Opinions needed on my W202 wishbones

[Big Dan]

Hi All,

Not unlike many other W202 owners I have today been handed an MOT Failure Sheet due to failure on the Front lower wishbone rear bushes (excessive movement blahdy blahdy blah).

Now as the new arms/ labour is going to cost a bomb and I was considering lowering the car anyway, I know the purists among you will not agree, but I now have a dilemma.

Do I .....

a) Get the garage to fit a new set of springs with the arms and upgrade the dampers when funds allow.

or

b) Get the garage to change the top control arms along with the bottoms and sort the shocks and springs later on?

Both, I am assuming, will cost me about the same as the front springs are being removed to fit the new arms so will just be a case of swapping the parts when refitting or undoing the bolts(?) for the top arms but not sure if top arms will be much more than that in the way of labour time???

Which of the two jobs 1) Fitting springs and dampers or 2) Changing the top control arms is the worst to do later or how likely it will be that the top arms will ever need doing in the first place??

 

[andy27168]

Hi,
From what i have been told and experienced with both my W202's (C43 AMG and C230K, i have run and maintained both vehicles for a total of 14 years and 165,000 miles) the top arms rarely cause problems, IMO you would be better off fitting two new lower arms complete with new ball joints and a pair of new springs changing the shocks when budget allows as these are a reasonable DIY job.

 

[Big Dan]

I couldnt find anything about the top arms causing problems so was hoping someone would say that.

Thanks Andy.

 

[BlackC55]

I would not really say removing the springs are a DIY job. Very dangerous without the right tool.

 

[Big Dan]

If I am thinking right in that the springs do not have to be removed to change the shocks (not sure about the fronts) then I think Andy was saying the shocks were a reasonable DIY job?

Does anyone (and i suspect you will BlackC55) have the book time for changing rear springs?

P.S. Nice "Garage" by the way.... C43 AMG with mods, ML270, Mk1 Golf cab. Mk1 Caddy fully restored, 7.5T truck, Rotax Max race Kart ETC

 

[BlackC55]

Thanks.

Rear springs are 1.5 hours labour

The springs do not have to removed to change the shocks.

 

[eek]

Okay, I've done a fair bit of research myself, and recently overhauled the front end of my W202, and lowered the rear.

Items included:

Lower control arm bushes bushes (rear)- change to solid bushes
Outer ball joints
Steering dampener
Steering idler arm bush
Lowering springs (front and rear)
Thinner spring pads (front and rear)
Shocks (front and rear)
Swaybar bushes on the front

The old bush design allows lots of movement when steering, as the torx bolts and hollow bushes flex a lot. If you lower your car, it may increase the wear rate on these bushes.

Go to FCP Groton(?) Or somebody who makes solid control arm bushes for these cars. Trust me, they're worth it. I don't own any fancy tools, nor do I own a press, but I managed to do all of that in my garage, with basic sockets, spanners, torque wrench, trolley jack, scissor jack, and a hammer.

If your bushes are as bad as you say they are, you should be able to fit a hacksaw blade to saw at the outer casing of the bush, which is pretty soft. Once you have cut the outer sleeve a few times, use a screwdriver or whatever else to drift and deform it out of the control arm. It might take a while.

The solid bushes can be pushed in by hand+metho, with a hammer if needed. Lube the inside of the crush tubes though- I used a heavy lithium based grease. Make sure you get the camber-adjustable bolts if you use the solid bushes too. If you look at the bolts that are currently on your car, and they have torx-sockets, then you will need to get onew bolts.

The outer ball joints are quite difficult to remove from the steering/hub/arm, as there is a metal dowel on the bottom of the joint, which makes removing it a PAIN. I had one side where the dowel got stuck, so I had to drill it out. The control arm side of the ball joint is easy to remove, with just 3 blows with a heavy hammer.

If you are handy with basic tools and have a bit of time, it is definately a DIY job. But, if you don't have the space, time or skills, it's best left to a pro. There's nothing you can really stuff up, except if you get stuck and give up half way, and dont' have another car, you'll be stuck at home, with nowhere to go for help, lol.

 

[andy27168]

Hi,
The lower control arm bushes you mention are here, though i believe the ones you can buy from Euro's are the same (solid).
http://www.fcpgroton.com/product-ex..._Control_Arm_Bushing_Kit_W202/category_id/186

 

[Big Dan]

Hi,
The lower control arm bushes you mention are here, though i believe the ones you can buy from Euro's are the same (solid).
Mercedes C-Class Front Control Arm Bushing Kit

Hi Andy,

Had a look at those but from the way I understand it the new bushes would need to be (heavy duty) pressed into place and by the time you have allowed for labour to do so you may as well have replaced the whole arm.

Edit: Have just seen EEK's post above and note that they dont need to be pressed back into place but could still be a pain to get out and quite labourious so my comment below is quite fitting

Obviously with most things mechanical I have thoughts on I could be wrong?

Dan

 

[andy27168]

Hi,
I replaced the complete arm when my inner bushes went on my C230K, as this seemed to be the best option once you took into account the labour time required to remove the bushes against the price of new lower arms.

 

[Big Dan]

New springs and arms now fitted and shiny new MOT to boot.

Unfortunately the front is riding a bit high for my liking so I suspect that I should have changed the spring pads at the same time and that as I didnt the whole spring will have to come back out to remedy this?

Went for Boge springs in the end A) because they were relatively cheap and B) as they are OE manufacturers for Audi/BMW so shouldnt be bad in terms of quality.

Ride is 100% better and smoothness has not been sacrificed despite me still having the standard elegance shocks (for the time being)