W212 Lower Control Arm Replacement DIY questions

[TeddyRuxpin]

Hi,

I think I'm due some lower control arm replacements as my car is on 143k, on all original suspension, and I'm getting some light clunking etc at the front.

I'm trying to check out the difficulty for a DIY, but I've not found any tutorials for a W212. Is the suspension set up the same as a W204? I've found tutorial for them and it seems quite easy, as long as you have a ball joint separator:

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I didn't quite understand using the lift to take the strain of the suspension and tighten to bolt end... also... does anyone have any torque settings?

If anyone has any info they can share that might help, I'm all ears.

Cheers!

Ed

 

[TeddyRuxpin]

GLK350 video here, looks easy again, but not sure how much it carries across to a 2009 W212 E350

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[OneForTheRoad]

They say to have the weight of the car on the wheels before tightening that bolt. If you tighten it beforehand and let the car down ,the Bush will twist on the bolt and its life will be shortened. Cheap copies can be longer or shorter in length and knock out the tracking .

The way I do them is to measure from hub centre to bottom of the wing with the wheel on, then jack up the hub to the same gap with the wheel off ,then tighten that bolt. Its easier if youre lying on your back without ramps.

 

[TeddyRuxpin]

Ah right, thanks, that's really helpful. That sounds like the trickiest bit.

Otherwise, is it as simple as the videos look?

 

[OneForTheRoad]

Ah right, thanks, that's really helpful. That sounds like the trickiest bit.

Otherwise, is it as simple as the videos look?

Pretty much . Other than keeping the steering wheel straight ,its pretty easy tbh.

 

[TeddyRuxpin]

Thanks!

Does the car require tracking to be done after the control arms are changed?

If anyone has the torque settings, that would be great...!

Cheers,

Ed

 

[Hebbsy]

Hi I'M looking to lower my C180 2013 plate
To the same height as the C45 but no idea wit size springs I need how much smaller are the C45 springs to my C180

 

[TeddyRuxpin]

Hi I'M looking to lower my C180 2013 plate
To the same height as the C45 but no idea wit size springs I need how much smaller are the C45 springs to my C180

Hi Hebbsy,

Check out this link: Wheels, Tyres, Brakes & Suspension

Click on 'Post Thread' in black at the top right there, and you can create a new post all about your C180, so people that now about the C-class can reply - you're more likely to get success that way.

Hope this helps!

Cheers,

Ed

 

[W1ghty]

Hi Hebbsy,

Check out this link: Wheels, Tyres, Brakes & Suspension

Click on 'Post Thread' in black at the top right there, and you can create a new post all about your C180, so people that now about the C-class can reply - you're more likely to get success that way.

Hope this helps!

Cheers,

Ed

And it also stops getting your Thread Hijacked

 

[OneForTheRoad]

Thanks!

Does the car require tracking to be done after the control arms are changed?

If anyone has the torque settings, that would be great...!

Cheers,

Ed

Once you get the ball joint in . Lower the car down onto its wheels ,with the big bolt though the bush loose it should then allow the arm to go into its natural position ,then you tighten it up. That's the main reason behind it. If you use a lemforder arm or ( gulp ) mercedes arm ,you should be fine . On the cls the tightening was so many Newton meters plus 90 degrees ... it wasn't all Newton meters. Hopefully someone will tell you better.

 

[OneForTheRoad]

 

[MrGreedy]

Does the car require tracking to be done after the control arms are changed?

I would absolutely definitely get the tracking done after swapping any suspension components.
I'd recommend Lemforder or Mercedes parts generally. Possibly Sachs or Bilstein depending on what you're changing.
I'd also price up any cheaper bits that can be changes at the same time e.g. ball joints and drop links, and do those at the same time, although on heavy cars like ours at this sort of age (and particularly if you are going to be keeping it for a few years) it's often much more economical to replace all the bushes/arms in one go, and just pay an indy to do the lot if you can supply the parts. Some indys understand that they haven't got the time, and therefore can't hope to match the pricing you can find if you are prepared to take you time and hunt around sourcing parts (including genuine) at highly competitive prices.

I managed to do this on my W203 C320 on the rear, I replaced the shocks and springs and everything else suspension-related was sourced by me and changed by an indy (except rear subframe rear bushes) for about £700. Bargain!

 

[TeddyRuxpin]

Hi guys,

Quick question - Autodoc has a 34% off thing at the moment (next 8 or so hours) and so two Lemforder control arms are only £155 at the moment, down from around £200. They always have a small discount on, but this seems like a reasonable saving.

Anyway, what other parts are worth doing at the same time? I haven't had an actual diagnosis that the control arms are the culprit of my slight knocking, however as the car is on 143k and there isn't any evidence of suspension work, I think it's fair to 'guess' that its' the control arms, and that they probably need changing.

The way I see it, the control arms are kind of 'standalone' so doing others at the same time isn't necessarily a big saving (other than jacking the car up again). I'm having my engine mounts done on the 7th Sept by an indie and can ask them to inspect the suspension then, but want to grab the parts while on sale.

I would be doing the work myself.

Cheers,

Ed

 

[W1ghty]

Hi guys,

Quick question - Autodoc has a 34% off thing at the moment (next 8 or so hours) and so two Lemforder control arms are only £155 at the moment, down from around £200. They always have a small discount on, but this seems like a reasonable saving.

Anyway, what other parts are worth doing at the same time? I haven't had an actual diagnosis that the control arms are the culprit of my slight knocking, however as the car is on 143k and there isn't any evidence of suspension work, I think it's fair to 'guess' that its' the control arms, and that they probably need changing.

The way I see it, the control arms are kind of 'standalone' so doing others at the same time isn't necessarily a big saving (other than jacking the car up again). I'm having my engine mounts done on the 7th Sept by an indie and can ask them to inspect the suspension then, but want to grab the parts while on sale.

I would be doing the work myself.

Cheers,

Ed

There are also upper control arms ? You may think about these as well especially if you are going to then pay for a “hunter” alignment check .
Engine mounts and transmission mounts at your mileage if they haven’t been done yet ? Edit , just seen the engine mounts comment !

 

[W1ghty]

Let me know how much the mounts replacement costs buddy , are you going Lemforder with them as well ?

 

[W1ghty]

Just been looking at the Autodoc sale , what does everyone think about Lemforder engine/tranny mounts , they are still Hydro bearing but in the sale they are 50% cheaper than buying from MB (whoever makes MB ones ? )

 

[TeddyRuxpin]

Hey man, I got the Lemforder mounts for £144 for all three from autodoc!

 

[TeddyRuxpin]

By the way, the phone app discounts are always bigger than the website discounts... it's currently 34% on the app, but only 23% on the desktop/website.

 

[W1ghty]

Hey man, I got the Lemforder mounts for £144 for all three from autodoc!

I think I’ll seal the deal by pressing the GO button on Autodoc then buddy . Thanks for the heads up

 

[W1ghty]

By the way, the phone app discounts are always bigger than the website discounts... it's currently 34% on the app, but only 23% on the desktop/website.

You were right , even more off , ordered 2 engine mounts and a tranny mount . Thanks a lot buddy