cpomeroy

Hi all

Just brought my fathers black 01 E55 AMG to its new home, my garage.... He recently passed away from cancer and this was his nice weather driving car when he was down on the Cape. Anyway, I am determined to keep this car for as long as I can, it just turned 70K on the OD. I will be storing it for the winter in a few days and will be detailing it while its in the garage this winter.

Going through his receipts I saw that he replace both lower ball joints 1 1/2 years ago - 5K miles, because it failed a state inspection. I just put on four new Continental extreme tires on and got a four wheel alignment. Had it on the highway yesterday 70-80 mph and it seems to wander from left to right. Hit a bump and it shoots to the side a bit. Soo I'm thinking lower control arm bushings or sway bushings. Anything else it could be??

Also I jacked up both front tires, There is slight play when I grab the tire at 12/6 (up and down) but nothing at 9/3 (side to side). Couldn't see anything moving, sounds like metal to metal, took the tire off and is sounds like its coming from the back of the rotor, wheel bearing ?? identical sound and movement on the other side.

Live in the central MA area, 40 miles west of Boston, any good/trustworthy shops I should visit. Never owned a MB before, father loves them, I like Volvos, Saabs and Jeeps.

I sure like this car, but I would like to match the handling to the proformance.

Thanks in advance

Tall Giraffe

First, condolences on the passing of your father.

Second, the symptoms of wandering you describe is symptomatic of LCA bushing failure. They also exhibit a popping sound on uneven pavement or grooves in the road. When my bushings failed I had the entire control arm replaced with new bushings pre-pressed. Mine were toast at 80K when I bought my car a few years back.

The 12/6 play could be play in your wheel bearings. There is a repair sticky that can help you understand or you can start here. They can be adjusted/tightened and not necessarily replaced given your mileage.

You did not mention and wheel vibrations which is common with loose bearings. I have that problem I believe.

Sway bar bushings don't cause pull normally. More of a loose cage sound over speed bumps. When the rubber bushings are replaced, the car feels more solid and quieter over bumps and grooves.

Spend some time in the stickies to discover the main items that may fail on this car. Relatively a sound car beyond the common problems.

Be sure to fill in your profile completely as it can help members help you better.

After owning this car for a stretch you will absolutely love it.

Welcome to the boards!

FlatlineEF9

Sorry for your loss. Noble of you to keep his car for as long as you can. I would do the same.

housew

welcome and my condolences.


I'm up in maine with an 00 e55 AMG and love the car. My mum lives down in Hudson which sounds fairly close to you.


I hope you get it figured out. I haven't had any real mechanical problems with mine, only electrical. But I haven't driven it far either.

cpomeroy

Thanks to all the kind responses. I will definitely check out the lower control arm bushings. If I choose to replace the entire control arm instead of just the bushings, do you recommend using genuine MB parts or after market, and where is the best place online to obtain them ourselves.

THEhomelessONE

Have the rear subframe bushings checked as well. Usually the 2 front of the 4 bushings go bad. They're oil filled.

ma61

Sorry for your loss.

Good luck with the new Mercedes, keep it nice.

Post some pics.