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I'm creating this thread because I see threads created on a weekly basis discussing the same kind of stuff over and over. I have gone through nearly every single noise (squeak or clunk) imaginable that can originate from the suspension. Im hoping this thread can be a collection of all of our best knowledge and become the place members can look for any sort of noise that may occur while owning a w203. Additionally, I am hoping to provide the most (cost) efficient means of pinpointing and resolving unwanted suspension noises.
I highly suggest purchasing a silicone based water resistant lubricant a spray and a grease - all suspension parts will have metal on rubber contact/friction and these types of lubricant last a LONG time and will not corrode your bushings.
Much of this stuff is straight forward to long time members, but hopefully this thread will help out our new members.
1: Sway bar end links (50). This is the most common cause of clunks on the front suspension. The end link nuts may come loose and need periodic tightening.
2: Front Lower control arms (140). Take a look at the control arms and if they are leaking fluids - the bushings are worn and must be replaced. If you can find a hydraulic press, you can replace just the bushing, but most places will recommend replacing the entire arm because it can be purchased w/ the bushing in place.
3 (Aftermarket) (50): Adjustable sway bar end links. If your car is lowered (alot) and you have adjustable end links, you could potentially have your end links adjusted to be too long. The result is your long end link will knock with one of your lower arms. Not good. Shorten the arm or raise the car.
Squeaks:
1: Sway bar end link bushings (50). Spray with lubricant and go for a test drive. If the sound goes away, then you should replace the sway bar end links.
2: Sway bar bushings (20). Like all other bushings, these can get old and make noises. Apply lubricant liberally. Removing the brackets to get to the bushings is sort of a pain - there are very long bolts holding the brackets in place.
3: Strut bearings (115). This most commonly occurs when people have installed their suspension wrong after installing new parts. It has to be properly positioned in the strut tower otherwise it will make noises when turning and during driving. Additionally, this piece is known to wear down over time and compromise handling. Its a good item to replace and check if your car has noises from the front, but possibly the most difficult to deal with because it requires removing the entire strut/spring assembly.
1: Sway bar bushing brackets (50/60). Need to be tightened - happens all the time to people installing new hardware.
2: Sway bar end link (70). Needs to be tightened - happens all the time to people installing new hardware.
Squeaks:
1: Sway bar bushings (20). These bushings are pretty well exposed to the elements under the car and can often wear down and need lubricating or replacing.
2: Sway bar end links (70). These endlinks have two ball joints in them when are notorious for failing and causing all sorts of noises and should be replaced. Replacing the arm requires a special 12 sided tool.
3 (aftermarket) Adjustable camber arms (470) - These arms are exposed to the elements and have two metal ball joints. Most arms come w/ a certain amount of lubricant on the arms - I suggest putting on tons. You WILL have to eventually reapply depending on the weather your car sees.
4: Lower control arm bushings (70/80) - These get old and could use replacing. This is the most difficult and time consuming rear suspension squeak to fix. Spraying w/ a lubricant does not work well to test it, so replace these as a last effort to eliminating your rear suspension squeak. If you have a hydraulic press you can replace just the arm, but there is another bushing that attaches to the rear wheel hubs that should also be replaced at this time. Just replace the whole arm for simplicity sake.
5 (not really suspension but too common): Rear lug bolts are too long. When installing new wheels (OR the spare tire), be sure to use the proper length for your lug bolts. Compare the length of your new wheels and lugs with your stock wheels and lugs. They should both come out the back side of the wheels roughly the same length. If you installed bolts that are too long, you will hear lots of noise and probably lose the functionality of your parking brake. You will have to have the parking brake mechanism replaced.
Hope this helps consolidate all of these topics into one giant thread.
Thanks to glyn for providing the images.
Really a useful post! Thanks for posting the pictures and experience!
I'm in the process of trying to eliminate a front suspension "clunk", or "scrunch" noise. I've found a lot of interesting information in this thread and just wanted to reach out with some specific questions and details about my own situation.
