Wishbone Bush Replacement.

[TVRTASMIN]

Anybody know how difficult it is to replace the bushes and balljoints on the front wishbones of a W124.?
I do have access to a press and blow torch.

Many thanks in advance.

 

[janner]

What year/model?

 

[TVRTASMIN]

1990, W124.

Wishbone part number 124 330 3007 and 124 330 3107.

Bush kit 124 330 0575.

 

[Ian B Walker]

Once you have the wishbone removed then its pretty straight forward. However you will need that BIG press. Plenty of washing up liquid around the rubbers and press in. Taking them out is a different story, glad you have the blow torch, just be careful that you don't over heat the metal of the wishbone. You will also need the Mb spring compressors to ensure your safety.

 

[TVRTASMIN]

It's the removal i'm more interested in.

 

[Ian B Walker]

It's the removal i'm more interested in.

The wishbone or the bush?

 

[TVRTASMIN]

The bushes!

 

[Ian B Walker]

You could attempt to press them out but I would sooner drill some holes though the rubber, press out the center then cut to the outer radius with a hacksaw. Failing that , burn them out bit by bit.

 

[janner]

This might help
Ball joint

If I ever have to replace my lower control arm bushes I'll upgrade to sportline ones. Maybe something to consider?

 

[TVRTASMIN]

I've read this article before somewhere.

Anyway i removed the bushes and balljoints from a pair of S/H wishbones from Dronsfields earlier this evening.

I noticed that the rubber bushes had raised pips of rubber on them but i think the wishbones were not from the same car as there were three pips on one set of wishbone bushes and two on the other.

On removal, there is a flat side to the inner part of the rubber bush on opposing sides, so the bushing rubber actually looks oval.
On one wishbone the orientation of the flat side of the oval was vertical and on the other it was horizontal.
Is there a correct way to install the bushes?

Also one wishbone had the aluminium tube sleeves between the bushes but the other just had a short piece of tube in each bush.

I'm assuming the tube is inserted into the bushes when fitted and the unflaired end flaired somehow.

 

[grober]

2 different cars??

There are potentially 3 different types of rear bush- and 1 type of front bush for each arm depending on the model involved. Sounds as if you may possibly have an arm from a w124 and one from a 201(190) or at least from 2 different vintages of the same model.

 

[TVRTASMIN]

The arms are identical to look at, and have been marked with paint by Dronsfields as W124.

The bushes are my main concern as to what position they should be fitted with regards to the oval part of the inner rubber.

 

[ADY1983]

Sorry to Hijack the thread for a minute.. I am in the middle of changing my lower balljoints but I have the arms from a later 24valve car and it is obviously different, I need to know, does the balljoint actually press out because it doesn't look like it.. If not, any Ideas how much a new arm is??

 

[grober]

Janners Link

Ady 83 Janner posted a link to this thread earlier take a look http://www.mercedesshop.com/Wikka/W124BallJoint

 

[ADY1983]

Ady 83 Janner posted a link to this thread earlier take a look http://www.mercedesshop.com/Wikka/W124BallJoint

I looked at that, the arm I have is different but I am going to stick it on the press now... as I just spoke to the main dealer and they said the ball joints are the same..

 

[grober]

bush positions

The arms are identical to look at, and have been marked with paint by Dronsfields as W124.

The bushes are my main concern as to what position they should be fitted with regards to the oval part of the inner rubber.

They are positioned differently according to the MERCEDES WORKSHOP MANUAL . this refers to the 2 piece mounting with clamping sleeve type only

on the w124 the flats on the 2 bush halves on the wishbone front mount should both be positioned facing towards the centre line of the car when the wishbone is horizontal
the flats on the 2 bush halves on the rear mount should both be positioned facing upwards when the wishbone is horizontal.

The pips refer to the hardness of the rubber and should be the same as the ones you removed.

Mercedes have a special tool to press in the bushes which swages the central tube at the same time. If you dont have this you will have to use a drift to swage the tube at one end

If you decide to do this work yourself CHECK THE SETUP of your own bushes/wishbones very carefully as a guide before starting. I would use your own 2 wishbones rather than 2 of unknown provenance.

Remember also that the wishbone mounting bolts are eccentric ( they are used to set camber and castor ) so note their position and direction before removal. On re-assembly you will need to get these reset/checked professionally. The car has to be resting on its suspension before they are finally torqued up

Personally for safety reasons I feel it would be best to entrust this type of work to an experienced Merc Mechanic who has the necessary tools/jigs and experience to do the job safely.

 

[ADY1983]

I have just spoken to someone at the main dealer who knows there stuff and, I have a Sportline which does not come apart new wishbone required £220..

 

[TVRTASMIN]

I have just spoken to someone at the main dealer who knows there stuff and, I have a Sportline which does not come apart new wishbone required £220..

Looking at your photos, there is no way the balljoint will press out.
If as you say you have the later arms, then they are a complete new arm unfortunately.

 

[TVRTASMIN]

They are positioned differently according to the MERCEDES WORKSHOP MANUAL . this refers to the 2 piece mounting with clamping sleeve type only

on the w124 the flats on the 2 bush halves on the wishbone front mount should both be positioned facing towards the centre line of the car when the wishbone is horizontal
the flats on the 2 bush halves on the rear mount should both be positioned facing upwards when the wishbone is horizontal.

The pips refer to the hardness of the rubber and should be the same as the ones you removed.

Mercedes have a special tool to press in the bushes which swages the central tube at the same time. If you dont have this you will have to use a drift to swage the tube at one end

If you decide to do this work yourself CHECK THE SETUP of your own bushes/wishbones very carefully as a guide before starting. I would use your own 2 wishbones rather than 2 of unknown provenance.

Remember also that the wishbone mounting bolts are eccentric ( they are used to set camber and castor ) so note their position and direction before removal. On re-assembly you will need to get these reset/checked professionally. The car has to be resting on its suspension before they are finally torqued up

Personally for safety reasons I feel it would be best to entrust this type of work to an experienced Merc Mechanic who has the necessary tools/jigs and experience to do the job safely.

I'm aware of the need to mark up the eccentric washers as it is the same type of system on my Alfa 156.
I will be having a full geometry check anyway.

The replacement bushes i have are Febi Bilstein and have one pip.

How would i get my hands on a Mercedes Workshop Manual, even a CD would do?

 

[grober]

ebay

I'm aware of the need to mark up the eccentric washers as it is the same type of system on my Alfa 156.
I will be having a full geometry check anyway.

The replacement bushes i have are Febi Bilstein and have one pip.

How would i get my hands on a Mercedes Workshop Manual, even a CD would do?

they are widely available on EBAY UK or the USA for about £10. They are a bootleg of the official mercedes benz w124 service manual on 2 cds. They only cover LHD US models so no 4 cylinder engines. see http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MERCEDES-W124...ryZ18421QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
just key in mercedes w124 manual cd in the search box.

there used to be a couple of websites which had the manual online but they seem to be down at the moment. There are posts about them in the favorites section of this forum.