Torque struts

[ceticcross]

Hi All again,

just got my two rear spring coils replaced by a main dealer (2003 e320 cdi saloon) and they now tell me that both front Torque Thrust arms and both lower ball joints need replacing. asap. They have quoted just over £700. Does that seem a resonable price? Can anyone advise me would the car be safe to drive until I can get that sort of money together.
I would have thought that the bushes/bearings in the thrust arm could have been replaced instead of the complete arm? Any thoughts appreciated as ever!

 

[BlackC55]

The ball joints take 2.4 hours per side plus around £40 a joint.

The bushes are not available separatly. You have to buy the arm. I think they are £111 each on the 211's.

How bad are they? Maybe get a second opinion?

 

[ceticcross]

Thanks for the fast reply BlackC55. The prices you mention are approx what the dealer is quoting but I imagine the £700 includes a lot of labour. The dealer says they are very worn and the car does feel very lumpy on the slightest bump. I suppose they do need doing as soon as possible but have spent £1000 in the last week on it I was hoping to get Xmas over with first. (only had the car for afew weeks so don't know for sure how it should feel. Would you suggest an independent Merc specialist for a second opinion then or should I stick with main dealer for this! Anyone got thoughts on it being safe to drive for a few weeks? i.e. whats the worst that could happen!
Many thanks

 

[Iain]

I think you might have answered that for yourself!

 

[christopherwk]

Yes, £747.14 to be exact.

Ive got the same car, thrusts and lower ball joints were replaced at 164000 miles.

When I heard noises from the front, I went into the dealer for them to look at, and I asked if it was ok to drive for a few days, and it was. Don't know about a few weeks though!

 

[ceticcross]

Thanks for the info. I have bitten the bullet and booked it in at the main dealers for next week so will stay local for the rest of the week. Don't you just love Xmas! Thanks to everyone for their interest and advice yet again.

 

[Druk]

Just replaced both the torque struts on mine. Still hunting for the elusive 'Knockle'. http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/wheels-tyres/77230-knockle.html
The balljoint on one was shot to the extent that there was approx 1/8" lift and I'd been driving around like that for some months.
Still haven't removed the noise completely although it's deffo better.
I'm surprised at the different design in the front mounting rubbers on the t' struts. The old ones were quite compliant in design compared to the new.

 

[ceticcross]

Thanks Druk for the info. To be honest I am not getting any real bad clunk or noises It just feels like the front end is bottoming out on minor bumps! Good news today from MB Stevenage. Thay have now offered to replace the struts and knuckle joints for £595. They pick the car up in the morning. I will post back tomorrow night with my findings after a test run. The tech seems to think that I will notice a big difference. Cars done 80000 though so I suppose they must be about due?

 

[AndyPCD]

Sorry to thrw a spanner in the works now but why are they replacing the arms. Because more than likely it is the bush that is worn if it is the arms im thinking about you can get the bushes seperate on both the lower arms

 

[Druk]

Sorry to thrw a spanner in the works now but why are they replacing the arms. Because more than likely it is the bush that is worn if it is the arms im thinking about you can get the bushes seperate on both the lower arms

Deffo not the bushes on mine. Ball joints were well shot, bushes like new. Can't understand why Merc sell the arms and bushes separate so you then have to get them pressed in. Sell a bush in a box by all means for those that just need that but if you're buying an arm you're hardly likely to use a secondhand bush.

 

[Druk]

Cars done 80000 though so I suppose they must be about due?

Mine's done 120000 and I'm surprised at them going so soon. At 80000 I'd have been proper miffed.

 

[ceticcross]

Hi all. Thanks for the continued interest. My first post in this thread did ask the same question re just changing the bushes!. Seemingly as answered by BlackC55 the bushes are not available separately. I have no idea how long they should last but am mainly worried at what else they will find changing the arms and knuckle joints. The part number on the estimate for the struts was MA211 330 44 11 if that helps anyone identify exactly what we are talking about. But as said by this time tomorrow it should be all sorted!

Cheers again to all for the direction!

 

[Druk]

The part number on the estimate for the struts was MA211 330 44 11

That is the part number for the bare strut. The opposite side is 43 11. what it doesn't come with is the inner end rubber or 'bearing'. A2113332914 (£30.00) but that part will be fitted to the strut before assembly by the garage.

 

[ceticcross]

Hi again all. Well a bit of a great result today. Loking back on the posts you were all right (did I ever doubt it!) Anyway just got the car back and they only needed to replace the torque strut bearings on each side. By all accounts the struts themselves were re-useable and the ball joints were not really worn at all. Total cost £215:96!! So I would highly recommend Mercedes Benz of Stevenage. A special note to one of there master techs must go to Darren. Thank you from one very pleased newbie. Just took it for a quick sprint in the dark looking for bumps in the road and it feels as sweet as a nut. So there you go: some stories have a happy ending eh! Good luck too you all and if I don't get posting soon hope you all have a great Xmas and New Year.

 

[AndyPCD]

Thats what i was trying to get to but didnt have time to reply. I was thinking that the bushes on the torque struts would need replacing as when i worked in the main dealer we only replaced the struts if they were damaged or the actual boot on the end over the joint was damaged but 9 times out of 10 it was only the bushes that need to be replaced.

Well at least its sorted and your happy with the price.

You did mention that the lower ball joints needed replacing did they do them as well

 

[ceticcross]

Hi Willow132 good to hear from you again. The tech told me exactly the same reference the struts. i.e would only replace if split or cracked! re the ball joints he also told me that although slightly worn he would not have even given an advisory on them in an MOT so they didn't need doing after all. I assume the service manager just quoted an estimate for replacing everything so it was nice to come across a very honest technician. I am very pleased after the initial shock of £700 so there may be a few extra of the Black stuff flowing at Xmas after all. Take care and hopefuilly it's good to report back to close of a thread with a good result. Thanks again for you advice and direction.

 

[AndyPCD]

Not very often do you hear of someone walking away from a dealer happy with the bill and the bill being cheaper there is usually another item needing to be replaced while its in there. I knew this used to happen when i worked in the dealer. And i always felt sorry for the customer having to cough another bucket load of cash

 

[ceticcross]

I know what you mean. This last fortnight has involved a C service, 2 rear spring coils, 4 new tyres and then the thrust arm bearings plus a spare key. I thought having just bought it ,that I would have to cut my losses soon. Hopefully it's now sorted for a while and I can start to enjoy driving it. The warranty it came with was not worth the paper it was written on!!! Probably worth a seperate thread though and probably done to death elsewhere on the forum.

 

[AndyPCD]

Blimey that is a lot to spend on a car having just bought it. I take it you bought it privately or was it from a trader.

I know what you mean about the warranty they are quick enough to sell it but i hardly ever covers anything on the car so is just a waste of money.

 

[ceticcross]

It was from a classified add on ebay and the seller called himself a dealer. Probably me being a fool but fell in love with the 320 when I saw it and brain went out the window. I even gave him an extra £500 to supply the warranty as opposed to a basic trade warranty so more fool me. I could say a lot more but am embarrassed by how foolish I feel I have been and would give my sons a roasting if they ever made the same mistake. As I have said before we live but we don't learn