Hey guys, so as fortune would have it I will most likely be dropping the subframe next week. I'm doing lots of research to prepare.

I know for a fact one of my front bushings to be bad but while I'm down there i currently plan to do front and rear subframe bushings even though rear look ok. As well as differential and control arm bushings

my biggest concern...

when disconnecting drive shaft from differential...do the differential and driveshaft have to be reinstalled in the exact positions as removed? With absolutely no turning of either?

I plan on dropping the whole subframe and potentially removing the diff from it. Any advice would be great

also if anyone has advice on tools for pressing new and old subframe bushings that would be great I plan on getting this for bushings

sort of just hoping it will work as well as

https://m.autozone.com/loan-a-tools/..._0_0?location=

and

https://m.autozone.com/loan-a-tools/loaner-ball-joint-press-adapter/powerbuilt-ball-joint-and-u-joint-press-set-23-piece/449947_0_0?location=


many advice would be great. All the videos aren't as helpful as I'd wish so looks like there will be some good effort going into this.

thanks!

 

Hey guys, also need help finding differential bushing/mounts. I believe there is 3. 2 are the same and one is different. Can't seem to find anything thanks !

 

Dropping the rear subframe on a 208 chassis isn't that bad. I swapped out units in a day, but that did not include replacing the four big bushings that mount to the body. I've never done that, but I understand it takes a special tool.

Here's a link to the article I wrote when I did mine; it's not a step-by-step, but it gives you a pretty good idea of what's involved.

Oh, and no, you don't have to keep the driveshaft aligned with the bolt holes on the rear end.

 

Great writeup Joe!

 

That really is a great write up Joe, thanks so much!

lol I'm specifically going down there for those 4 things and the research has been fun so far. I couldn't find anyone actually completing the work on a w208. Ive seen W210 there's a Chinese video on YouTube where they do no show the extraction of any of the bushings but other videos suggest torching etc. I saw one where the subframe had a metal sleeve which had to be cut out similar to front LCA but based off the new bushings I don't believe that will be necessary. The rears are bottom mounted so they should be simple.

all in all I think ill figure it out. I've decided to just leave everything as is other than subframe bushings.

Not going to mess with diff or control arms as I should really be doing full poly bushings on the whole rear end, but I think for right now this should be fine. I had contacted strongflex UK for a quote but they just got my personal info and never responded...

I'll hit the subframe with some rust reformer but other than that just drop it, swap it and slap it back. I think it should really tighten up the rear end, just moving the car around the driveway and turning the wheel after doing poly Lca bushings and genuine drag link feels so different and better than it ever has. And joe, thank you again you were a huge help with that.

I'm curious about the setup you got. I definitely need to get rid of the one tire fire one day. I will most likely have access to a lift next year and will either be focused on this, a new Benz project or saving up for down payment on a RS6 lease haha

The only leaks I currently have are oil level sender and rear main.
Mercedes Benz of Goldens Bridge New York had my car in when a tow truck busted my oil pan. They replaced the oil pan after having it a month without ever giving me the chance to discuss or allow the replacement of the sender which needs the pan off to do. Just to do the pan was $980...still haunts me til this day when I see genuine ones for only like $100.

In my defense at this time I had just been the passenger in a rollover Mercedes accident. My head hit the ground through the pano roof recovery was 2 years, brain damage to last a life time lol

anyways... when I finally randomly got the call my car was done the service advisor "John" asked me "wtf I wanted from him, it was an insurance job" which was funny because every time I spoke with him to find out what was going on he told me they were waiting on Geico, and that we needed to wait to see what they said before we went foreword on any of the other $5k in repairs the tech recommended. Instead as soon as the inspector was done they just knocked out the work and let me know. At this time for the trip to the dealer my windows had been taped and bagged since they had dropped and the new key had not registered to the car and the windows had dropped. They left the tape on the car for a month baking in the sun even though the windows had been put up as soon as they got there. The "foreman" even mentioned he planned on driving the car into the shop which had been drained of all oil with a busted pan for several days...jeez

so I get the car back and it's shiny as hell with the industrial whatever they put on cars at dealers, except for the horrible glue residue all over the windows from the tape. Like they tried to buff it off/remove it and gave up. It looked horrible. When I brought it to the attention of the service manager he asked me "what the hell I wanted from him, a free detail?" It was super aggressive and uncomfortable.

but yeah.... my advice would be to just not go to any car dealership.

I think I'm gonna get a little slk compressor manual or something like that. On my commute to work in the spring/summer there's a guy I pass daily usually both ways with a really clean nice one on 55 in the Hudson valley/Ct.

 

I can't stand rude people, especially people that choose jobs in service or dealing with the public. I won't say what I would've done but size and intimidation go a long way with putting people in their place.

 

Op stated driveshaft will be coming out.
if the two halves split they must be aligned properly according to the markings.
1 shaft has 1 mark and the other has 2. Center them and all is good.
Cheers

Driveshaft alignment