both rear springs broken 2003 c240 4matic wagon
 

well Ive had a strange sound from the rear end for a year or so and last week we went away my wife brought EVERYTHING so while driveing were heard a loud sound the RR spring snapped

anyways took a look sunday and yes BOTH rear springs were snapped on the bottom coils

car has 120,000km I do live in Ontario Canada where they do use road salt but car was washed allmost every week in the winter

anyways got 2 new springs $140.00 canadian each took about 30 mins to install following another thread here pretty easy sorry no pics couldent find camera at the time

the LR spring break was very rusty so its been broke a long time

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You said LR spring was broken long time ago... you didn't notice/feel it while driving around? OR, you knew it but just kept on driving?

Which thread/instructions did you use (as a guide) to repalce the springs?

well I suspected it was broken due to the noise id get turning into driveways sometimes and the ride hight was slightly lowerer on the LR side but i was unsure till 2 weeks ago

you can check by removeing the wheels and looking at the bottom coils I saw it plain as day with the wheel off

i used this thread starting from step 18

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...asy-steps.html

I did find jacking the arm back up i neded to remove the wheel and used a prybar to get the hole to line up

I used

1 floor jack
2 stands
18mm socket and impact gun (used to speed it up NOT required)
18mm wrench
10 mm socket
2 prybars
1 rubber mallet

took about 30 mins per side in my garage NO lift

wow that is not good glad nothing bad happened.
So how many of us are going to go check our springs this coming weekend lol
Luckily for me i am finally putting on my tein springs and rentech shocks :)

This is a disturbingly recurring 4matic problem. I think I should go after market springs as preventative maintenance.

I would have but I was unable to locate an aftermarket spring set for the 4matic wagon

nobody i checked with listed any springs for the 4matic wagons

wow... the wife must have packed alot of stuff :P

jk! On a brighter note at least it was easy to identify and fix. H&R makes some springs for the 4matic (but have to be ordered from europe - 240owner would know this the best) and vogtland makes some also!

ya but not for the wagon (that i could find) sedan yes

either way its fixed now and yes my wife packed everything I had to put up the cargo net as the trunk was filled to the roof tailgate barely closed...Id hate to go away fro more then a week.......

You really have to prevent corrosion on springs. The minute corrosion breaks the skin of a spring breakage becomes likely.

Broken Coil Springs
 

One question: My MB Dealer said that I would need an alignment. Can anyone verify that to be true or false since I only removed the lower control arm bolt and pulled the control arm down to remove the spring? No linkage, etc was changed with anything else.

While reading this thread, my rattle sounded like it was coming from the right rear around the gas tank filler area. Once I read the thread, I went to inspect my right rear coil spring on my 2005 C240 4Matic. Sure enough it had broken right down at the very bottom as was shown in the pixs. I called my local MB Dealer and they wanted $300.00 for labor to install both sides. The MB OEM part for the coil spring for my exact C240 was 202-324-18-04. It also had the bluish/gray stripes of paint on the original springs. Make sure if you have to get replacement MB OEM springs that they use the correct rear coil spring part number (have your VIN#) and that the same stripe color is on your replacements. I was able to get them for around $73.00/each wherein list was $93.00/each. It took me around 2 hours to complete the change, but if I ever have to do it again it will be around an hour. If you follow this great DIY link:
https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w203/339072-diy-detailed-h-r-spring-install-pictures-20-easy-steps.html
you will be just fine. The hardest part to the whole process I had was getting the control bolt lined back up using the floor jack. Make sure you seat both ends of the springs in the divot areas of the lower control seat. The bottom one is stationary into the lower control arm, but the top piece (spring perch pad) that the spring sits on needs to me placed on the top of the spring before placing it back up in the area that the old spring came out of. Hope this helps make your task easier!

It would probably be a good idea to have the alignment checked. The ride height could have also changed slightly with the new springs and would affect the toe.

i did not bother and everything seems fine

im going to need new summer tires so once i get those in the spring ill get it done

As I spend a bit of time in Montreal, I can believe it. There the cars are covered in salt for half the year... seems everyone gets their cars treated with some sort of oil-based undercarriage protection.

I had a similiar problem. I went ahead and replaced both rear coil springs. For some reason on the rear right spring we are still getting the springy sound when we hit a big dip in the road. I ripped everything apart again and the spring is fine. The springs I purchased part#4256850 has 2 white painted marks stamped on them. I believe the marks on the broken one's were 2 grey marks. Could it be that I purchased the wrong springs and even though they are new they are wrong????:rolf::nix:

My springs did the very thing and ended up with 3 of the 4 that snapped the bottom part of the coil (both rears and one front). I did not notice anything different with the rear but certainly the clunking sound in the front was loud. In 2013 the springs are now $160CDN each and since it is the first time in all 36 years of owning all sorts of cars I've never had this problem. It seems to be an issue with MB's after talking to other people. I decided against an OEM replacement as they obviously have a problem and bought a set of Eibach's. They were also cheaper at $260 for a set with a lifetime warranty, lower, stiffer with a progressive spring rate...how can you lose going this route?

sounds good, thanks for your help.

My front springs are shot as well, the right side clunks hard when going over bumps. What aftermarket springs would you guys suggest for the 4Matic? Wouldn't mind dropping the front an inch or so in the meantime..

Just had a co-worker help me. He jumped in the trunk, started jumping up and down, it's a bushing somewhere, not the new springs..... any suggestions on how to properly lubricate bushings to get rid of the sound? Also, can bushings be replaced on a c240 or does the whole shabang have to be replaced? Thanks

H&R make springs for the 4matic that are lower and stiffer

Well I have had the same problem for a while now. Clanging sound from the rear. I took a good look today while putting the snow tires on and with a mirror I could look into the bottom of the springs and see that they where broken.

Anyway, I have not found any aftermarket springs that are stock specs. Any suggestions? pelican, autopwarts way, best price car parts.. all nada.

oh and I think the tilted rear caused lots of tire wear. I will need new summers in spring time...

thanks guys...and gals.

I don't know of any stock springs. If they do make them I would be carful on what brand they are. I would find oem springs and get them treated/painted or something before installing to help prevent this in the future.

go for Eibachs or H&R, way better than the OEM and hopefully last longer. Because they are progressive rate you will not notice much change from ride quality but a huge difference when you load the springs up in a corner. The handling is much better

If you want to stay stock you can order from MB in North Carolina (i use them often ) and prices are so much cheaper then we get here ~$60 for rear springs vs the $160 MB Canada charges http://www.oediscountparts.com/parts...iagram=5775530

Obviously a serious problem with our cars in this climate, I know of at least 6 other people personally that have had their springs break here. I would say this is not acceptable

I picked up the OEM springs at the dealer for CDN $140 each. Replaced them Saturday morning. Not a hard job, the first side took longer obviously with finding the right wrenches and correct place to locate the jack. If you are game to tackle this your skills should be good enough. You to need female Torx set. but if you work on a Benz regularly you should have these.
Couple of hints: use a pry bar slid thru the holes in the control arm to push it down, even put a block of wood between the pry bar and the shock to hold it down. Tricky part is to locate the springs. I removed the top rubber bumper, cleaned, it, and silicon lubed it so I could place it in correctly. When you place the springs, don't turn them clockwise (looking down) because this will unseat the top. Turn them counter-clockwise.

As for why they break, I don't think its the salt/rust. Cars up here in Quebec are subject to lots of salt and spring breaking is an unusual occurrence.

Ok
 

thanks