Ghennes13

I’ve really had it with the suspension issues on my 05 Clk320 cabrio. When I bought the car it had 74,000 miles and felt amazing- everything felt tight and handling was great. The car now has 132k and feels like absolute crap especially on the freeway. At 115,000 miles I replaced tie rods, and control arms. I replaced the front struts at 128,000 miles and they already feel bouncy. Something is definitely wrong here because the steering feels loose, and the front end feels really spongy/floaty and does not feel safe or comfortable to drive. I will mention that the front tires are getting slightly worn and could be replaced but I don’t feel this is a tire related issue. The struts on the other hand could be the culprit. I replaced the old ones with bilsteins b4 at 128,000 and after the car felt like new. Now at 132k it feels awful. Can shocks go bad that quickly?!?! Maybe they weren’t installed or torqued correctly? Any ideas??

Much appreciated,
Thanks

dzmitry

Less likely your shocks could go bad that quickly, but while installing your new shock a tech could tight control arms while car was still raised, that could destroy control arms bushings very quickly.
Any noise from suspension?

Ghennes13

Yes there is some clunking in the front. I looked underneath and didn’t see any cracked bushings. I did replace the outer tie rods but DID NOT replace the inner tie rods. Could those be the cause of the clunking? The wheels seem to wander when going over bumps.

dzmitry

Ok in this case I'd check sway bar links

Ghennes13

Those were replaced at 90,000 miles. I did not use genuine Mercedes parts though. I used lemforder and bilstein.

If I take this car to the dealer would they be better at diagnosing suspension problems vs going to an independent shop?

Rudeney

Lemfoerder and Bilstein should be fine. Just avoid the Chinese crap. How's the alignment? Also, it's rare, but a bad rear suspension can also cause handlng issues.

Ghennes13

Alignment was done at the time the front struts were installed November last year. I live in LA and the roads here are terrible so not surprised if the alignment is a little bit off. As for the rear, I had the shocks replaced but that’s it. I just ordered a new transmission mount because my mechanic said it was collapsed.

Ghennes13

I’ve read that some have had to replace the steering rack to correct the loose steering/wandering.

dzmitry

Even Lemforder sway bar links could easily destroyed in 40k miles (especially non-sport ones) on LA roads, they are as crappy as former USSR's roads
Before replacing steering rack I'd recommend to check all bushings, sway bar links and alignment. You installed Lemforder/MB control arms, right?
I don't think that you need to go to a dealer with this problem, I'd try reliable independent shop.

Ward83

Have you checked the lower ball joints? With 132k on them, they're probably overdue for replacement.

Ghennes13

Aren’t the ball joints part of the control arm?

Rudeney

If the control arm were replaces, then so were the ball joints. In fact, replacing the control arms is the only way to replace the ball joints. Now, speaking of the steering rack, make sure to check the torque of its bolts to the axle carrier. Also, I think a failure of the "parameter steering" valve can cause issues like this. Now, don;t go throwing parts at it because I sad that, but it;s just something to look at and have checked.

Ghennes13

What do you look for when checking the parameter steering valve?

I think the best thing I can do for now is have the shop replace the front struts again since they do have a lifetime warranty on them as well as replace the front tires. The tires have been worn out on the outside edge. Also it appears that the front end ground clearance is higher and there is too much positive camber. Pep boys is the one who did the struts. Big mistake?! Haha

Rudeney

Yeah, I avoid pep Boys like the plague! If the ride height looks high, that likely means the torque the control arm-to-fram bolts without the weight of the vehicle on them and that may be the whole problem.

Ghennes13

Thanks Rudeney,

Does that mean that the control arm bushings are damaged now because they didn’t torque them with the vehicle weight on them?
There is a slight clunking when driving over minor road imperfections and who knows where it could be coming from. I jacked up the car and tried moving each wheel and there wasn’t any movement. This shouldn’t be that complicated!

By the way, the tires on the car are the Michelin pilot sport as/3. Is there a better tire you recommend for handling?
Thanks for your help on this

Rudeney

It could have damaged the bushings, especially if you've driven many miles on them. Also, what parts did they use? I'd use genuine MB or OEM Lemfoerder. I'd avoid crappy Chinese junk like Uro, Moog, Feb-Best, etc.

Merc Mania

Ha ha Manny, Moe and Jack will not be amused to learn about this character assassination in progress here.

Ghennes13

I used lemforder. I think I’ll stick with Mercedes parts only from now on. Including the shocks. I paid 170 for two front bilstein shocks vs 350 each for original. Maybe you really do get what you pay for!!!

nkx1

Not happy with Bilstein's? I got my fronts replaced with Bilstein a few weeks back, and so far so good.

Ghennes13

I’m looking for quality and original feel. The front struts were just replaced 3000 miles ago. Felt tight at first, no bouncing. Now the car feels like a boat and handles
like crap. They must be defective.

nkx1

Interesting- maybe I'll change my tune in a few months. Bilstein also makes some higher performance struts (B6 and B8) but those cost a lot more than the basic ones (B4).

Out of curiosity, did you buy the Bilstein B4 for sport suspension, or for standard suspension? There are different part numbers for the fronts (sport or standard) but the rears are the same for sport and standard.

Ghennes13

My car has the standard suspension. I asked pep boys to order the parts for me. I Hope they ordered the correct ones!

I just looked and the part number is:

22-141705
VNE-E170

nkx1

So your front struts are the standard suspension version, which is appropriate for your car. 22-141705 is the current part number; VNE-E170 appears to be the old part number. As far as I can tell, it's the same exact part. That sucks that they're bouncy, etc. Hopefully I don't meet the same fate with the sport version! (Bilstein part number 22-218537).

Did you replace the rears, too, or just the fronts?

Sources:
https://www.bilstein.com/us/en/produ...02190892198121
https://www.shockwarehouse.com/site/...ront-22-141705

Ghennes13

I replaced the rears too and they feel fine.

nkx1

I guess you could always try some other struts in the front. Like others suggested, though, I would probably have a competent independent mechanic (preferably one that specializes in MB) look at your car before throwing any more money at guessing what the problem is.

It's sort of disappointing that these cars have issues with the suspension components. I've had several Toyota Solara's, a Lexus SC430, various other Japanese cars, and a C5 Corvette, and I never experienced any such suspension component issues, even at high mileage with some of them. I like my CLK, but the build quality seems lacking in some regards.