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Yes I have tried jacking it up in sever positions and yes I can hear the creak BUT I can't isolate. I thought for sure it was the forward lower control arm because I could feel it there with my hand. Unfortunately upon replacing it nothing changed. I have looked at the strut (not leaking) and the spring but don't see anything that stands out. For a better look I guess I will have to remove the strut (PITA). What brand of struts did you go with?
I went with used struts. Since owning the car ive replaced the front struts, rear springs and shocks with all used Mercedes parts.
My thinking is the car is a 2010, has over 150,000 miles and been a new England car its whole life so its rusting everywhere. My goal is to just keep it in good running condition and not restore it. There is always something to do and fix on this thing so installing new Mercedes parts would end up costing me more than I bought the car for or its worth. For the struts, shocks and springs I paid about $350 total and obviously did the work myself. I look for parts in good condition, no rust with low mileage. Plus i drive normal now in my older age, im not racing around beating on the car.
I keep looking around on ebay for good deals on parts i think I may need. Its amazing how good used parts from california salvage yards look compared to whats on my car right now from all the snow and road salt.
I found the seller Labur-parts to be great to buy from. He shows alot of photos of the parts, lists the VIN and mileage of the car the part is from and prices are pretty good. The set of shocks i got from him look almost new. Def recommend him if you need something. make sure to lok at the mileage though because he does have alot of parts with high mileage.
Did you torque everything down when you replaced the parts? I know some people said they had trouble torquing the sway bar links. When I did mine i used a torx bit and a wrench to snug up the nuts then just put on a torque wrench with socket and torqued them down to spec.
I believe the sway bar links are 98nm.
I think the control arm torque specs are different depending if you have 4matic or rwd. I havent done mine yet so not sure what they are. I think the inside is pretty high, like 80nm +180 degrees. At the ball joints they may be around 50nm + 90 degrees.
Ya I torqued everything. So did the aftermarket strut/spring ride ok? Some on here said it would affect the ride height. The car is my daughters college car with 160k. It has been really good to us with this being the first issue of significance. So like you I don't want to make it brand new. I need it to last another couple of years.
We’ll finally got back on the car. Today I removed the strut and replaced the mount and bearing. The spring was in good shape. The old bearing was shot so I thought I was on to something. However it did not fix the noise. In fact it might be a little more noticeable. It’s definitely a metal on metal sound. It even made the noise when breaking when the car pitches forward. Sometimes it’s there when sitting down in the car. It seems like I have checked everything but obviously I haven’t. I bought bushings for the sway bar. I guess I’ll try that. What am I missing?
Well I replaced the sway bar links and it did not fix the noise. There does not seem to be a clunk but more of a creaking from driver side front. Jacked the car up and put ramps under wheels. While laying on my back pushing up on front end the noise goes away but when car settles it comes back. I put my ear to the strut top and noise does not seem to be coming from there. However when putting my hand on front forward control arm (big curved one) you can feel it. So I replaced it last night. What a PITA. Felt good about myself when done BUT there was no change in the creaking when turning or articulating over bump.. Any ideas on where to look next? Would a motor mount cause this?
This has me confused.
" While laying on my back pushing up on front end the noise goes away but when car settles it comes back.".
Do you mean when you push up on the car there is no noise? But when the front end is traveling down there is a noise?
Have you completely disconnected the sway bar links then tried to replicate the noise?
Wonder if the strut itself is causing the noise. have you inspected the bottom shims between the spring and the strut? May be worn and causing the spring to rub.
By pushing up on the front of the car I guess it is taking load off the car and does not make the noise but when under load the noise returns. I replaced the links but there was no change. When I replaced the strut mount and bearing I only compressed the spring but did not remove. I inspected the shims but they seemed to be ok. For a 2008 with 160k it would not be feasible to take to MB dealer. They would just say to replace everything blah blah blah.
I came across something interesting about knocking and it talks about the control arm making a noise when the car is turned. You mention feeling it in the control arm, but then you say you replaced it? What brand did you replace it with, and did you torque everything down to spec with the car resting on the ground?
It mentions installing rubber boots at the strut mount. I always saw these in the diagram but never knew what they were exactly. Part# 2113330697. "Elastomeric Cup Cover".
I spent another couple of hours under the car last night. I had the front end up on ramps with some stands at the sides. I have hammered, pryed, and tried to twist everything I can think of. Everything is tight. Nothing seems to be out of sorts at the wheel carrier. I was thinking maybe the sway bar bushings but when trying to use a pry bar they don't budge. I layed under it while someone turned the wheel from side to side. When turning full to driver side there is a pop or creak. It sounds like something is too tight or a metalic sound. I can't pinpoint the sound but it sounds like it is from the bottom side of car.
I was thinking maybe the control arm you replaced was not torqued down enough, but remember you having the noise prior to replacing it.
If you cannot locate it when your under the car listening by ear I wonder if you can narrow down the location with a stethoscope. In the reviews someone said they located a creaking suspension part. I may even get one to play around with.
Found one cheap on Amazon so im going to try it out.
Hey ther TimC300. I appreciate your responses. I have checked everything that I know of. With a noise that obious and loud I would think the cause would be as obvious. I might take a look at the stethoscope. I have had it to two different mechanics and they could not locate the problem. Neither one had a four post lift and since it only makes the noise when under load. Perhaps I will find someone with a four post. I am ok with replacing parts but I don't what that part is, lol.
If i disconnect the lower nut of sway bar links I should be able to turn wheels from side to side and move it in driveway? So if the sound goes away by process of elimination the culprit would be, sway bar links, sway bar itself? Also if sound does not stop then??
Yes, if your in the driveway with the front end raised just disconnect the sway bar links from the sway bar then do your testing turning the steering wheel each way. Probably just disconnect the side you hear the noise coming from.
It's not uncommon for new sway bar links to cause noises since it happened to me, I installed cheap aftermarket links and they failed the first test drive I took. It sounded much worse than the noisey links I was replacing.
I wanted to ask, when you replaced the control arm did you notice any oil leaking from the bushing? How did the bushing look, cracked?
When ever im under the car I always inspect the control arms for signs of oil leaking, staining the bottom of the control arms below the bushings.
I went with Febi brand links and after 2yrs one of the boots is already failing. The links seem fine, no noises, its just a visual inspection when I noticed the condition. Glad I got them from FCP, though it will cost me a few bucks to ship back the damaged one plus the price has increased by $6.10.
I received the stethoscope today and played around with it. It picks up sound better than I expected, can hear things ticking away in the engine that I couldnt hear just by ear. Didnt have anyone to push down on the car listening to suspension stuff though. I would be surprised if it couldn't pin point to where the creaking is coming from. The tip has to be placed firmly on the part, if it moves then its just very loud scratching. Only received one though, I thought it was a 2 pack. Oh well cant complain for the price.
I have not had time to disconnect the sway bar links. I had the tires replaced yesterday and the technician heard the creak/pop sound and said to just replace the whole strut assembly. I am looking for a used one. However there seems to be so many different part numbers it is hard to tell which one is the correct one! Mine has the 3 red dots on the spring. Also the ones listed on ebay do not seem to list anything about the mileage of the car it came from. I checked Labur....but had only RWD and I need AWD.
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