Just started to feel a little vibration in the front at highway speeds. I racked the car. Just about every bushing is torn. Both lower control arms. Torn strut mount. 1 Sway bar end link boot is torn.
Im more surprised the car didnt drive worse. And surprised with 71k miles the front is that beat up. This was a chunk i wasnt planning on today.
Ended up doing KYB struts since i have it apart now.

 

No wonder you noticed a difference with the strut bar installed!

 

Yeah, my lower control arms were shot at 38k. It's a gradual degradation so you get used to it as it happens. I usually check all the bushings when I do oil changes.

 

lol,

i was at the track with it 2 weeks ago, car handled great. Cant believe it with the shape of the suspension.
Curious to see what its like now with being fixed and the upgrades im doing now.

 

No preventative maintenance done monthly??? Parts on German Vehicles tend to quit without a 2 weeks notice LOL they last until they fail completely, not like other vehicles that give warning signs by making noises or vibrations they just break!! Do not buy parts from ebay! buy Dorman brand from amazon or MOOG control arms and bushings. it is a very easy task to do yourself.

 

Bro, take it easy would you? welcome to the forum and all but a lot of things your saying around the forum aren't completely true (mechanically). The guy owns a trans shop. I believe hes more then capable then doing regular maintenance. There is no "preventative maintenance" on suspension parts, you even said that in your other post that was also mostly bogus. And no parts don't tend to break on German cars in 2 weeks and yes they will give warning signs like a bunch of other cars. And its not easy to do yourself, a bushing needs a special press to install or a big mechanical press, you need to know what your doing, correct torquing is important on suspension parts.

 

Hey DanielFD, good to know you're reading some of my replies but as an ASE certified and German auto mechanic I trust my knowledge and experience. About the suspension parts, he control arm comes as an assembly so no special tool needed here nor press



It is an easy installation if you know how to do it correctly, replacing a part takes a few procedures, most people take shortcuts because they do not want to remove other parts for easy access. They sell Repair Manuals on CDs for mercedes benz it shows you every step.

And preventive maintenance means checking everything, in this case oil leaking on bushings, if you see that and fix it at the moment you can prevent bushings from going out and Ball joints needs to be greased and boot covers need to be checked for cracks as well so there is Preventive Maintenance on suspension parts.

 

Welcome to the forum again. I was talking about bushings. Bushings can be bought seperatly and replaced on control arms using a press. Dont mean to offend you. It seems i might have understood some of the things you said because of our "main language" difference.

 

Ok, I understand, but most of this parts you find are sold as an assembly.

 

Well there is not preventive maintenance you can do on bushing. Last time i had the car in the air. Its not a daily driver. And i just decided to drive it to work that day and it was the first time i felt anything. Like i said i was at the track earlier with it and it drove great. I do own a shop also and am aware how to maintain and repair a vehicle.
I am doing moog control arms . bilstein struts and h & r springs since i have it apart.

 

You have to check for oil leaks under the car, oil deteriorates rubber bushings and check for cracks on ball joint boots, some of the after market ball joints come with grease fittings to grease them periodically. Preventive Maintenance. Maybe I am too concern about this but my 2005 CLK 500 has 68k miles and by taking care of it he only thing I had replaced in this vehicle was the battery and belt, the crankshaft Positioning sensor and brakes including rotors and by checking my brakes I saved the brake wear sensors and now the valve cover gaskets..

 

A weekend at the track can tear up bushings.

 

i have no leaks on my car. There arent grease fitting on the bushing. They went, maybe front the beating on the track. Things happen and evently go no matter how much you check the car out. My car is meticulously maintained. It has lots of upgrades.

 

That's why you need to check your vehicle periodically, it is better to replace a rubber boot than waiting for the ball joint wear out and cause vibration that can mess up your links and tie rod ends.

 

it was control arm bushings, there are no boots or anything to grease or maintain.

And i use this car hard. I dont replace boots or partial parts. If a boot is torn its getting a new part.

 

Sounds like that's what he did.