Javvy

Ok this is for my 02 C230 6MT 87K miles, I replaced the front control arms buishings (Replaced the complete arm:Lemforder) and the tranny mount, when I was down there also saw that the front sway bar bushings were shot, have ordered from local MB and will be replaching that as well. What a difference in the ride....

My problem is this, I still hear some cluking sound coming from the rear, dont know where to start or what to look for. This is my first RWD so am not fimiliar with the ride quality...do all RWD drive a little harsh or are as smooth as the FWD/AWD...I am comparing it to my 07 C280 4matic @ 92k miles ride quality. I hear/feel a slight thump from the rear every time I go over a mediocer bump...any direction from you more experienced peeps on what things I should be inspecting and how....any diagrams/pictures/links would be helpful...

Any help is much appreciated...

Javvy

phister

Make sure everything is seated properly like the springs, pads, every bolt is tightened to spec.

sammydragon3

do the rear tires or any tires show any signs of uneven wear?

if not then your alignment is fine and its not anything major

im pretty sure the rear has a link and sway bar or just the sway bar

Javvy

Sammy, no uneven wear for sure.....Will have to go thorugh every bushing at the rear with a magnifying glass and see if there are any cracks or any thing on em......or may be it is juts the RWD thingy....dont know...

Phister...........will do....

Javvy

Glyn M Ruck

Javvy - Look at all the rear suspension rubbers. Pull up TruTaing's thread on suspension noises. All the diagrams are there. I pulled them out for him.

Javvy

thanks glynn will do....I know I have read it some time back...thanks for reminding...

javvy

LILBENZ230

Can't really compare the 4Matic Luxury C280 to a C230 that is 5 years older and a Sport trim. My 2005 did not have a very nice ride. It was very firm.

Clunk noises shouldn't be happening but the ride will definitely be different.

Javvy

OK so replaced the Sway bar bushings, the way I did this was I removed the bracket bolts on one side (did not remove or loosen the end link nuts) and slide the bushing in and bolted the bolts back on. Did this way on both side, drove around and heard some clucking/weired noise while turning and going through small humps.....went in there one more time and found that the Sway bar was pushed all the way to the passenger side and hence the sway bar end that connect to the end linke on the driver side was making contact with the lower control arm the one that is Black in color(or SS made).....lossened the bracket bolts (Did not loosen or remove the end link nuts) and eye balled everything to be well balanced on both the sides and tighted the bolts back, but still the noise exists......should I have removed the end links and then installed the bushings???? or do I have to push the sway bar/end links to make them fit better.....I am confused ..cause the clearance between the endlink/sway bar connection point and the Lower contraol arm is so tight...any one have any recomendation of what I have to do to make everything work the way it is supposed to....any help is much appreciated....

javvy

Drummajorc

I also had a clunk over speed bumps and such until I recently replaced the rear sway bar end links and it cleared the noises right up. I'd say to give that a try, the entire end link is only 20 something dollars and is easy enough to remove and replace.

TruTaing

If your noises occur easily on uneven roads or hitting one wheel at a time going up/down speed bumps, I would suspect your end links are worn - especially if you've got a lot of miles + have never changed them before.

Javvy

thank you trutaing......YES the noises occur easily on uneven roads or hitting one wheel at a time going up/down speed bumps or small bumps and this happens only on the drivers side..I will look inot buying the end links......so you think the process I followed to replace the bushing was fine??? (where I did not loosen the endlink nuts??)

Javvy

TruTaing

To my understanding, at long as the sway bar bushings stay in place under their brackets holding the sway bar, they should be fine.

Did you have this noise prior to changing the sway bar bushings? If so, then I would highly recommend looking at your sway bar end links.

mtnman82

+1 - the rear sway bushings are held in place by the brackets, so if you could easily mount/bolt up the brackets the bushings should be in there just fine. If you haven't changed out the rear end links yet, that would be the next thing I'd try. Easy/cheap. Did you check the endlink nuts to make sure nothing was loose? I had that happen once and a quick turn of the wrench took care of it.

Javvy

will do mtnman.....am in the process of ordering the end-link will order both rear and front....

