W203 suspension worn out and broken

[lynall]

Took car to work to replace front pads and discs, nearside front wheel bearing, nearside and offside lower front track control arms, all went okay until i found broken front coil spring and huge screw in the rear tyre.

So looks like back to work today to do more work

Pics of broken coil from spring its nearly a whole coil.

Other pic is of the bush that was worn out, strange thing was even though you could clearly see the bolt was not central in the bush eye the bush itself didnt look to bad but once of well its truly knackered.

Lynall

 

[lynall]

Pic of spring coil

Lynall

 

[miro]

Rubber bushes are wear and tear items just like the rotors. Good for 40,000miles

 

[lynall]

I would disagree suspension should not wear out in 40k, mine has done 105k and still okay.

Parts wearing out quicker due to inferior quality i will agree on, typical mercedes basically.

I wonder how many memebrs change their suspension bushs at 40k?





Lynall

 

[miro]

I wonder how many memebrs change their suspension bushs at 40k?

Lynall

Standard service procedure. Takes very little time. Doesnt cost much and should be done to maintain the quality of the ride.

This is the part of the car which gives the good Mercedes ride. It is also a cheap job. MOST PEOPLE DONT KNOW ABOUT this procedure.

If the bushes were harder and lasting longer they would give an inferior ride.

 

[lynall]

Most people wouldnt buy a merc if they knew changing susp bushs was a std procedure

Plus the inevitable 4 wheel alignment required, wow must be really cheap



Lynall

 

[miro]

Most people wouldnt buy a merc if they knew changing susp bushs was a std procedure

Plus the inevitable 4 wheel alignment required, wow must be really cheap

Lynall

It is only expensive because people with the tools to do it in 50 minutes charge 3 hours labour. Maybe what people really need is honesty in billing.

 

[Dieselman]

Personally, I think the newer front multi link suspension is shockingly poor and fails to offer any tangiable benefits in wheel control.

That NVH bush is being used as the steering axis for the front wheel, which is why it wears out so quickly.
Everytime the wheel turns it stresses that bush to the limit.

 

[popuptoaster]

I've changed a lot of bushes in my time as i often replace rubber ones with nylon ones to improve the handling or cope with more power at the expense of ride and noise, even bushes that look ok are noticably softer than new ones on most cars i've done, personally i reckon at 40k while they may look alright you would definatly notice the difference if you changed them for new ones, new bushes are a major part of that "tight" feeling you get from most new cars and it wears off much quicker than you'd expect or notice driving the same car all the time.

 

[kjay]

Just had the N/S upper and lower front susp arms replaced on mine today (for MOT).

@ 23,000 miles

.

 

[lynall]

Surely thats a warranty claim as they are meant to last 40k



Lynall

 

[robert.saunders]

Was a problem on my W203, coupled with rear spring failure, all fun - MB dealer took the issue(s) as routine, no hint of warranty claim though

 

[BlackC55]

Fit some from an AMG. They last a bit longer and gives a more positive feel.

This torque arm strut bush is liquid filled and lasts about 20-30,000 miles.

Regarding Miro's comment about ease of fitting. The labour time according to MB is 1.2 hours per side plus the bush pressing. (about 0.2).

 

[Ian B Walker]

Talking of bushing. I changes two wishbones on a rather unusual 190E today. The bushing had cracked around the housing. At 64k miles . Given that these have gone the remaining bushes throughout the car are to be checked also.

 

[miro]

Fit some from an AMG. They last a bit longer and gives a more positive feel.

This torque arm strut bush is liquid filled and lasts about 20-30,000 miles.

Regarding Miro's comment about ease of fitting. The labour time according to MB is 1.2 hours per side plus the bush pressing. (about 0.2).

They forget to tell you that the new tool pushes the bush out while the rest of the arm is still attached to the rest of the car. Takes a fraction of the time and they still charge full rates.

Let's not go by the book. According to the book most mechanics work 16 hours a day.

 

[miro]

Talking of bushing. I changes two wishbones on a rather unusual 190E today. The bushing had cracked around the housing. At 64k miles . Given that these have gone the remaining bushes throughout the car are to be checked also.

Need I remind you that 64K miles is twice around the equator.

 

[lynall]

Changed spring last night not hard just stupid fiddly top nut thats so thin it almost a test of faith when you let spring compressor go.

Going to cut open old arm tonight to have a look at the inside of the bush.



Lynall

 

[lynall]

As promised pics of inside of bush assy

Alloy arm containing alloy insert surrounded by nylon cage containg nylon thrust pads rubbing inside a steel outer all wrapped in rubber pressed into the alloy arm.

You can see one of the thrust pads has worn a couple of mm more than the other ,the worn one has also snapped the little nipple off, allowing more travel allowing the rubber to split, the rub marks inside the steel sleeve are from the nylon pas, one side more than the other worst side is the side nipple has snapped, this is the chassis end of the arm, takes the most load i guess.



Lynall

 

[lynall]

Pic of nipples


Lynall

 

[prc]

Need I remind you that 64K miles is twice around the equator.

And almost what I do in a year...
It does get me a bit annoyed that I need to replace 2 tyres every service (A or B) and one or another or alot of bushes every B service. TBH I wouldn't mind paying a bit more if they lasted more..

Paulo