wizkid

Well, that explains a lot. I know that the driver side is leaking. A month ago after an oil change I had some fluid on my garage floor but it was more forward than the oil filter. I could figure it out. I then looked under it and there was a little bit of oil on that part in your picture. Sure enough, I forgot about it after wiping it off a few times thinking I had spilled engine oil on it. But I never accepted that but what else would it be? Well, it is the front thrust arm bushing.

Thanks man!! That clears it up!! I am going to take some pictures anyway.

Now, how do we swap the bushing? What do we undo? Answer these questions after I post my photo.

wizkid

Is it as easy as removing the one bolt and pushing the old bushing out? Can I grease the new bushing to get it in?

The bushing looks dry in the pictures but there are a few damp spots on them and as mentioned in the above post, I have wiped them clean several times.

RES

I was looking on my service disc and they are calling this the torque strut. They make a special press tool, or you could use a socket of correct size or piece of round stock. Make sure the notch in the bushing is facine up, there is a lug on the arm that you center the notch on the bushing to. Press in, you could use a light oil, but I wouldn't use grease. If it is really hard and you can't keep it straight, I would find a shop with a press and have them press it in for you. Works a lot better. I you plan on doing projects like this, Harbor Freight has a work bench press. Work ok for small stuff like this and the price is right for as many time as you would use it.

SeaCoupe

I would say just get it pressed in by a machine shop. I doubt you will be able to press it in by yourself. You would need a hell of big press to get that bushing in.

Now, if we only lived near each other, we could drink and work on it while *****ing about stealerships and the women in our lives.

But you do realize that with your left, you would end up quite popular?

E

wizkid

Mr. E, I got the parts today. I had a lot of parts to get too. Yes, I have asked my friend to press them out and in.

The bushings cost me $18 a piece and they wanted $409 to replace those twho things. What a freekn rip! It will cost me nothing for the press in and out and IF I had to pay it would run me just a few bucks.

For my car it was P/N 203-333-10-14 and came up as a "Bearing."

PS My woman situation is good. But we could talk about yours. It is a shame we don't live closer together. Between the two of us, we could do some damage.

PSS Can anyone find torque spec's on the nuts and bolts for the thrust arm on the CD? I can't find squat.

RES

Where it connects to the axle carrier or spindle(ball joint end) is 150 nm and where it connects to the frame is 60 nm doesn't give ft-pounds

mleskovar

Are you just replacing the bushing that the control arm pivots on? What about the leaking fluid?

wizkid

I believe the fluid is inside the bushings. So yes, I am just replacing the bushings.

I am just waiting on my sliding jack bridge to make it in so I can actually lift the front body of the car off the lift ramps.

Here are some pictures of one of the bushings.

SeaCoupe

Ack, Russell beat me to the numbers. I was just about to look it up, I have John Goodlands CD right now. Man, I found some cool info on the W203 disc. Only issue, is that I NEVER found the info for what I was looking for.

But I did get good intell on the pano roof. i have to buy that CD.

E

mleskovar

Like they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. As long as they retain their fluid they should be fine.

wizkid

My wifes are leaking like nigara falls this morning.

RES

Mercedes, Porsche, and I'm not so sure about BMW's have the fluid filled bushings on the suspension and engine mounts to keep the cars riding smooth. Most of the time these last a long time but some due to poor manufacturing start to leak. My Porsche engine mounts are lasting a long time but most of the other members in the club have had to change them early. Some have gone to a Ford mount that is solid rubber so they wont leak anymore. But the vibration is terrible. So plan on some of these little set backs. I looked on the Mercedes disc and they mention this mount and hint as to its problem, but never had a campiegn or message come down. They did change from replacing the whole arm to just the bushing. But it looks like you can do it pretty cheap if you are willing to work on yur own car. I'm willing to help those that are near by, Oh yah! no one lives near me. Sorry

WaveyKat

Does anyone have the Part numbers on the Bushings one side of mines is making the Clunking noise so am thinking about changing the bushings
........i might aswell do both front bushings..

