD parts myself but there were a few Meyle bits on my car that the PO installed and they were the only replacement parts that were still any good. Everything else was URO and was shot. The OEM sets for those are twice as much at about $75 on the wholesale places (so about $170 for both sides once you factor is shipping), I'd personally go for that if you have any question as to the quality. Unless you have your own press, it's best to get quality part so you only have to pay to have them pressed once or maybe even replace the entire control arm.

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Current: 1975 450SEL, 83 300D, 88 Yugo GVX, 90 300D OM603 swap, 91 F150 4.6 4v swap, 93 190E Sportline LE 3.0L M104 swap, 93 190E Sportline LE Megasquirt, 03 Sprinter, 06 E500 4Matic wagon.

Lemfoerder is typically an/the OEM supplier to MB. Meyle HD are also good suspension parts in my experience.

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Prost!

At Pelican parts the "OEM supplier", Lemfoerder kit is priced at $36 each. (2 needed for the car for all kits).
The Meyle HD kit costs $54 each .

The Mercedes brand (which is probably Lemfoerder- yes?) is priced at $83 each kit.

Are you all implying that Lemfoerder kit is the OEM and best quality ?


The front left and right lower control arm assembly with bushings cost about 4-5+ times the cost of only the bushing kits each.

123fanman, interesting insights, Is there labor savings in replacing the entire lower control arm rather than just the bushing?

I plan on having a mechanic do the work.

Thanks

__________________
1979 300D 220 K miles
1995 C280 109 K miles
1992 Cadillac Eldorado Touring Coupe 57K miles SOLD
********************
1979 240D 140Kmiles (bought for parents) *SOLD.
SAN FRANCISCO/(*San Diego)
1989 300SE 148 K miles *SOLD

I was thinking that the ball joint was part of the control arm but evidently is not in this case, it bolts on instead of being pressed in or non-replaceable. I would probably go a head and have your mechanic replace that if you have never replaced it, it probably has to be removed in order to get the control arm out to replace the bushings. In this case, it probably won't be any more cost effective to go for the whole control arm vs just the bushings. I would only have the control arms replaced if there is bad rust of signs of stress.

How many miles are on the car? If you are having a mechanic do the work, you may want to look into replacing a few more things while he's in there, such as the upper control arm & ball joint (I think this is one assembly), tie rods, shocks, and spring pads. Basically anything that is a wear item. If he's an honest guy your labor rate wouldn't be too much higher because a lot of these parts must be removed or partially removed in order to get the lower control arm out. If this is a car you have any intention of keeping for a while, it might make sense to go ahead and do the work now as every time you have a mechanic work on the front end they would have to remove some of that stuff.


EDIT: I see your signature says the car has 87K miles so none of that should really be needed unless it looks like it. Why are the bushings being replaced?

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Current: 1975 450SEL, 83 300D, 88 Yugo GVX, 90 300D OM603 swap, 91 F150 4.6 4v swap, 93 190E Sportline LE 3.0L M104 swap, 93 190E Sportline LE Megasquirt, 03 Sprinter, 06 E500 4Matic wagon.

Hi w123fanman, the car now has like 94300 miles.
The lower control arm bushings have been determined to be bad by The Transmission shop (Peter Schmid- MBZ shop) to be bad. I can hear the creaking on the down slope of my gargae and sometimes I can feel vibration like chatter around the trans bell housing area.
The trans and engine mounts and drive shaft disc are fine.
The trans is being overhauled right now. Reverse was going out.

Forum member ,David CKlasse from around 2001 posted on exactly the same symptoms on his 95 C280.
Bad reverse and also bushings. The two were unrelated of course but coincidentally happened at the same time.

So, its an early trans failure regardless of my punctual service and easy driving.
The lower control arm bushings apparently went out as well.

The front shocks (struts?) I believe had small leaks years ago. Not replaced but not noticed as a problem or noisy or causing uneven driving at low or high speeds.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/tech-help/22547-few-1995-c280-questions.html

__________________
1979 300D 220 K miles
1995 C280 109 K miles
1992 Cadillac Eldorado Touring Coupe 57K miles SOLD
********************
1979 240D 140Kmiles (bought for parents) *SOLD.
SAN FRANCISCO/(*San Diego)
1989 300SE 148 K miles *SOLD

If either of the struts was leaking, I would replace both and have the rear shocks inspected. They are 21 years old now. The same goes for the rest of the rubber but it may be fine. I have been surprised by the longevity of the rubber on my brother's W116 300SD. If any of the bushings or ball joint/tie rod boots are split are starting to split, just replace it all.