I have a 2005 C320 4MATIC that I bought used with around 55k miles on the odometer. When I got it there was already a slight "tick" or "clink" that would come from the front right wheel when turning the steering wheel at a stop or low speed. This soon came to be accompanied by a clunky scrunching noise in the front when going over larger bumps at low speeds.
The car was already pretty boat-like in its handling when I bought it and the suspension only continued to get softer. When I first approached my mechanic about these issues he was hesitant to start hunting the noise and soft ride and thought it was pretty par for an old C-Class.
Eventually the rear also started to clunk, though not as loudly as the front. The whole thing was really starting to bug me and eventually I got my mechanic on board for a suspension overhaul.
He suggested starting with sway bar end links to eliminate the clunking as they are inexpensive and easy to install. I bought new Genuine MB links for front and rear, this eliminated the scrunchy noise in the rear but not the front.
For that ticking in the front, mechanic suspected my strut mounts might be the cause, and since my ride was pretty soft, I decided to do struts and bump stops at the same time. I asked him if I should also do springs but he didn't seem to think that the springs would be bad at this mileage (I was getting upward of 75k miles on the odo by now).
I installed OEM Sachs front struts and Sachs bump stops, with Genuine MB strut mounts. This made an enormous difference in ride quality but did not eliminate the scrunching noise over bumps in the front. It also served to reveal more clearly a sort of front end rattle at low speeds over bad roads — minor but definitely there. It also drew my attention to the softness of the rear end in comparison to the now firmer front end.
We dropped a pair of Sachs shocks in the rear, interestingly the old shocks that came out had part numbers starting in 208, indicating them to be CLK shocks.
The car is now driving better than it ever has under my ownership but I still haven't eliminated the front end scrunch noise, these is also that low speed rattle, and coming off of the highway when braking firmly, there is some wobble that can be felt in the steering wheel. My rear rotors are nearing the end of their life, so not sure if that's a factor in the wobbling but the symptoms seem to point towards front control arms from what I've read.
Now I had to decide whether to buy aftermarket arms, or go Genuine. I couldn't find any arms from OE manufacturers and so after weighing my options bought a pricey set of front control arms. They are on their way, I will have my mechanic install them when they arrive. Fingers crossed that this will finally end the clunky scrunching noise up front.
As others have said on this thread, the car can also be very bouncy over uneven roads. I was also considering getting a set of H&R Sport springs — can anybody weigh in on how these would work with my current set up and on 4MATIC? I have been unable to find any real info on using lowering springs on a 4MATIC, has anyone done this successfully? Does this seem like a worthwhile upgrade? I actually really enjoy the plush ride, but a little more control might be nice.
Any other suggestions? I've sunk a fair bit of money into the car at this point but I really do enjoy the car, especially after these recent suspension replacements. I'm hoping to get the noises quieted down, and be able to enjoy this car for a few more years. Any further advice is appreciated.
Hi Skarthur, how about the front sway bars? The rubber bushings on mine creaked loudly over any suspension travel, most noticeably when going over speed bumps in the grocery store parking lot. replacing the sway bar with a few one (the bushings where molded onto the bar) fixed that problem. Note I did not have a 4matic, so don't know if you car is set up differently.
Thanks jkowtko, now that you mention it, I do recall hearing others mention the sway bar as a possible source of creaks.
I checked online and do see that they offer the bushings separately but on certain bushings they advise, "can no longer be installed, order complete torsion bar". I wonder...
I remember on my C230 Sport the bushings are molded onto the bar, cannot be purchased separately. However my entire sway bar from the dealership was only $80 ... seems like the best deal I've ever gotten from them . Maybe the bushings were molded on specifically for this reason (creaking) ...?
One thing you could try quickly is, get some silicone grease from the hardware store and coat the bushings you have generously, the grease may not last too long but you should be able to tell immediately if there is a difference, and if there is then you know it's the bushings.
