What do you guys think I should use for my front end rebuild??

'99 C43
107k
Bose
HID

What front end rebuild?
- Bodywork
- Suspension
anything else?

My front end feels loose when I turn into driveways and make u-turns. It's driving me crazy! The car has always been tight. I want her like that again!!!

So just replace the shocks and springs? Are you hearing an odd sound or what? Might need a new bushing or two but just replace shocks and springs.

same thing with me!

Then replace the shocks and springs!!! Check the control arm bushings but you really need new shocks and springs at that mileage.

Ball joints, lower control arm bushings, sway bar bushings, upper control arm (I don't think the bushing is available separately), tie rod ends, perhaps even the drag link. Plus the shocks and springs. Do all of that and the car will effectively be brand new up front!

Re: the lower control arm bushings - typically it's just the rearward one that fails, as its 'spokes' tear apart. The forward one is solid rubber. It looked just fine on my 240,000km car when I removed mine to replace with the KMac kit. The rearward one was toast though.

Are you buying these parts from the dealer or online? If your buying online, please post up a link.

Ball joints I bought at a local import parts shop, last minute kinda thing. I haven't done the sway bar bushings, tie rod ends, upper control arm or drag link yet. Lower control arm bushings were KMac, from iapdirect.com - but if I were to buy them again, I would just buy direct from KMac in Oz. Shocks and springs - Bilstein and Vogtland respectively. Vogtlands from their online shop, shocks from essexdistributors.ca

I believe that the rearward lower control arm bushing is a solid rubber piece on W208s and this part should swap in, but I didn't do it as I went the KMac route. The W208 parts would be a good 'OE mod'. Here's a link: https://mbworld.org/forums/c36-amg-c...-bushings.html

Even just with the fresh lower control arm bushings, shocks, springs and ball joints the car feels nice and solid again. When budget allows, I may do all the other bits and pieces I mentioned. Sway bar bushings are cheap though, like sub $10 each. The most expensive of those other items I listed are the upper control arms (I think about $160 each) and the drag link ($250?).

If I was going to buy all of these parts at once, I would look to autohausaz for most of them, but would also shop around at bimmerspecialist.com, germanparts.ca, mbpartswarehouse.com and also performanceproducts4benz.com

For me, buying from a Canadian reseller is preferable to avoid higher shipping and duty costs, hence germanparts.ca, Canadian section of bimmerspecialist.com and essexdistributors.ca. When I do travel to the US, I visit my shipping depot in Blaine, WA and pick up piles of stuff that I have shipped there, to take advantage of many resellers' free shipping. Currently, I have nearly 30 boxes of stuff waiting for me! Heading out there in a few weeks, can't wait!

how do you like the Kmac setup? Please tell me it's quiet and doesn't squeak.

Every car I've ever owned with Poly I've regretted it. My pontiac sounds like someone squeezing a rubber duck as I drive it. My Lexus too.

rjp

I'm pleased with mine, there have been no noise issues. The thing is, there isn't any poly to metal contact, the KMac parts are not typical poly bushings. They have a metal sleeve (this is the bit that contacts the inner diameter of the control arm), and the inside of the sleeve is filled with poly, with an eccentric bolt offset to one side that allows the adjustability.

I have Powerflex poly bushings on just about all the suspension components on my S2000 (double wishbone plus coilover on all four corners) and the only issue is with the front lower control arm bushing. This one poly bushing I'm not too pleased with, it seems to have slipped out of place, and so I get low speed clicking, very annoying. I'm replacing with a Mugen rubber piece instead, more like stock, should get rid of that noise.

Thank you for all this great info my friend! How are was this job? Did you need to remove the springs? I would have no issues doing this but I don't own a spring press.

All these parts I found here for pretty cheap here: http://www.autohausaz.com/search/gro...nsion%20System

Sway bar bushings should be cake, two small bolts and the bracket comes off.

I haven't done the tie rods or the drag link, but that's a bit more involved, can't comment on that.

Shocks are cake, like 15 minutes a side, and that's only because you need to jack up the car and remove the wheel after you loosen the upper mounting nuts.

Lower control arm will require spring removal. For that, I think you'd really want a spring compressor of the correct type, the cheap $20 ones may be difficult to use as there is not that much room in there. Head to kochtools.com and check out part number KT20252.

Doing the ball joints would benefit from Koch Tools part number KT20321. I didn't have this type of separator, and the ball joint separators I do have wouldn't fit into the space - quite tight in there too. I ended up using a hammer to punch them out, and thus damaged the threads - hence the need to acquire new ball joints on short notice.

The lower control arm bushings would need a press to put in any new bushings. But you only need a press to remove the rearward lower control arm bushings. The frontward ones can be smacked out with a hammer and chisel, and actually this is what the WIS tells you to do. I should clarify - putting in new bushings on the lower control arm will require the use of a press if you use stock or KMac. If you get the LPD poly bushings, they are most likely two piece and you just insert them in by hand.

FYI, loose steering is not shocks or springs. As Saaboteur correctly pointed out, check your ball joints and control arms. It would also be wise to replace the steering damper while you are in there.

So are the shocks easy to replace on all four corners? What's involved in changing ball joints? I am still a novice at wrenching but i'd like to do the jobs that aren't crazy.

check the front wheel bearings. I jut did mine on my W210 and the car feels so much more stable. I thought my front shocks were going out before I did the bearings, but it turned out my wheel bearings had play.

This is a very interesting remark. I just completed overhauling my front end and I agree entirely with Saaboteur. The ***** joints are the the culprit usually and there's quite a few of them: drag link (3), tie rod (2), upper control arm (2) and spindle lower removable joints (2).

Back to the remark however, having done all that, I still have a mystery vibration on highway. Yet when I jack the car up in the air and check for wheel play by tilting the wheel horizontally, I cannot detect any play in the wheel bearings... hmm.

When was the last time you had your wheels balanced ?

Twice actually. On two different sets of wheels and tires. Did not help.

Another suspicion is driveshaft/driveshaft support bearing. The driveshaft couplers are fine, both have been replaced.

And in the worst case scenario it could be something in the differential\transmission.

its so nice to visit here a nice thread. Am so impressed with your such a good hard work, its definitely a good and diferent idea for others, you guys are doing good work good luck, keep it up..

i smell a bot.

gotta love the moter bike

yeah that is nice such a good hard touch

hello all,anyone experience charging system problem,98 c43amg,battery & alternator,both check out .bat indicator lite on dash flickering,after a full charge on battery ,its discharged after driving less than an hour