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Three months ago I purchased a 2003 W203 C32 AMG Combi. From the moment of purchase there has been a rattle in the undercarriage on the front side of the car. It is best notable when driving through potholes or over small bumps in paved roads. It an be best described as a "clunk". I think it originates on the left side of the car and it can be felt through the bottom of the footwell.
When purchasing the car I knew that quite some work had to be put in to get it up to my standards. Although quite a lot of checks and repairs have been made so far the annoying sound remains. So far I have replaced or repaired the following:
Brand new strut mount on the left side.
Brand new shock absorbers on both sides.
Brand new stabilizer linkage bushings on both sides.
Replaced the steering rack with a second hand one.
Two different mechanics have spent hours checking all the linkages, bushings, nuts and bolt on the undercarriage and the subframe. Nothing could be found that would cause this noise.
The last mechannc suggested that the next move would either be removing the subframe to check if this could case the noise in any way, or replace the motor mounts. In both cases this would mean a lot of labor bills again, with no certainty that the cause of the sound is found.
What do you guys think of this? Has anyone ever had a similar sound in the undercarriage?
I know you said the "stabilizer linkage bushings" have been replaced, I'm not sure exactly which parts you're referring to, but I would suspect the stabilizer bar bushings (not the same as the end links). If the stabilizer bar itself is worn enough, there could still be play even with new bushings. When I got mine the end link on one side was shot, and both of the bushings were shot. The play in the bushings made a very distinct rattling over bumps, that was made worse by the bad end link. With the end link replaced, there was still some noticeable rattle/clunk over bumps, particularly when the suspension on one side of the car compressed more than the other.
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