Another thing I did in desperation was to also grease the top of the strut mounts. On the C230 with 3-link front suspension the vertical orientation/angle of the strut changes as you turn the wheel. So the top of the strut mount that sits in the fender mounting pocket could move around and creak some ... so what I did was jack up the front end, remove the safety bracket from the top of the struts to allow them to fall down from the pocket a bit (1/2 inch?) and then sneak some grease in there as well. Looking at the C320 4matic front suspension, with that bottom A-arm I can't tell if it will have the same type of travel as the non-4matic, but it looks like it has the same style of top strut mount ... so maybe worth a try as well?
If you try any of this please let us know how it turns out.
C230 Sport Coup + 2006 W164 ML350 + 99 Ford Escort RIP
I replaced sway end links (and upgraded to AMG while I was at it to match my bar) and bushings.
Also upper and lower control arms on right side.
I still have one of the left side, that doesnt't look so good but my backup car died before I could finish.
So at this point, all banging and clunking is gone except in one rear corner where I think I also
need a control arm. But all in all BIG improvement.
Rear bushings were just GONE! I put AMG bushings on rear which don't really fit my H&R bar
and I now have the H&R ones waiting. But all of this is getting transfered to my NEW
2002 C230 with only 36K miles very soon.
Since I'm here, I'd been meaning to post this doc with wrench sizes and torque specs on the suspension.
You REALLY have to crank on some of these. You certainly don't want them coming loose.
Last edited by C230 Sport Coup; Jul 17, 2025 at 06:19 PM.
Hi, I see this sticky has gotten a lot of traffic over the years & mods want stuff posted here so I guess I will add my particular noise + vibration issue but I don’t think it’s the same even after searching/reading through the threads.
2002 C230k coupe fastback/hatchback, ~150k miles, original & only owner, have always done all Service A,Bs + any other recommended maintenance/repair work. Have recently noticed a severe vibration noise & shaking issue ONLY when turned all the way to the locks (stops?), <1 mph, when driving out of the garage (need to turn R 90° to exit). Local mechanic originally speculated it could be the power steering pump but now insists it’s the supercharger (an expensive job & part!), I disagree. Stored codes P2600 & P2315 are present.
Anyway, I’ve created a separate thread at https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...ned-locks.html with an .MP3 attachment & a description of the recording scenario, unlike many others on this thread that are (comically) trying to describe sounds with words, lol 😂 (I don’t know why everyone - including OP, isn’t attaching short sound clips). A “thunk” & “squeak” are very vague & open to interpretation.
Anyway, any help sincerely appreciated!
Thanks!
Last edited by blacknova2; Aug 22, 2025 at 10:16 AM.
Reason: Removed unicode character that isn’t rendering correctly
9189076[/url]]Hi Skarthur, how about the front sway bars
Hi jkowtko,
I was finally able to get the front sway bar replaced, you were right — fresh bushings eliminated the scrunching noise over bumps. It also eliminated a bunch of instability in the front end, and the car feels tighter now.
Currently I drive: 2007 S550, 2009 ML350 and 2004 CLK320.
Originally Posted by Norsk_Johnson
Well, just to keep you updated and help anyone else with this conundrum. You were correct. The W203 2005 Mercedes C230 Kompressor Sport Sedan DOES have a 22mm sway bar WITH the bushings molded to the bar. So, consequently, I had to buy the bar at the stealer (along w/ trans mount). They asked for $181+tax at first, then I talked them down to $129. All of these reputable auto part websites don't elaborate on this. You can buy the sport suspension bushings (Code: 486), but unfortunately they will not fit the bars' 22mm circumference, or fit the stock brackets.
Takeaways...
1. If you have this model car, save yourself the time and buy a whole new bar with bushings molded. It's the 22mm AMG bar. No way around it, if you want to do it right. Sway Bar Part# 203-323-44-65. The rear sway bar is a different story, bushings can be replace separately.