Also when I uninstalled the front sway bar a big chuck or portion was rusted the rust was so bad an one place that huge chunks of paint+ caroded metal flakes fell off there by reducing the sway bar diameter at one portion of the sway bar....so I am looking to buy an OEM sway bar as well....will be posting a request on here to see if any one has their OEM sway bars lying around that they want to get rid off....

thank you for all your help...

Javvy

mtnman82

I just checked a few weeks ago and new stock AMG sway bars were $85~90 each (front or rear). The front sway has the bushings attached (same with the stock front sway on my '03). I'm currently running the stock sways again and am liking not 3 wheeling up the steeper entries/exits/driveways, but I do miss the better handling I had with the H&R's. Seriously thinking about trying the AMG's as a comprimise...

Javvy

hi mtnman, good idea on the AMG's.....what is the part number and where can you get em for that price.....post me some links or some thing.....also I would need to use a 12mm endlinks with the AMG's....correct??

Javvy

phister

Yup the amg use 12mm

mtnman82

I can;t find where I wrote the part #'s down, but here are a couple links with discussion & part #'s:

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...ort-sedan.html

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

I checked a few different parts places and they all seemed to have more or less the same ballpark price. Yep, you'll need the 12mm end links for the front. Here's an example of prices I found:

http://www.oediscountparts.com/parts...ABILIZER%20BAR

http://www.oediscountparts.com/parts...ABILIZER%20BAR

If/when I order I will call to make sure I'm getting the correct part # & diameter bar I'm expecting.

Javvy

"I'm currently running the stock sways again and am liking not 3 wheeling up the steeper entries/exits/driveways".....

can some one explain this phinomenon.......What is 3 wheeling and do aftermarket sway bars cause this????...a little noob on this one....

javvy

phister

3 wheeling is just having 3 wheels contacting the road or as a lot of stance guys call it being "static". its caused by a very stiff suspension and by the sway bars. sway bars/anti-roll bars prevents body roll of the car when turning. Since the stiff sways prevent body roll it can cause the car to go into 3 wheel if driving hard enough into a turn. You'll usually see it at road races or time attacks cars going 3 wheel

mtnman82

For me, the 'three wheeling' mainly happened on the rear axle when going up or down a steep incline. Think going up/down a steeper driveway from/to a level road. The sway bar tries to keep the wheels on the same plane, or level to each other, so one of the rear wheels would lift off the ground. Picture going up (turning into) an inclined driveway at an angle, not straight on, so the inside wheel would raise up higher than the outside wheel and bring the outside wheel up with it. The inside wheel would still have contact with the road but the outside wheel is lifted off the road. This is a very low speed (much less than 5 mph) maneuver in my case, and there's a driveway that I deal with everyday at kid's daycare which is steep enough to cause it. If our cars had limited slip differential's it wouldn't be as big a deal, but with the open diff the wheel off the ground wants to spin. I also noticed it in parking lots with deeper rain channels/gutters - if one of the rear wheels was over the gutter and the other three were on level ground. Again, a very low speed occurrence.

Javvy

humm....thanks phister and mtnman for educating me....so this is the draw back of having stiffer sway's.......hummm...now debating wheather to stay stock or still go for the aftermarket.....I love cornering the car and really enjoy the H&R rear sways that I have on my C280....but on a C230 hummm......any advice?? am thinking of buying Infected's Eibach front and rear sways.......hummm???

Javvy

phister

just getting the sways isnt going to cause it do the three wheeling. Its mainly caused by the stiffness of the springs and the setting of the dampener. when I put my BCs on full hard setting on the dampening and lift my car the wheel basically stays static and doesnt drop like most cars, but when I set it to a softer setting it will drop some when jacking the car up. Many guys have the sways and dont have the issue of 3 wheeling. I say just get it, and if you dont like it then just sell it.

Javvy

thanks phister.....

javvy

mtnman82

Yep, the suspension (springs/shocks) has something to do with it too, but for me the difference is the sway bars. I have the H&R springs/Bilstein shocks and with the H&R sways I get the three wheeling but with the stock sways I don't. I don't know for sure, but am thinking the AMG sways will be a comprimise in handling without the three wheeling.

If you're keeping the stock springs/shocks you won't have as much of a problem with it (but a stiffer sway bar will limit travel more than a stock sway bar). Plus it has something to do with the terrain where you live/drive. If you have the stiffer sways on your 280 now and don't run into problems, you very well may never run into it.