Also does ANYONE know if anything Aftermarket company Makes a stronger Bushing for our cars?

wizkid

Part number was in my post above. Please note it is probably the same for your car but you need to check with your dealer to be sure.

WaveyKat

kool thanks alot did u soak them into any liquid before u install them?

i notice my clunking noise when it started getting very cold outside so i got the car up on a lift so me and the guy at the shop under the car shaking the car i then place my hand on the thrust arm while shaking the car and i felt the knocking sound u can hear it softly... coming from the Arm passenager side.

B189s

Are worn out thrust arm and bushings still covered under my warranty if I have aftermarket suspension?

Thanks

wizkid

Just an update: I have been really lazy and then got motivated. I found that my lift had a tiny tiny leak. So I pulled the cylinder out and it is currently having a seal kit put back in it. SuperLifts.com customer service sucks and I do not reccomend them when purchasing a lift. When I get it back this week, I am going forward with this installation.

One last stupid question: When they press the bushing in, just getting it close to the old position would be good enough until we get the front realigned? The reason I ask this is because I am thinking about ordering the actual arm parts so my wife can get back on the road right away without a day of down time for me to run to the local Chevy dealer to borrow their press.

BeaverMjr

Just wanted to let you all know that back in the fall of last year I was told that my car's front thrust arm bearings were loose and needed to be replaced. I declined and waited because I didn't have the quoted $600. About 3 weeks ago, I took the car in because I heard a squeeking in the front suspension. The service manager told me that the cause was the bearings and unbenounced to me, this could be fixed under the starmark extended warranty. I was surprised. I thought the warranty expired early last year.

Anyways, here's what they did:

Torque Strut (1) on front axel replace
1 Thrust Arm
2 Bearings
2 screws
Bearing on one torque strut replace
Not time for thread repair
Goodwill repair

Right Torque strut joint loose. Both torque strut bushings torn. Removed lower engine panel and removed stabilizer bar. Disconnected both struts from knuckle and removed both torque strut links. Replaced right side and replaced bushing in left. Bolt at stabilizer bolt galled threads. Retapped holes and replaced bolts. That repair includes 3.5 hours of labor.

It was the standard sign and drive repair. Did I get lucky or what?

When I was notified that I still had warranty coverage, I inquired about replacing the passenger side seat control module. It has been disconnected due to slow battery drain. On the same paperwork as the warrenty service is the fact that the seat control module is not covered due to the fact that the Starmark warranty has expired.

Can't these guys make up their mind? I'm not complaining about the Goodwiull repair, but if one thing is covered, why not the other?

skaretv

I'm soon on to do this repair on my w203, bushing on both sides have to be replaced.
I wondered if I can use the old screws in the new bushings. It's said that there is three settings for these bushing, witch can be set by changing the bolts. As I don't know what setting my car has, i thougt about using the old screws.
Why are bolts changed when busings are replaced? I see some of you did

Glyn M Ruck

Read the sticky under Castor Camber bush replacement. The standard bolt fits the centre position in the bush. The fluted bolts give you greater adjustment.







Ensure that you align the bushes correctly in the castor arm

Read this bulletin

https://mbworld.org/forums/attachmen...h-bulletin.pdf

netboy

last time i went in for Service B, they said i need to replace "thrust arms" for 900$.
just called another dealer, they want 1000$ ! they said parts alone is around 450$. is that BS?
if i dont fix it, is the car safe to drive?

mleskovar

You probably need just the bushings replaced....a common wear/failure item. I paid $40 for each bushing and put them in myself. $600 to replace the bushings at a dealer is about the going rate. I'm guessing an Indy would charge $350 - $450 to replace the bushings.

Depends on why they need to be replaced. If the arm is broken...but I doubt that....not safe, and you would undoubtedly feel/hear the problem. Bad bushings affect alignment/tracking/smoothness but are not a safety issue that I know of.