Collapsing E-class spring cups and death

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big x

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With the recent thread on the compressed strength of MB springs
I'm wondering what happens when the spring perch fails due to corrosion like this US car.
At parking speed it must be contained by the wing but at high speed there must be a danger of the tyre being shredded and/or the steering being jammed causing an accident.Does anyone know how these are attached...weld and 3 rivets ?
Dieselman says this is a commonish failure so how come our US cousins aren't taking MB USA to court in multi-million lawsuits ?
It was these 2 photo's from a couple of years ago that put me off buying a W210 :mad:

adam
 
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Well I was worried about this, but I had a look before I bought it and there wasn't a sign of rust or bubbling anywhere that I could see, so I'm presuming its ok.

I guess the easiest way to avoid this is to keep the metal protected - a tin of POR15 would do that.
 
lofty

Anybody who has visited my site will be aware that I spray the underside of my car, an A class, along with the coil springs with Duck oil bought from Halfords. You can easily apply it with a garden sprayer or compressor using a mask to protect you lungs from the fine molicules of oil. What does worry me however is the amount of under body plastic, inside the wings as well as on the underside these tend to hide the signs of rust and corrosion that needs to be dealt with early if serious damage isn't going to be caused. One would hope that the MOT would pick such serious damage as is seen in the above photographs, there again it depends on where you get the MOT done.:(
lofty
 
Parrot of Doom said:
Well I was worried about this, but I had a look before I bought it and there wasn't a sign of rust or bubbling anywhere that I could see, so I'm presuming its ok.

I guess the easiest way to avoid this is to keep the metal protected - a tin of POR15 would do that.

It seems the sealing mastic can hide the problem.I came across these pics and nothing was visible according to the owner except when the mastic was removed.A new spring perch has been welded on.

perch_stripped.jpg


perch_after.jpg



adam
 
I'm shocked.Absolutley shocked.I've worked on classic cars for years,mostly Italian,and I've seen some things,but on a newish Mercedes? Unbelieveable.

Mercedes has just lost a potential customer.
 
I've just had both front spring cups replaced under warranty on our 1998 W210 E240 Estate.

Both were in a bad state....the problem is to do with Mercedes decision from 1997 onwards to do away with seam sealant on all welded joints, as they thought the new generation of paints would effectlively do the job....well it didn't and the rust is the result.

We also needed a complete new cross member which runs under the engine....when it was taken off, it was falling to pieces.
 
Vlad said:
I've just had both front spring cups replaced under warranty on our 1998 W210 E240 Estate.

Both were in a bad state....the problem is to do with Mercedes decision from 1997 onwards to do away with seam sealant on all welded joints, as they thought the new generation of paints would effectlively do the job....well it didn't and the rust is the result.

We also needed a complete new cross member which runs under the engine....when it was taken off, it was falling to pieces.

In the States some people are having to pay for the work.One guy was quoted $6000 USD :eek: for what you've just had done.
The cars most effected seem to be from the early model 96 on and later
stuff like the heavy V8 and diesels up to 99,in other words after 6.5 years of use they can fail.
It's not unknown for W201's to fail too ater 20 years or so.Unlike Mcpherson strut set-ups where all the force goes into the inner turret which is of course welded on all sides into the body,MB spring perches are unsupported brackets.
I've checked my own 97 W202 and there is certainly a very thick coat of mastic so I can't see it failing.

adam
 
Body rust in spring area.

Thanks for posting the pictures.

I have experienced similar rust problems on my last 2 mercs . A mint 300TD
(1998) and an older W124 series....
I have defected now over to Lexus and it appears at this stage as though it is the best decision I have ever made.

Hope you can get it sorted out.

Roy
 
Spring cups E320CDi year 2000

Hi,
Just found this forum from a link on "Honest John"
This is my first post so be gentle.
I've just had my year 2000 W registered E320cdi estate transferred from the main MB dealer to the MB bodyshop for assessment following the discovery of the failure of the front offside upper spring cup.
Just wondering if anyone has any experience of whether this will be covered under the anti-corrosion warranty?
It's been serviced from new by MB official dealers and about 6 months ago had the offside front wing,drivers door and rear door replaced FOC by Mercedes.
I'm horrified that despite being aware of this they haven't issued a recall,heaven knows what would have happened to me had it occurred at motorway speeds.
Hope someone can help.
cheers,
Chris.
 
You should be covered, it shouldn't cost you anything to have it repaired.

At motorway speeds I'd be more concerned at something happening to the rear wheels, they're whats important at high speed.
 
i have read on a few other forums about this in the states.

anyway as this is a ust related issue, arent the cars periodically checked for rust by the dealers every 2 years.

Rust that bad should surely be seen in the early stages, how long will it take to deteroriate to thet stage!!
 
I would be very concerned that this was not spotted and sorted while the other work was taking place.
 
Peter,
I thought that too and asked the question,apparently they are not allowed to tell you if there is anything wrong with your car other than that which you have reported as corroded.
I asked if while mine was in they could have a look around to see what else might kill me in the near future when it drops off at motorway speed.

Oh, and by the way,one week in,still no reply from MB Head Office despite 2 more phone calls asking for a Mobilo courtesy car.
Cheers,
Chris
 
The high prices Mercedes charge for servicing is often explained by them as being due to the extra checks that they carry out, this makes a mockery of that as they do not even inform a customer of a potentially dangerous fault, surely they are failing in a duty of care towards their customers.

I was told that I had to pay towards my repairs as it had a couple of indi services and that had it had main dealer services the problem would have been spotted earlier so would have cost less to correct, juding by your experience it may have been spotted but I would never have heard about it!

I hope you get it sorted out soon.
 
peter,
Just to clarify,its the bodyshop who are only allowed(apparently) to report on the problems that the owner has identified.
However,I am a little disapointed that the corrosion on my front suspension hasn't either been spotted or reported at the previous service.
Interestingly neither was it spotted at the MOT in August!
 
Got my car back tonight,the MB bodyshop in Sheffield get top marks,both sides replaced and returned looking like brand new.
Strangely it seems to be riding about 2" higher than it's ever been,for months I've been scraping the floor when passing over speed bumps,it glides over now.
Pleased that MB authorised the repair under warranty but not pleased that even after 3 calls in 2 weeks to Head Office no one ever rang me back to sort out a courtesy car for me or keep me abreast of what was happening.

Oh,and nearly forgot,thanks to MBClub UK for being here and giving me the information I needed.
 
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I know this is an old thread but I have just had my c200 1999 fail due to spring cut overly corroded. I jacked it up today and what I found was nearly all the top of the cut was pushed through I have cut and ground it out, the mastic is so strong it could hold the cup on its own. Doe's any one know what MB use and can I get any (yes I will be welding it in place first) haha how do they miss this on an MOT this didn't just happen it must take 2/3 yrs and it's only on the drivers side RH I will check the rear tomorrow .
 
Hi.
Some long time ago when my 210 failed its MOT on a a spring perch, the garage just bought another spring perch and welded it in. As a starter, have you tried your local dealer to see if they have one, and of course how much.

Steve
 
I've got a w202 spring perch you can havefree. Dealer sent it to me by mistake when I ordered one for my w210 years ago
 

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