Buying an early w203

[mbz124]

thrust - main load suspension arm
sway - roll bar

The bearing was just causing an instability after I hit a serious pothole. There was no point in changing all of these bushes and links without doing the bearings. It was only a little more work and the parts were inexpensive.

The best part of the bearing purchase was that it came with an excellent grease suitable for the rest of the job.

The REALLY IMPORTANT thing about doing bushes is that they must be loose when the wheels are not on the car. They can only be tightened under load using a 4 post hoist with the car rolling on its wheels or a prop under the suspension.

Hi Miro, I am going to change the lower arms and uppers arms on my w203 estate this weekend to try and cure the front clonking
Do i fit the new upper and lower arms , tighten the ends first and tighten the long bolts on all arms when the cars is dropped on its own load?
Any advice would be appreciated. thanks.

 

[BlackC55]

Tighten the long bolts when the car is on the floor on its own weight.

make sure the bushes are fitted correctly.

 

[fred52]

Yes they were and mostly had poorer build quality than the later German built models.

Interestingly the estate was always built in Germany so may be a better bet for an earlier model.

For sheer value for money - and versatility if you are a student - I'd go for a CD270i Estate - they were all made in Germany, the autobox is a dream, you really do not know you are driving a diesel and it should get to 100k. Make sure the seats are leather.

 

[mbz124]

Tighten the long bolts when the car is on the floor on its own weight.

make sure the bushes are fitted correctly.

Hi Again - I replaced both upper and lower arms on both sides, and tightened the arms under load as you said (thanks!) . I then drove it ..... the o/s/f is quiet :bannana: but the n/s/f is getting a muffled clonk instead . The only remaining items in the suspension that are old is the droplinks (both are stiff no play), anti roll bar bushes (2months old) and the anti roll bar. What do i change next?