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Current: 1975 450SEL, 83 300D, 88 Yugo GVX, 90 300D OM603 swap, 91 F150 4.6 4v swap, 93 190E Sportline LE 3.0L M104 swap, 93 190E Sportline LE Megasquirt, 03 Sprinter, 06 E500 4Matic wagon.

Thanks for the advice. I will study the best path after I get the car back with the overhauled transmission.
The suspension work will have to wait until next month but I will inspect and study.

Like your cited W116, my W123 is also on original bushings and shocks.
Only replaced motor mounts some years ago and the idle arm bushing.

So back to manufacturers of parts, it seems that Lemfoerder is a safe bet with Meyle HD as well. (?)

__________________
1979 300D 220 K miles
1995 C280 109 K miles
1992 Cadillac Eldorado Touring Coupe 57K miles SOLD
********************
1979 240D 140Kmiles (bought for parents) *SOLD.
SAN FRANCISCO/(*San Diego)
1989 300SE 148 K miles *SOLD

Yes

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Prost!

unkl300d, recommend buying bushings from a MB dealer online. Search for the best price. I have ordered parts from MB of Cincinnati in the past. It's best to buy a genuine MB part rather than risk having to redo a difficult DIY job because an aftermarket part was inferior quality.

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Fred Hoelzle

OK doing more research I came across this youtube vid on a 1995 C280 where the Meyle polyurethane bushing does not have the correct fit for the inner metal core...so it a problem getting the bolts in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWsQ0FxILmI&spfreload=10

Just for the sake of the forum fact base, one mechanic told me that the spring had to be compressed first to do the job.
Then a suspension shop said that the Mercedes control arm drops down and a spring compressor is not needed because the weight of the car 'can do the job' (no specifics so I presume this method rests the tension on maybe a jack stand or floor jack?

So I am not clear whether the 1995 control arm has the ball joint at one end and if that has to be removed as well in order to access the main bushing.

I know this is all uncertainty is based on my preliminary research but its difficult to get correct details on the web.

So perhaps if someone has first hand experience or knowledge of the 95 C280, they can add to this thread.

Ferdman, good call on the dealer parts for bushings. I just have one comment. Many times dealer parts are the same as what is otherwise known as "OEM". In this case I am presuming Lemfoerder.
The point is that a 'dealer part' is usually 3X the cost of the same manufacturer and part elsewhere.
I do not discount the concept of getting the best part possible, but in today's world economy, parts are no longer made in the good ol countries .

After I get the car back from the Transmission place, I can later get under ans look for details.
I do plan on having a correct shop do the labor but I like to be educated first to avoid misinformation etc.

Thanks !

__________________
1979 300D 220 K miles
1995 C280 109 K miles
1992 Cadillac Eldorado Touring Coupe 57K miles SOLD
********************
1979 240D 140Kmiles (bought for parents) *SOLD.
SAN FRANCISCO/(*San Diego)
1989 300SE 148 K miles *SOLD

unkl300d, if you live near a MB dealer order the bushings there and compare with those from an online source. If the MB bushings are identical, return them and use the less expensive ones. You could also try buying the bushings at wholesale price from a MB dealer such as MB of Cincinnati.

For that type job you want to use the highest quality part available so you are not paying a shop to repeat the work in short order because the inexpensive part failed. Most shops prefer/demand that you buy parts from them since they make money on the parts also.

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Fred Hoelzle

Those are not Meyle bushings. They come from psbushings.com

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Prost!

Ferdman good points ! Thanks

Hirnbeiss, I could have sworn I saw Meyle wrappers in one of the screen shots. Anyway its good to know about the different bolt types.

__________________
1979 300D 220 K miles
1995 C280 109 K miles
1992 Cadillac Eldorado Touring Coupe 57K miles SOLD
********************
1979 240D 140Kmiles (bought for parents) *SOLD.
SAN FRANCISCO/(*San Diego)
1989 300SE 148 K miles *SOLD

Yes, he does have a Meyle box in the video, but it must be for a different part.

__________________
Prost!