2. If the price seems high at the dealer (which it always is) try to haggle with them, it never hurts.
3. Replacing end-links and sway bar WILL help eliminate creaks, squeaks, and minor clunks for the most part. I'm pleased with the results as it has brought new life to the suspension.
Currently I drive: 2007 S550, 2009 ML350 and 2004 CLK320.
Tie rods are quite easy to wiggle - would you say it is the time to change them? In the context that I'm about to replace the upper control arms, sway bar links and possibly sway bar bushings (as shown in the post above).
Tie rods are quite easy to wiggle - would you say it is the time to change them? In the context that I'm about to replace the upper control arms, sway bar links and possibly sway bar bushings (as shown in the post above).
See the attached short video...
If you take a pry bar to it, is there any play side to side or up/down? As I remember that is how auto mechanics check for "must replace".
However if the car is several years old and you are planning on keeping it for several more, then I recommend going through the suspension and refreshing all of the main stress joints. I never replaced my tie rod ends, but I did replace just about everything else. And each item I replaced tightened up the suspension and steering just a little be more ... was nice when everything started to feel like new again
Currently I drive: 2007 S550, 2009 ML350 and 2004 CLK320.
Originally Posted by jkowtko
If you take a pry bar to it, is there any play side to side or up/down? As I remember that is how auto mechanics check for "must replace".
However if the car is several years old and you are planning on keeping it for several more, then I recommend going through the suspension and refreshing all of the main stress joints. I never replaced my tie rod ends, but I did replace just about everything else. And each item I replaced tightened up the suspension and steering just a little be more ... was nice when everything started to feel like new again
-- John
Thank you for the comment, John! That's exactly the point!
I did the pry bar trick. Also had my son rock the tire 3-9 (horizontally) and 6-12 (vertically). There was no play in the tie rod ball joint. The car has 122K miles. Lots of life ahead. His first car and I expect him to drive it through college. The plan is to do everything preemptively without paying for alignment twice.
The plan is to do everything preemptively without paying for alignment twice.
Fwiw, I've always done my own alignments ... I don't think the shops add any more value.
For the toe-in I literally used a tape measure, picked a treadline on each tire, and then measured front vs back spacing between the two tires. Do a little geometry math based on the toe-in/out degrees and the diameter of the tire you can figure out how much difference between front and back measurements are needed. 2-3 iterations of this with a quick test drive in between iterations, and all good.
On the C230 sport suspension at least I don't think I had any other adjustments ... the top strut mount is fixed in the body cavity, and the control arms did not have eccentric bolts that I could remember. So just toe-in (and centering the steering wheel).
In fact I think my alignment was better because I took the time to do a few iterations and test drives to confirm
C230 Sport Coup + 2006 W164 ML350 + 99 Ford Escort RIP
I recently replaced the front right side control arms, sway bar end links, sway bar bushings and the biggest issue of
all was the completely disintegrated steering rack bushings. You can find info on that here in thiis forum,
I posted and someone linked me to a video on it.
Also did the rear swaybar bushingswhich were just gone and links. Now the suspension is tight, and no more clunking.
Prior to that it was drifting around on the road and clunkiung like heck. All fixed now.
Did not do the tie rid ends as I do not want to deal with alignnment issues.
Last edited by C230 Sport Coup; Dec 5, 2025 at 04:26 PM.
Currently I drive: 2007 S550, 2009 ML350 and 2004 CLK320.
Originally Posted by jkowtko;[url=tel:9241109
9241109[/url]]Fwiw, I've always done my own alignments ... I don't think the shops add any more value.
For the toe-in I literally used a tape measure, picked a treadline on each tire, and then measured front vs back spacing between the two tires. Do a little geometry math based on the toe-in/out degrees and the diameter of the tire you can figure out how much difference between front and back measurements are needed. 2-3 iterations of this with a quick test drive in between iterations, and all good.
