NY C32

My C32 has 14K miles. In June, I ran over debris in the road and bent two rims. I replaced the wheels and had the suspension checked out for damage because my drivers side front would make a "thud" sound every time I hit a bump.

They replaced a control arm bushing and it seemed to eliminate that sound. After 1000mi, same sound. I took the car in and it turned out the newly replaced bushing went bad. This time, they replaced the entire control arm, both front struts, bushings and did an alignment. Everything checked out okay.

Last week, I was parking my car and as I turned the wheel to the far left, I hear a metal-to-metal "clank". WTF was that? Sure enough, the original "thud" sound came back again. I brought the car back to MB - its the same bad control arm bushing. I had 3 different techs from 2 different SA teams to look at the suspension to find out if there is another issue that is putting undo stress on this particular bushing and they all said no.

So, do any other owners out there have similar issues?

BTW - They tried to tell me that my aftermarket springs could be the culprit. I told them that they could put back th OEM springs but if it happens again, then they have to put back my aftermarket springs and cover labor for both removal and re-install. They agreed, its probably not the cause

odysseycpm

Your experience with the control arm bushings is not unique. It has been shared by many previous C32 owners including myself, which were eventually replaced.(On a stock suspension)

drallafi

What does it cost to have the control arm bushings replaced out of warranty?

NY C32

I don't know because I still have my warranty

TECHNICIAN

The bushings are a known problem on 203's. The biggest problem I see is people tightening the bolts with the suspension unloaded, causing the bushing to bind and prematurely wear/crack once loaded.

drallafi

Darn. Does anyone here know, or can anyone give at least a ballpark?

t1n0

I know this is an old thread, but I am going to replace my bushings today. I purchased them online for about 60, delivered, and I was wondering if anyone had a price for install?

I was quoted 150, because the arm has to be removed, and the bushing installed using a press/vice. This guy is a mercedes shop, and does good, timely work, so it might be more than average. I am sure I could find some corner shop that says they can do it, but then they just figure it out along the way, as opposed to this guy that has done many, and all I will save is 50 bucks.

///AMG4EVER

$150 is a gift. This is PIA to do.

t1n0

Thanks for the reply.

Another place told me that it is better to replace the entire arm, because there is a ball joint at the other end, which will have to be replaced eventually, or could be damaged while removing the arm to replace the bushing. He said he would take in trade the bushings that I already purchased, and replace both entire arms with new bushings and joints for 600.

However, I think I will let my guy change them for 150, and worry about the ball joints when it happens. The car has no rattles, clanks, squeaks. May not even need the ball joints, as the recommendation came from Tire Kingdom when I tried to get it aligned. I have a five year alignment contract that I purchased for about 250, and I suspect that TK is just trying to find excuses to do work and not make good on the alignment contract.

I have heard that the control arm bushing are known to need replacing on the C32.

Vadim @ FD

Replace the arms. The ball joint does noo like to be removed and will likely get damaged.

t1n0

Well, I went to a different branch of Tire Kingdom, told them I had the 5 year plan, and to check the alignment, and tell me if the suspension was ok.

Guess what? They aligned it in about 45 minutes, and claim there's nothing wrong with the suspension. (I didn't tell him the other store said taht I had to change the control arms/bushings.)

Two TK branches, two opinions.

Now, the tires are worn, but not below the wear bars. However, the front left has a slight bulge on the the inside tirewall, about the size of half a golfball, that came with the car when I purchased it. (added feature, :P ). I never had shakes or anything until recently, when the car will shimmy a little at 70, and always has a very, very slight pull to the right, even though the alignment printout is in spec.

I now notice that the outside of the front left has a little bit of belt showing on the shoulder, but not all the way around. I thinking it is just the bulge/out of balance, and two new tires will fix it all.

But also leaves the question of which came first...the shimmy or the wear?

I have looked at the newbie post for tire recommendation, but I will search again, and if not, I will start a tire thread.

If you know a good tire thread, please post.

t1n0

I had the bushings replaced for 150, plus 70 for the correct bushings. It seems the C32 has two sets of lower control arm bushings, and I had purchased the aft pair, and actually needed the fore pair. Also, my front left rim was out of round. I am surprised my shimmy wasn't worse considering how bent it was. I read someone else here state they had to purchase a replacement, but I could not find one. I opted to have it straightened for $140, and it came out perfect. BTW: stock AMG 17" rims for the front are about $550, IF you can find them. Tire rack had about 3 left a few months ago, but they're gone.
Anyway, the bushing replacement went smoothly without damage to the ball joint, and allowed a perfect alignment. Now my car rides incredibly smooth and handles like a dream. I also got a pair of Mich PS2's in the front, and I'm sure that helps too.

sfclk

are there urethane bushings available for 203s?

c32used

saer1one

i took my c32 in to the mb dealer for a quick wheel alignment. they came back and said the lower control arm bushings where bad and needed to be replaced. they quoted $850, give or take. i bought them there for $80 took the control arms off, took em to a friend that has a press and replaced them in 2 hrs.. but i was suprised because my car only had 37k miles. i would expect mercedes benz parts to be a bit better manufactured..

saer1one

that would definitely take all my worries away..

t1n0

Well, not everyone has a press. :P Also, others have stated from experience that the ball joint at the other end doesn't "like" to be disconnected, and may get damaged. I had mine done at a Star certified place for 150, plus 70 for the bushings. That 850 is outrageous, even if they were including new arms.

