Rear diff mounting bushes perished

[mic1981]

My '08 W204 (C 220 CDI Sport) was recently at Inchscape Warrington for a complimentary visual health check and on the report + video they state that the rear diff mounting bushes have perished and require urgent attention… at the cost of £770.16!

I was wondering if anyone else has had these replaced, and if so, at what cost? Also, the car creaks quite a bit whenever I go from D to R or R to D — could these perished bushes be the cause of that creaking?

 

[alecmascot]

the car creaks quite a bit whenever I go from D to R or R to D — could these perished bushes be the cause of that creaking?

That will be the engine mounts and/or the gearbox mount.

 

[Petrol Pete]

mic . Be aware that more than a few W204 C class cars have been scrapped due to rear sub frame corrosion/failure . It is fixable , usually with a replacement sub frame and there are stories of MB having done the replacement for free on some occasions as it is not a service item so they could not use a lack of 'full MB service history' as a get out.

Do more research online and on other forums before committing to anything. The 'faulty' sub frame seems a bit 'hit and miss' , but still worth investigating.

The bushings could be perished but there are much older and more powerful C classes out there with high mileage (mine for example) that have bushes that are not worn. I would expect the driveshaft 'do-nut' couplers to wear out long before diff mountings.

 

[mic1981]

Thanks, both.

@alecmascot The noise originates from the rear half of the car, so would that rule out engine mounts?

@Petrol Pete The bushings are definitely perished, the corrosion and movement/play is shown in the video they provided me. The car is up on the ramp and the mechanic is walking around underneath the car, showing everything they've checked and whether it's in good condition etc. The only things they highlighted were the rear diff mounting bushes and the OSR suspension control arm bush, but the latter was only an advisory because even though it's started to split, there isn't excessive movement. Wouldn't they have checked the subframe for corrosion etc. during the health check if it's a known issue and they had it up on the ramp anyway?

 

[mic1981]

I’ve just emailed the MB dealer to see if the subframe is assessed as part of the visual health check.

 

[Petrol Pete]

mic , how many miles on this car ?

 

[mic1981]

@Petrol Pete 108,127.

 

[mic1981]

Mercedes advised I speak to the dealer that carried out the health check, who have since been unresponsive. I find it odd that Mercedes CS can’t confirm is the rear subframe is checked as part of the VHC, as you’d assume these are standard practice across all MB dealerships.

It’s booked in with my local indy specialist on the 8th who have agreed to check the rear subframe while it’s in for some other, planned maintenance.

 

[topdown]

2010 E500 when accelerating there was a clunk at the back of the car and the rear diff mounting bolts were loose - stretched and replaced.