On the C230 sport suspension at least I don't think I had any other adjustments ... the top strut mount is fixed in the body cavity, and the control arms did not have eccentric bolts that I could remember. So just toe-in (and centering the steering wheel).
In fact I think my alignment was better because I took the time to do a few iterations and test drives to confirm
Very interesting! I'll look into the alignments. By the way, today I have disconnected the right tie-rod. Here's what I have...
Last edited by Pasha Mercedes; Dec 6, 2025 at 01:07 PM.
Very interesting! I'll look into the alignments. By the way, today I have disconnected the right tie-rod. Here's what I have...
Nice.
So, before you remove it, do your best to note down the exact position of the tie rid. I've done things like the following:
* do the tread/front/back measurement BEFORE you remove the ball joint. Since you already took it off, put it back on, drive the car around to settle the suspension, then take your measurement. Keep this to re-measure when the new rod is on.
* Before you unscrew and remove the tie rod end, measure out some number of inches from the center of the tie rod ball joint into the inner tie rod and mark the rod at that point. Then when you install the new tie rod end you can try to match that same distance
* If the replacement tie rod is identical (make/model) of the one you are replacing, then when you remove the old tie rod, remember how many turns you unwound it ... install the new rod with same number of turns.
* Once you have installed the new tie rod to your best guess position, then drive the car around to settle the suspension, re-take the tread measurements and see if they are the same. Adjust just the one side you replaced until you get it to match.
And after all that you might want to try your hand at a DIY alignment
Currently I drive: 2007 S550, 2009 ML350 and 2004 CLK320.
Originally Posted by jkowtko
Nice.
So, before you remove it, do your best to note down the exact position of the tie rid. I've done things like the following:
* do the tread/front/back measurement BEFORE you remove the ball joint. Since you already took it off, put it back on, drive the car around to settle the suspension, then take your measurement. Keep this to re-measure when the new rod is on.
* Before you unscrew and remove the tie rod end, measure out some number of inches from the center of the tie rod ball joint into the inner tie rod and mark the rod at that point. Then when you install the new tie rod end you can try to match that same distance
* If the replacement tie rod is identical (make/model) of the one you are replacing, then when you remove the old tie rod, remember how many turns you unwound it ... install the new rod with same number of turns.
* Once you have installed the new tie rod to your best guess position, then drive the car around to settle the suspension, re-take the tread measurements and see if they are the same. Adjust just the one side you replaced until you get it to match.
And after all that you might want to try your hand at a DIY alignment
Thanks again! Now it's obvious that these tie-rods need to be replaced. :-) Let the caliper help me! :-)
2004 C230K 2 door coupe 1.8l m271 on a w203 chassis
Hopefully this helps
Originally Posted by springdriver1
Anyone know were squeaks can come from when turning steering wheel? It only happens when temp is low. I just had $1000 worth work done to the front end.It seem like an on going battle with the suspension on these cars.
check for worn ball joints (super easy to check if there hard and just old looking, there bad, super easy to replace also pretty sure every auto parts store in the country has a specialty tool they will loan out for free to fix it) check for bad tie rod ends ( also very easy to check, warping, bent, physical and visible damage from other sources)
Check the control arm bushings, also very easy to fix and check for, which are exposed to temperature changes. Visibility, you can tell if a bushing is bad.. If it is bad cheap and easy to replace it, simple hydraulic tool and some patience will take care of all of it.
always always use the correct grease and the correct lubricants on the suspension!! Certain grease and certain lubricants go to certain things for certain reasons And if they get mixed up or used on the incorrect thing it could cause failures..sounds...damage to other thing's etc... get some good grease and lubricant and go all the way around your car and grease and lube, your suspension really good. You would have saved about $2400...
**Even if your car is properly lubed and greased up... in the winter months it is normal sometimes to have brief sounds like that... the sounds are coming from the parts that are really exposed to the elements... cold does whatever it wants 😏 just keep your suspension lubed and greased with the correct stuff and it'll be OK.
May 21, 2015, 06:22 PM
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