The general consensus is that those bushings are short lived on our suspension.

sfclk

Can you put me in contact with star cert.? I found a place for $160/side but they don't specialize in Mercedes.

evilsaint

I had my control arm bushings replaced and paid for by my extended warranty when I had my car in for the 1500rpm jerk, though I don't know if they're the same ones. They cited some TSB (I wasn't even having any issues...), but I can't find the paperwork and the only TSB I can find is here. It pertains to rebound stops, though, not any kind of bushings... All I know is that my steering was tight as a duck's butt for about 1500 miles and then it started thumping like you're all describing. Haven't had a chance to bring it back in yet, unfortunately.

I'll go search a bit further to see if I can find the service paperwork for that visit, but the amounts that you guys are getting quoted (sans the $150 steal from the Indie shop) are about the same as what I remember them billing my warranty company.

t1n0

I'm relatively new at this...is posting specific contact info for a mechanic shop considered advertising or a breech of sponsor agreements?

t1n0

It's the mobil 1 that makes it expensive. True that the oil and filter probably add up to about 60 bucks, but the guy has to earn a living, right? I pay 90. For the $30 that he makes, I don't have to get a jack, jack the car, get my hands dirty, dispose of oil, etc. And, I don't have the PC module to clear the computer of service reminders.

I have done mechanical work ever since I was a lttle kid following my dad around. I have even done rebuilds on an '85 Buick 4 Cyl, and an inline 6 FI Maxima. I know what is going on when I am being quoted for a job, but I would rather let someone else do it; for a modest price I don't get dirty, and I can earn at my rate working at what I do. I do computer work, and I had to let go of a customer very quickly once. I had quoted him some custom software, and his response was, "Why are you charging me so much?, You're just typing on a keyboard." That was the end of our meeting.
(end of rant... )

BTW: My mechanic has quoted me $270 for the tranny service that's going to be due at 90K miles. For that he will drain and fill the 12 quarts of MB tranny fluid that's about $14 a quart and replace the filters and seals.

He's quick, reasonably priced, and curteously answers any and all questions. That's probably why this guy has been there for a long time, and he's always got work.

AWDman

well said...unless you LIKE getting dirty (i'm pigpen from charlie brown)

just did and oil change last week. i have the oil filter wrench and a skimmer. it's really simple the dirtiest part is removing the rubber gaskets and filter from the cartridge.

btw- the oil service interval reset procedure in in the manual.

i use 50% 15w50 mobil 1 (the good stuff - a SL rated oil with full additive package) and 50% 0w40 (1000 ZDDP). the 0w40 shears down to 0w30 and i'm left with ~7.5w40. ZDDP is 1100 in this mix.

60n5pt1

FYI
From the Chevron.com site:
"Can I mix different viscosity grades of motor oils?"
"Yes. It is always advisable to not mix motor oil brands, however, different viscosity grades of the same brand motor oil are compatible. Be aware that mixing viscosity grades will turn out a product that is different in viscosity than either what was originally in the engine or what was added."

From Shell.ca:
"If you mix viscosity grades such as a 5W30 low-viscosity oil and a 10W40 higher-viscosity oil, it is reasonable to expect that the resulting product will have viscosity characteristics which are thicker than the 5W30, but thinner than the 10W40. This change does not reflect incompatibility - it's simply a re-balancing of the viscosity characteristics. In all other ways, the product should work as expected. But there's absolutely no danger about incompatibility resulting from mixing engine oils," Miller says. "We've tested all of our grades and brands, and we haven't observed any problems."

From Mobil1.com:
"For our customers to choose a viscosity grade, we recommend they follow the engine manufacturer's recommendations as indicated in their owner's manual. There is no need to mix two Mobil 1 viscosity grades when one will do; however, we see no problem mixing different SAE grades of Mobil 1 Tri-Synthetic series motor oils."

I agree that mixing oil viscosities isn't really necessary though. 5W-30 is going to have the same viscosity as 10W-30 when the oil is hot... might as well just use 5W-30 for its cold temperature "flowability". So the viscosity mixing argument is kind of pointless.

Question is on performance or any real advantages in your case?