Anyone here replaced their rear suspension links? How big a job is it for a DIY? Pretty sure all my links need replaced as the rubber joints are fairly rotted away on most of them. Thanks for your replies

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Dale

Done it. Dropped the entire rear subframe and replaced everything all in one shot. Knowing what I learned from that experience I would say. If I were looking at replacing just the links I would just do them one at a time underneath the car.

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Current fleet
2006 E320 CDI
1992 300D - 5speed manual swapped

former members
1984 300D "Blues Mobile"

1978 300CD "El Toro"

Yeah, I haven't looked too close at the sub frame mounts but it's likely they aren't in too good of shape. I do have access to a lift so that would make it a bit easier getting to the nuts and bolts. I've seen a video or two of the full sub frame mounts rubber replacement and it looks like a big job!

Did you use Mercedes parts or after market?

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Dale

I've done a similar job on my W201 - the hardest part was trying to get the rear alignment sorted afterwards - I ran out of time and had to pay someone to do it (oh the shame!)

I used a combination of TRW and Lemforder parts if I remember correctly

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

I ran across these on fleabay but they may be/probably are junk...


If possible I'd like to do this over the winter but will see how time goes...


https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Control-Arm-Ball-Joint-Suspension-Kit-8-PC-Rear-Driver-Passenger-Side/281317614709?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

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Dale

Replacing all the bones with the suspension in place is like building a ship in the bottle. Dropping the rear subframe makes access open and easy. It allows you to use power tools or torches on rusty fasteners without collateral damage.

I used mostly lemforder parts for everything but I did get a kit of the rear suspension arms from meyle. I have no complaints about quality of any of those.
Dropping the rear subframe is not that difficult with a good jack and an extra set of hands.

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Current fleet
2006 E320 CDI
1992 300D - 5speed manual swapped

former members
1984 300D "Blues Mobile"

1978 300CD "El Toro"

If I remember correctly years ago each strut was about 30 euros a pop so 80 USD for the set mmmm...


...special price

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

I did it too on my W201. Dropped the subframe as well. While I was in there, I refurbished just about everything in that area. Stripped and painted subframe, new subframe bushings, all new arms, cleaned spindles, new bearings, e-brake cables, brake lines, diff seals, etc. I don't think I would've been able to remove one link with all that rust. Even with the subframe off the car, I had to cut stuff and use BFH's. Now with everything cleaned, changing just one link is easy. But on an older car that saw salt for 25 years, just drop everything...
I also had a very hard time separating one bushing from the steel spigot in the underbody. I had to completely destroy the bushing to remove it.

"If I remember correctly years ago each strut was about 30 euros a pop so 80 USD for the set mmmm..."

If it's a wagon, the struts are not going to be $80 and it's going to be a lot more involved to drop the rear sub frame because of the SLS. Also, the rear wheel bearings in the wagons are PITA to get out because the bearing rollers are a larger diameter than the snap ring, so you have to pull the axle out of both inner races. There is no way to pull them with a slide hammer, ask me how I know.

It's actually for my 260E sedan... Thanks for your reply!

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Dale

I did this job on my w201 and it was surprisingly very simple. I didn't remove the subframe and used all regular hand tools. You will need a 12 mm (or 10 mm, I forget which size) xzn triple square for the eccentric bolt. Also, get a 30 mm 12 point socket (the one to remove the axle nut). It just so happens that the 30 mm socket fits perfectly on the race of the rear control arm bushing and you can hammer it out right through the control arm and put the new one in without any damage to the bushing. A good tip to use is to get a small quart of white paint/primer and use it on all the bolts/nuts. I have made it a habit to use the white paint and starting from the center on a bolt, I will draw either a horizontal or vertical line extending to the surface of the vehicle (sorta like making a notch) to ensure that everything goes back exactly how it was. This will help with the misalignment issue. When torquing everything down, the wheel should be on the ground, but for this part I usually jack up from under the control arm to get the wheel where it would level if it were on the ground and I would torque everything to spec that way then I would put the wheel back on and take it for a test drive. Good luck.

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1990 190E 3.0L

Would you have a recommendation for a 'sequence-of-removal' of the various five links? IOW, should one remove say the upper-most link first, then another and so on....

Thanks for the tips!

Dale

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Dale

For easier work and not dropping subframe, u can just unbolt subframe front bushings. Then subframe drops 2-4 inches.

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MB 300CE Turbo '88
MB 300E '86

Start by jacking up the car and mark the nuts/bolts as I described. Then remove the 30mm axle nut (this is necessary in order to remove the rear control arm). Remove rear caliper from wheel carrier and support it out of the way, remove the rotor, and rear parking brakes. Undo, the 13 mm bolt that holds the brake cable to the wheel carrier. Next, break loose all the bolts connected to the rear wheel carrier (that way they are already loose and you won't need leverage later to get them off). Then compress rear spring and undo bolt on inside control arm, shock bolt, outside control arm, and the bolt for the sway bar support link that is connected to the control arm. Now you should be able to remove the entire lower control arm. Now you can replace the first bushing in the control arm. Next, remove the wheel carrier by undoing the loosened bolts and use a jack stand to support the rear axle end. At this point you can now remove and replace each link one by one and be sure to pay attention to the markings you made. When you are done with the links, use that 30 mm socket to hammer out the bushing on the wheel carrier.

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1990 190E 3.0L