W203 suspenstion knocking

[merc man]

hi there all!!!

what a nice day it was today! i had the day off so decided it was time to eliminate that stupid knocking sound from the suspenstion, after looking up some threads on the forum i decided to look closer at all the components, and guess what, to my surprize i needed to replace the drop links and the ARB bushes, no problem so i started, i then noticed that one bolt was missing from the ARB bush holder, i got hold of the bolt and fitted it all up, the car seemed better but guess what! the knocking was still there. so i got my father who is a professional mechanic and now works for rolls royce areonautical division to have a look 5 mins later he said that a rubber bearing was perished and the steering tie rod had a bit of play, so off to mercedes the bush was a decent price so was the tie rod but the tie rod end was a bit steep, so i got one for each side as well as a steering tie rod and tie rod end. now the hard bit i needed to press out the bearing and press the new one in, so i poped to my local indi who did it for free (RESULT!!!), i then fitted all the parts, made sure it was fitted correctly and then tested the car and SURPRISE!!!! no knocking no noise nothing just like when it was new! i also flushed the brake fluid and changed the discs and pads, so the car now runs like a dream!

on a seprate note the car seems to be a bit slow and i wanted to change the clutch, what sort of price would i be expected to pay and how much would a 'clutch kit' cost and the labour that would be fair, any advice would be helpfull

regards and enjoy the weather while it lasts

 

[R2D2]

I might be wrong but I cant recall a W203 owner ever getting a clutch changed before. Have you tried doing the gearbox reset before anything else. The car adapts to its driver and the fuel used and whats on telly and what air filter you use and learns to drive smoothly but sometimes slowly with whatever variables you chuck at it. Do a search for gearbox reset and then report back how it feels then.

BTW what model and year is your car and whereabouts in the country are you?

 

[merc man]

hi there im based in the south of london, near croydon purley area. ill try the gearbox reset (ill do a search), to be honest i didnt even know that was possible! goes to show that i dont know everything about my car yet still a few lessons to learn!

The car is a 2001 c class w203 c180

 

[R2D2]

Keep us posted!

 

[merc man]

hmm
this may be the placebo effect but it seems to have added some kick to the car not a great deal but a little bit. the thing it no confirmation or anything comes up so you dont really know if you have don the procedure correctly. i.e resetting service ect. might have the clutched checked though will keep you guys informed!

 

[Ian B Walker]

Hang on a min. Gearbox reset on a manual? I did not know that there was an ecu for a manual box. No being funny, learning.

A Clutch change should be in the region of £250 plus parts

 

[BlackC55]

A gearbox re-set is not possible on a manual. (your right Ian)

 

[R2D2]

Oops sorry I thought it was an auto like mine

 

[BlackC55]

We all make mistakes