W204 Front Hydro Bushing

[markjay]

It is also worth noting that the control arm is held by a long bolt going through the bushing on the outer side, and the bolt on top of the ball joint on the inner side.

The bolt going through the bushing is the same bolt that is being replaced with an adjustable one when the front camber needs adjusting... and in fact the right-hand bolt was replaced last month when WIM carried-out the geometry alignment.

 

[markjay]

These are the parts...

https://s10.postimg.org/tiufmqx1l/Bushing_2.jpg

£62.33 delivered, from http://www.mercedes-benz-parts.co.uk/.

Installation and alignment re-check booked for next week at WIM

 

[markjay]

Spent the morning at WIM.... a big Thank You to Tony and his guys!

Mounts replaced. The metallic clunking noise when turning steering wheel from lock to lock has gone away. Full details to follow.

There is still some creaking noise form the suspension when starting off slowly, or occasionally during slow parking manoeuvres. I had the same creaking noise also on the old W203 for the 9 years that I owned the car... the conclusion is that sometimes 'they all do that' is actually true.

 

[markjay]

The original part is showing on EPC as A 203 333 10 14.

The modified part is showing on EPC as A 204 333 11 14.

In addition, the modification includes two rubber seals per mount, that need to be ordered separately, part number A 211 333 06 97.

When inspecting the failed mounts after removing them from the car, it turned out that they were already the modified parts i.e. part number A 204 333 11 14, though no rubber seals were fitted.

So it seems that sadly the modified part does not actually resolve the original issue of premature failure. Apparently these mounts fail at around 30,000 miles - my car currently has 33,850, so this is about right.

The reason that I decided to replace only the mounts and not the entire control arm, was that this way I could ensure that I was ordering and fitting the modified part. But I did not expect to find that my car already had the modified part and that it failed anyway... the only difference is that the car now also has the rubber seals on both sides of each of the new mounts, which it did not have before, but to be honest I don't think this will make a huge difference.

Possibly the best thing to do would have been to purchase new Lemforder arms complete with mounts, in the hope that perhaps mounts from a different manufacturer to whoever supplied MB would last longer.

Said that.... my annual mileage is quite low, around 4000 miles, so the car is unlikely to cover another 30,000 miles under my ownership, and the issue above is purely academic as most probably the mounts will not fail again while I own the car....

 

[markjay]

In the photo below you can see the cracks on the failed mount (prior to removal from the car):

 

[markjay]

And these are the cracks as can be seen on the failed mount after removal from the car:

 

[whitenemesis]

......

There is still some creaking noise form the suspension when starting off slowly, or occasionally during slow parking manoeuvres. I had the same creaking noise also on the old W203 for the 9 years that I owned the car... the conclusion is that sometimes 'they all do that' is actually true.

I also had a creaking noise in my S203, turned out to be the crush boxes between the front bumper and chassis rails. MB dismantled the front of the car and greased the mounting faces, noise gone!

 

[markjay]

The odd thing is that when visually inspecting the old mounts we did not spot these cracks... they only showed up in the photos due to the light/shade conditions.

On re-checking the alignment after replacing the mounts, Tony commented that the toe-in was very badly out. The car was checked and adjusted by them a couple of months ago, and also he said that I would not have been able to drive with such bad toe-in without noticing.

So he concluded that the old failed mounts had quite a lot of play, and that when they adjusted the toe-in at the time with the mounts under load, they compensated for the play. Having replaced the failed mounts with good ones, the play was taken-up by the new mounts and the toe-in was out.

Car is now fully aligned again

 

[markjay]

This is the new mount with the two rubber seals (one on each side):

 

[markjay]

I also had a creaking noise in my S203, turned out to be the crush boxes between the front bumper and chassis rails. MB dismantled the front of the car and greased the mounting faces, noise gone!

Not sure if it's good news or bad news....

I guess that's now next on my 'to do' list.....

 

[markjay]

Update:

Went to see Terry Gates today.... he advised replacing the front suspension strut top mounts, and also the drop links while we're at it (he did not think the drop links were causing the knocking, but he did think they needed replacing).

Both items were replaced using original MB spare parts. On both sides, obviously.

And now the knocking sound has completely gone away....

A Big Thank You to Terry!

 

[markjay]

 

[markjay]

Also, Terry mentioned that that were no obvious signs of wear on the old mounts - meaning that sadly this could not have been spotted by visual inspection in-situ, instead the only way to know for sure if the mounts have failed is by replacing them with new ones...

 

[markjay]

In summary... if your W204 suffers form knocking front suspension at parking speeds... I suggest that you get the hydro-bushes and the top mounts replaced - it worked for me...

 

[paul73mt]

I had the bushes pressed out whilst the arms were still on the car (Wayne Gates ) done them for me and said they come out really easy, The knock i get also but only when i'm reversing off my drive and have a good bit of lock on. Since having them changes i have notice a bit of outer tyre wear but nothing to worry about.

 

[Pat gas 1]

Hi guys.....I don't have a knock but a sort of spring twang ....only on passenger side when reversing on full lock left hand down,what parts do I need and ? It's sort of tyre drag
It's bloody annoying

 

[Pat gas 1]

Can you confirm where purchased the controll arm bushes from,I don't have a knock its more of a sort of spring noise and tyre drag,is this the same issue ?

 

[grober]

Hi guys.....I don't have a knock but a sort of spring twang ....only on passenger side when reversing on full lock left hand down,what parts do I need and ? It's sort of tyre drag
It's bloody annoying

Any "twang" or "boing" type sound might be a broken spring- sometimes difficult to see if its at the top of the strut. Can you get the car to do it while at rest by applying full lock then pushing/rocking that corner up and down? On a level surface does the car sit absolutely level side to side? If the spring has broken its best to replace them in pairs making sure you get the correctly rated springs!

 

[Pat gas 1]

No springs look and feel all the way up ok and clean and tidy,bushes in arms not perished or cracked and doesn't do it when stationary ....only on full lock

 

[KeithJG]

When I turn the steering wheel lock to lock while stationary, or at low speed driving manoeuvres, there's a dull 'clung' from the front end.

I asked both WIM and WG to check the front suspension, and they could not find anything wrong.

Because you say it is a "clung" that to me means it is not a knock but it could be the spring trying to move in the suspension strut cups.

Volvo`s do this when the coil spring sticks or wears through the seating and rubs on the steel cup.....always heard when going on lock slowly, like parking.

Simply squirting the ends of the springs with WD40 stops it.